There was a total of 133 transactions in 2025, representing an aggregated value of around £2.5 million. This is a 12% decline in transactions vs 2024 and, excluding the £1.5 billion Bakkavor deal, a 9% fall in value.
Whilst deal activity remained robust in 2025, the third quarter saw a notable slowdown, with a 33.9% reduction year-on-year. However, value proved to be more stable, reaching an estimated £540 million, broadly in line with the £612 million recorded in the same period the year before.
Smaller transactions continued to dominate the market last year, with 64.5% of deals valued at less than or equal to £10 million, down 5.1% from the previous year. Just 12% of deals were more than £50 million – however, bigger deals did see an upwards shift of 3% on the year. This is also consistent with the five-year historic average of 12%.
The buyer mix was generally stable. UK corporate buyers represented the lion’s share at 60.9%. This is a slight fall year-on-year but in line with the five-year average of 55%.
Oversea buyers accounted for 21% of deal volume in 2025 (below the five-year average of 27.4%), while financial buyers accounted for 18.2% - up from 12.6% in 2024 (broadly consistent with the five-year average of 17.3%).
The drinks sector continued to represent a significant share of overall deal activity, accounting for 26.3% of transaction volumes.
There has been multiple consolidation within UK meat, including OSI/Karnova, Sofina/Finnebrogue, Kepak/Meat Snacks Group, Red Sky Group/The Welsh Sausage Company and then Delenco Foods, Societe LDC/Gressingham Foods (all undisclosed sums), Cranswick/JamesT Blakeman (£32 million), and Sysco/Fairfax (£54 million).
Persistent cost pressures over recent years, alongside rising meat prices (+16% in 2025) have accelerated consolidation among the smaller operators.
Other key highlights of 2025 include Compleat Food Group’s continued consolidation in the chilled foods sector, with the acquisitions of The Yorkshire Pudding Co. in March; Freshpak Chilled Foods in July; Julienne Bruno in November; and Greencore’s soups and sauces business (completed January 2026).
Last year also saw Princes Group floating on the London Stock Exchange, achieving a market capitalisation of £1.16 billion and raising £400 million to support further inorganic growth via acquisitions.
The UK sports nutrition witnessed a lot of movement too, with Nactarome Group’s acquisition of Claremont Ingredients and BD Capital’s acquisition of Science in Sport.
The most notable consolidation was in chilled food, highlighted by the year’s largest transaction: Greencore’s acquisition of Bakkavor (enterprise value: £1.5 million; EV/EBITDA: 7.9x).
Commenting on the report, Mark Lynch, partner at Oghma Partners, said: “2025 has once again been characterised by geopolitical uncertainty, yet M&A activity in the UK has remained resilient, supported by the gradual recovery of the economy.
“Since August 2024, the Bank of England has implemented six interest rate cuts, bringing the base rate to 3.75%. Inflation has held relatively steady between 3.0% and 4.0% throughout the year, with the latest CPI reading at 3.4% in December.
“Food and non-alcoholic beverage inflation has been more volatile, peaking at peaking at 5.1% in July before falling to 4.5% in December. Governor Andrew Bailey has indicated that rates are ‘likely to continue on a gradual downward path’. Nevertheless, global tensions, including conflicts in Europe and the Middle East, recent developments in South America, and emerging US tariffs, continue to add complexity and uncertainty for the UK market.
“Amid the market complexities outlined above, deal valuations have held steady at c. £2.5 million for the year. While not reflected in this figure, the standout transaction of 2025 was the Greencore/Bakkavor merger. This landmark deal represents a major development in the UK convenience food sector, creating a combined group with nearly £4 billion in revenues."
Looking ahead, Oghma Partners expects consolidation to persist across subsectors and large corporates to continue diversifying their portfolios and geographic footholds.
As interest rates gradually ease but inflationary pressures remain, it predicts M&A activity to remain selective and strategically driven, with deal values and volumes broadly in line with 2025 levels.
Yet, Oghma says the outlook into 2026 is tempered by ongoing geopolitical uncertainty. Anticipated increases in business costs and the likely continued presence of the ‘cautious consumer’ is also likely to impact buyer behaviour.
