A quarterly podcast offering clear, strategic perspective on the forces shaping the UK tech sector – M&A, capital flows, AI, and more. Our podcast is powered by proprietary data and insight from Megabuyte’s industry-leading financial analysts. Learn more at www.megabuyte.com.
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This quarter’s CEOBarometer marks the start of a new year with a UK tech sector still operating in a tough environment – but with clearer signals about where value creation will (and won’t) come from over the rest of the decade. Growth across Software and ICT Services remains constrained after a disappointing 2025, capital markets continue to underserve the sector, and deal activity is selective rather than expansive. Against that backdrop, we step back from short-term forecasts and focus on the...
This quarter’s CEOBarometer analyses a UK tech sector showing signs of stabilisation but still struggling to regain pre-COVID momentum. Growth across Software has levelled off while ICT Services remain under pressure, and capital markets and private equity deal flow are subdued. We look at why 2025 has disappointed, what cautious optimism for 2026 looks like, and how vertical focus, disciplined go-to-market execution, and realistic budgeting will define success for companies. Plus, we look ahead...
This quarter’s CEOBarometer dives into the realities of a UK tech sector that entered 2025 expecting growth but is instead facing slower trading, elongated sales cycles, and selective capital. We explore the standouts bucking the trend - from ICT players like Wireless Logic to software innovators like Nervecentre and Origin - and unpack how AI adoption, capital market shifts, private equity’s “flight to quality,” and selective M&A are reshaping the landscape. The takeaway? In today’s market,...
The latest CEOBarometer highlights a challenging Q2 2025 for the UK tech sector, marked by decelerated organic growth across software and ICT services, especially in project-driven consulting. While recurring revenue models offer stability, investment flows are cautious, with private equity deal volumes halved and early-stage venture funding collapsing. However, AI-native businesses and strong performers in cybersecurity continue to attract capital, proving execution and sector positioning remain crucial.
In this month's podcast: As we enter 2025, this month’s Megabuyte CEOBarometer adopts a slightly different format. Like last January’s episode, this month’s show runs to an hour to provide a comprehensive round-up of the past year and set the scene for the year ahead. The podcast begins with a 12-month retrospective, revisiting key technology and growth trends, corporate activity data, and a look back at our 2024 predictions to assess their accuracy. Building on these insights, we then turn to o...
In this month's podcast: Finally, some good news! UK tech sector share prices and valuations actually saw some meaningful improvement in November, making it a positive month for the sector across the board. As expected, M&A volumes were strong, boosted by pre-budget deals, with ICT Services activity seeing a particularly notable pop. Private equity had a strong showing too, with a 10% year-on-year rise in deals, driven largely by MBOs making a return after some time. Even the downtrodden ven...
In this month's podcast: In addition to the usual analysis of corporate activity and valuations, this month’s ‘spotlight’ is on growth trends, providing an overview of current market growth rates, some context on where we are relative to recent highs and lows, and our view on the outlook. In particular, we analyse why, as Software sector growth remains robust, parts of the ICT Services sector still have some way to go. M&A activity received the expected pre-budget boost, though this impact h...
In addition to our customary monthly updates, this month’s show has an AI flavour as we analyse the latest product announcements from key players, revealing what they signal about AI adoption trends and spotlighting three critical takeaways. Meanwhile, in our monthly analysis of share prices, valuations and corporate activity: After a positive summer for share prices in the UK tech sector, September was disappointing with flat prices, in line with the UK market but underperforming a resurgent US...
While it feels like most tech CEOs are getting on with the new norm, the statistics over the summer tell a different story. While UK tech sector share prices were solid across July and August, and valuations are generally stable, corporate activity in all categories was down, even in the otherwise resilient private equity sector, where weak MBO numbers mean that year-to-date deal volumes are now flat. M&A activity also remains muted with increased polarisation between ICT Services and Softwa...
As we head into the summer lull, June was relatively quiet on the corporate activity front, although the massive valuation on Preqin’s sale to Blackrock certainly caught the eye. Trends observed this year have persisted, with strong private equity volumes contrasting with ongoing, though moderating, weaknesses in M&A, venture capital, and capital markets activities. Meanwhile, notwithstanding the undoubted success of the Raspberry Pi IPO, UK tech sector share prices and quoted valuations rem...
The patchy recovery continued in May, marked by a notable pop in UK share prices. Trading conditions continue to be mixed but are improving overall, while evidence of the gap between the AI haves and have-nots is growing. Regarding corporate activity, private equity continues to be the bright spot; fundraising numbers clearly suggest that VC has turned a corner, but it was another flat month for M&A. Meanwhile, there’s good and bad news on the IPO front. The good news is that Raspberry Pi ha...
