Chief executive at global investment bank GCA Altium, Phil Adams discusses how deal flow will progress through on other side of the crisis.   

How has COVID-19 and the associated lockdown impacted investment in companies and your clients? 

There has been a slowdown in market activity. Some deals which were advanced at the time of lockdown have completed, including our own acquisition of Stella EOC, the Nordics digital media and technology advisory boutique. Less advanced processes have either been put on hold or are typically running at a slower speed. Technology is by far our largest sector and we have seen continued strong interest in this sector due to the more resilient nature of many companies’ business models.
 

How will the virus impact the PE landscape across Europe? 

In the short term, private equity firms are focusing on their portfolios assessing whether they need to deploy more capital. They are also considering acquisition opportunities for portfolio companies and those with recently raised funds are actively scouring the market for new opportunities. While there will undoubtedly be a hiatus there is an unprecedented amount of private equity funding in place which will still need to be deployed once there is some stability in the wider healthcare of society which enables business to be more predictable.
 

Deals can take months to procure and then finalise, how has the Covid-19 impacted your pipeline?

Some processes have been put on hold while others are progressing at a slower pace pending lifting of the full lockdown. We have also seen some new deal flow in recent weeks which is more focused on opportunistic bilateral opportunities than formal processes. We have also seen an uptick in demand for our debt advisory services.
 

What options does a company in need of investment have in the current climate?

This will very much come down to the quality of the business. Strong market leading businesses are attracting support from new and existing investors while more vulnerable companies will find it virtually impossible to secure fresh funding if they went into the crisis in a weak position