After working closely with a number of acquirers this quarter, AABcf revealed that acquirers are actively pursuing long-term strategic value through acquisition as their management teams look to well and truly put the unprecedented COVID-19 times behind them.

AABcf said with international and domestic travel restrictions starting to lift and Scottish Enterprise reporting a strengthening in the labour market with higher employment numbers and fewer furlough workers during Q3 2021, a positive outlook in the M&A market has certainly been created.

This market confidence has been a huge contributing factor in the heightened deal activity this quarter.

From an M&A perspective, there were a number of key deals across the quarter that have helped boost the Scottish market, including the sale of Edinburgh based management solutions provider Curo Compensation Limited to Seattle based PayScale Inc.

Furthermore, we saw the Oil & Gas business of Babcock International Group plc, based in Aberdeen, Scotland being acquired by helicopter services company CHC Group LLC, British Columbia, Canada for a consideration of £10m.

Fund-raising activity in Q3 2021 continued to be at the forefront in driving forward overall market activity and there has been a number of standout fundraising transactions which have been completed this quarter. AABcf saw Edinburgh based dental tech firm Calcivis, raise £1.5m in an equity financing round led by Scottish business angel syndicate Archangels.

Again, the AABcf team had a busy Q3 2021 helping advise on several fundraising transactions, including BGF’s £3.5m investment into well-bore isolation specialist Isol8 and acted on behalf of electric vehicle infrastructure provider FOREV in their successful raise of £2m from Scottish National Investment Bank.

AABcf said: “As we head into the final quarter of the year, we anticipate that there will be no slowdown in overall deal making within the Scottish M&A market. Investors are flush with cash due to the limited capital deployed during 2020 and corporations continue to be on the look out for complimentary bolt on opportunities.”

There have been a number of key deals throughout the third quarter of this year, Babble Cloud Holdings Limited, a cloud communication technology business, agreed to acquire 8020 IT Limited, Dumfries, Scotland, which provides mobile, connectivity and IT services across Scotland and the North of England.

STV Group plc acquired a 25% stake in Hello Mary Limited and MV Commercial Ltd, Airdrie, Scotland, a provider of commercial vehicle rental services, acquired Fruehauf Ltd, who are involved in the manufacturer of tipper trailers. The deal includes an immediate cash injection and a commitment to a further £30m investment over the next three years.

AABcf also oversaw Anderson Anderson & Brown LLP’s acquisition of a 75% stake in stake in human resources business Purpose (HR & Coaching) Limited.

AAB has highlighted a number of opportunities within the report in the technology, healthcare, food & drink and recruitment & training sectors.

The full list of mergers and acquisitions and current opportunities can be found within the full report.