Over the last year, I've been working on a major research project on AI strategy. The genesis of this research programme was an AI-focused panel session at the 2023 Megabuyte CEOStrategy Offsite. The depth of audience engagement in that panel session, but also what appeared to be a lack of clear thinking around strategy on AI, left me in little doubt that there was more research needed in this critical area. So I set about sense checking that interpretation with multiple CEOs. And the consensus ...
In April, some familiar trends became more pronounced in the UK tech sector - the most striking of which was the increasing juxtaposition of confidence levels between private equity and the capital markets. There were no fewer than four billion-dollar private equity deals announced - the Darktrace P2P and SBOs from Focus, Rimes, and Zellis – with only three small follow-on offerings in reply from the stock market. Soggy share prices once again only served to underline the stock market gloom, eve...
March was a busy month for public company results, painting a solid picture overall. Nonetheless, there were notable exceptions as share prices and public company valuations remained stagnant. Looking at deal flow, a superficial analysis of the data suggests that activity levels in March mirrored those of January and February – and were notably lower than the levels achieved in Q1 2023. While this observation holds true, it overlooks some crucial underlying trends, the most striking of which is ...
February in the UK tech sector continued to prove the notion that downturns are sudden and universal whereas recoveries are slow and patchy. While some companies report improved trading, others are still finding it hard going, especially those focused on the financial services sector. Share prices were weak in the UK but much stronger in the US, evidencing an emerging (and worrying) trend that the UK is not benefiting from the AI bounce. Deal volumes remain subdued, with similar trends to the pr...
It has been a rather subdued start to the year in most parts of the UK tech sector, but the overall picture does seem to be improving. Trading news, of which there has been plenty, is broadly positive with the emphasis very much on utilising operational leverage to build back to the Rule of 40. Share prices on both sides of the Atlantic consolidated recent gains, but UK stock market corporate activity is still at rock-bottom. Once again, private equity activity was robust with SBOs leading the w...
As we kick off 2024, this month’s Megabuyte CEOBarometer follows a slightly different format. In addition to reviewing all of the key share price and corporate activity trends for 2023, this month’s show is all about looking forward to the coming year and beyond. We present on our 10 key predictions for 2024, exploring tech demand trends, valuation dynamics, and the outlook for corporate activity. Focused on actionable insights, we also share five key recommendations for tech company Boards look...
In this month's podcast: Finally, there's some positive news to discuss regarding UK tech share prices, as they surged by 11% in November, hinting at the first signs that investors anticipate brighter prospects ahead. Let's hope that this upturn proves to be sustainable this time. Unfortunately, that's where the positive developments for this month largely conclude. Trading conditions remain challenging, and indications from FDM and Kainos updates suggest a continued deterioration. Moreover, act...
In this month's podcast: After a brief summer uptick, the UK tech sector faced a Q4 setback, grappling with tough trading conditions, escalating costs, and, in some cases, excessive leverage. October's 5% drop in tech sector share prices pushed valuations to a decade low, dimming the optimism sparked earlier in the year. Capital investments from venture capitalists hit a five-year low, and apart from public takeovers, M&A activities stagnated. While the private equity market offered some rel...
In this month’s podcast: The market adapts to the 'new norm' of higher interest rates and lower valuations, witnessing a thaw in the SBO market and a resurgence in VC funding in September. However, persistent weakness in M&A volumes, burdened by increased debt servicing costs, prevails. Tech share prices, especially in software, hit a 5-year low, hindering the revival of capital markets deal activity.
In this month’s podcast: The summer got off to a roaring start with strong share prices and enhanced corporate activity, but August rolled back much of the gains. Overall, UK tech sector share prices were broadly flat across July and August, modestly underperforming the wider market, and the picture was similar in the US. Public company valuations have largely stabilised at their lower levels but there is still some price discovery going on in the private equity world. Kerridge’s buyout by CapVe...
In this month’s podcast: While UK tech sector share prices were stronger in June, valuations remain stubbornly low, especially in ICT Services. Meanwhile, the US tech sector continues its rapid recovery with a 33% jump in the tech-heavy NASDAQ so far this year compared to just 7% in the UK. Nevertheless, confidence in capital markets does seem to be recovering, albeit from rock bottom levels, with more fundraising and M&A activity amongst listed businesses. Likewise, AI-driven green shoots c...
April: What a difference a month makes: the UK tech sector marks time as the mini banking crisis weighs heavily on sentiment while the quoted markets are rocked by the WANdisco sh*t show.
November: Despite clear signs of a trading slowdown in enterprise tech spending, Trans-Atlantic share prices hold steady. And in news that will surprise no-one, private equity deals continue apace.
