According to a new report from leading corporate finance house, Oghma Partners, the EMEA Sports Nutrition market is experiencing significant growth, driven by a shift in consumer behaviour towards health and fitness. The report, which provides a thorough analysis of the M&A activity in the EMEA Sports Nutrition market, examining 100 transactions that occurred from 2014 to 2024 YTD, shows that the market has grown at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 9.0% since 2019 and is expected to reach £33.0 billion by 2028.
This growth is fuelled by increased awareness of healthy lifestyles and government regulations like HFSS. Despite economic challenges, deal volume remains high, though larger transactions have been suppressed, with 44.0% of deals in the past three years under £10.0 million. Small deals have been prominent, indicating strong strategic interest in the sector. Valuations remain elevated, with high transaction multiples (EV/EBITDA: 14.9x, EV/Revenue: 1.9x). Oghma Partners anticipates sustained healthy valuations and a rise in larger deals as economic conditions improve, potentially aided by interest rate cuts. European buyers have dominated M&A activity, accounting for 88.5% of transactions, with the UK being the most prominent target region at 35.0%, followed by the Netherlands and Sweden
Further highlights include:
- EMEA Sports Nutrition sector has continued to remain particularly active with eight notable deals so far in 2024 as a continued shift in consumer behaviour towards health and fitness drives market growth.
- The global Sports Nutrition sector is a fast-growing market with a CAGR of 9.0% since 2019 and is expected to reach £33.0bn by 2028
- This is mainly due to the rising awareness of a healthy lifestyle and the implementation of regulations by governments such as ‘HFSS’3.
- The sector growth has been reflected in high deal volume, however, equivalent to the wider industry, the quantity of larger transactions has been supressed by macroeconomic headwinds with c. 44.0% of deals in the past three years being under £10.0m.
- The volume of small deals over the past five years highlights the strategic appetite within Sports Nutrition and high average transaction multiples (EV/EBITDA: 14.9×5 and EV/ Revenue: 1.9×5) illustrate that relative valuations within the sector have remained elevated despite recent economic turbulence.
Said Mark Lynch, Partner at Oghma Partners: “Looking forwards, we expect relative valuations to remain healthy and a higher volume of larger deals as economic conditions continue to improve. The prospect of further interest rate cuts will also provide potential buyers notably, private equity with a favourable opportunity to take advantage of this high-growth market. The EMEA Sports Nutrition M&A activity has been mainly driven by European buyers representing 88.5%. Over the past 10 years, trade buyers accounted for 78.0% whereas as financial comprised of 22.0%. In terms of targets’ location, the UK remains the most prominent region with 35.0% of targets followed by the Netherlands and Sweden.” For more visit oghmapartners.com
