The start of 2021 has continued to throw unexpected challenges to investors and businesses at every level. Bitcoin reached record highs earlier this month as institutional investors began to take the cryptocurrency more seriously while this week has seen US share trading hit record volumes as retail investors and day traders pile into a number of businesses shorted by hedge funds.

This increasing volatility and share trading coupled with vaccine rollout and the hope of ending lockdown restrictions has made 2021 a standout year for investment and deals. Many firms are now looking to take advantage of deflated valuations to complete deals both in the UK and beyond.

This includes a number of big deals on the horizon, including MGM’s £8 billion bid for the UK’s Entain and takeover battles ongoing for Signature Aviation, G4S and Codemasters Group – according to the Wall Street Journal.

Complex deals and market conditions will also likely increase the demand for accounting and advisory services to carry out essential due diligence and other consultancy work. Providing a big boost for the sector

Chris Biggs, Partner at Theta Global Advisors – an accounting and consultancy disruptor – has commented:

“2021 has already been a big year for investment and share prices seeping into the wider news agenda and I can see this continuing for M&As and other kinds of deals. As a large amount of uncertainty melts away that has lingered from Covid and Brexit, and firms continue to struggle – Debenhams being a notable example – many companies will want to take advantage to complete deals.

We have been instructed on a number of deals in the past few weeks and this looks set to carry on for the foreseeable, something that will be a boost to firms and especially those below the Big Four.

This year has really allowed smaller firms to compete in a way that has been difficult in the past. There are no more advantages to a massive office in Canary Wharf when everyone is working from home and now those overheads look like an unnecessary excess for clients comparing their options.”