The total value of the UK’s mergers and acquisitions market was on the up in the first quarter of 2018 even as the overall number of deals receded. The latest set of figures from Experian MarketIQ, which reveals new layers of market insight by combining Corpfin's global M&A database with comprehensive Companies House data and market leading business, financial and risk databases, show that there were just 1,423 deals announced in Q1, a decline of 26% from the 1,910 transactions recorded during the first quarter of 2017. This was the slowest start to a year since 2013 (when 1,351 deals took place in Q1), but as Q1 deals in particular are often reported some time after their completion date, we would anticipate that this figure will rise following publication of this report, and it seems too early to suggest that a more cautious approach may be taking hold amongst UK deal makers - a clearer picture should come to light as the year progresses.

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