Buy-and-build has become one of the defining features of UK mid-market M&A.
For many private equity-backed platforms and corporate acquirers, acquisition is a repeatable strategy used to build scale, add capability, consolidate fragmented markets and strengthen long-term resilience. But while the model remains highly active, the conditions in which it is being pursued are changing.
Against a backdrop of macro-economic volatility, shifting financing conditions, valuation uncertainty and rapid technological change, repeat acquirers are having to be more selective, more disciplined and more focused on integration than ever before.
Our report, Buy-and-Build in the UK Mid-Market, examines how acquisition-led growth has evolved across the UK mid-market over the last five years. Drawing on a screened dataset of UK mid-market acquisitions announced between 2021 and 2025, the report analyses the activity of some of the UK’s most active repeat acquirers and explores how private equity-backed platforms and corporate buyers are approaching buy-and-build strategies.
The report looks not only at the headline data, but also at the strategic themes shaping the next phase of consolidation, including sector concentration, the growing influence of artificial intelligence and the increasing importance of building a repeatable acquisition model.
It brings together insight from Stevens & Bolton’s corporate team and experienced participants across the buy-and-build ecosystem, offering practical perspective on what differentiates successful repeat acquirers and where momentum may be heading next.
