There’s no doubt the TMT sector is getting busier after a relatively quiet period from an M&A and investment perspective.
This has been perfectly illustrated by the fact KPMG UK’s TMT M&A team has just completed or exchanged on nine different deals in nine weeks.
We’ve advised on transactions across software, digital media and IT services, with deal sizes ranging from £20m to £750m.
Digital transformation, data and cyber security continue to be hot sub sectors, which is no surprise given the recent high profile cyber attacks on retailers M&S and the Co-op Group.
In terms of AI, a newer key question for investors is whether existing business models will be disrupted by AI.
Currently, we see most people using AI to drive efficiency savings. We think AI will help ambitious businesses scale more quickly.
One trend I’ve noticed is the rise of the NGEs – or New Generation of Entrepreneur – which I’ll be speaking about at BusinessCloud’s next Northern Leaders event in Leeds on June 17th.
This group of people tend to be driven by social impact and we’re seeing an explosion in the number of businesses achieving B Corp status.
This generation of entrepreneur is typically much more cost conscious and focussed on ROI, doing things more efficiently to drive their bottom line
They’re not afraid to do business differently and tend to run very lean operations.
- The event takes place at KPMG, 1 Sovereign Street, Leeds LS1 4DA on Tuesday, June 17th, 2025. Speakers include 25-year-old Dragons’ Den reject Lucie Macleod, who walked out the Den empty-handed but grew sales in her business Hair Syrup by 66% and is set to hit turnover of £6.5m and The Apprentice star Keir Shave, 27, who is the founder of Leeds-based telemarketing company Parallel Partnership.