# UK200Group Corporate Finance – 2022 M&A deal volumes flatline but average deal size decreases £800,000
Author:  Pal Sinha, Barnali 
Author URL: https://financedigest.com/author/pal-sinha-barnali
Published: 2018-05-29
Category: FINANCE
Category URL: https://financedigest.com/category/finance
Meta Title: UK200Group Analysis: M&A Deal Size Drops to £6.3M in
Meta Description: Discover key insights from the latest UK200Group analysis on M&A deals, showcasing a drop in deal size but stable volumes. Find out why acquirors are appro
URL: https://financedigest.com/uk200group-corporate-finance-2022-ma-deal-volumes-flatline-but-average-deal-size-decreases-800000html

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_**Nick Hammond**, Lead Adviser for Financial Services at_ _World Wide Technology_ _, highlights the need for Financial Services to take a future-proof approach to security as cyber breaches rise_

Nearly half the businesses in the UK have fallen victim to cyber-attacks or security breaches in the last year, costing them each thousands of pounds, according to new data from The 2018 Cyber Security Breaches Survey shows. [\[1\]](#_ftn1) Forty-threepercent of businesses reported cyber security breaches or attacks over the last 12 months, highlighting the growing need to future-proof against cyber breaches.

Investment in cybersecurity by finance and insurance firms doubled in the last year, and 51 percent of businesses have implemented all the five basic technical controls listed under the Government endorsed Cyber Essentials scheme. While this is certainly a step in the right direction, it is not enough to keep modern IT systems secure.

Years ago, [banks’ traditional legacy systems were not particularly difficult to protect](https://www.financedigest.com/fund-nature-protection-now-or-face-huge-losses-says-world-bank.html "Fund nature protection now or face huge losses, says World Bank"), even if their internal architecture was complex. Vital [data sets were typically kept inside the main structure, meaning that critical systems and data could be secured](https://www.financedigest.com/cyber-security-data-re-assurance.html "Cyber Security: Data ‘Re’-Assurance") by a firewall surrounding the system perimeter. But the shift to [digital systems](https://www.financedigest.com/the-role-embedded-finance-systems-will-play-as-commerce-goes-increasingly-digital.html "The Role Embedded Finance Systems Will Play as Commerce Goes Increasingly Digital") means that data and applications within a bank or financial organisation are no longer locked down with limited access in and out of the data centre.

The idea of having a fixed perimeter around a data centre – which you could [protect with firewall technology](https://www.financedigest.com/recent-technological-advancements-to-propel-growth-of-the-2k-protective-coatings-market-in-foreseeable-future.html "Recent Technological Advancements to Propel Growth of the 2K Protective Coatings Market in Foreseeable Future") – first began to shift just under a decade ago. Changes to the way financial services use technology means that information cannot simply be kept on a [closed system](https://www.financedigest.com/rain-water-harvesting-systems-market-to-expand-at-close-to-7-cagr-through-2031.html "Rain Water Harvesting Systems market to expand at close to 7% CAGR through 2031") and protected from external threats by a firewall. In [today’s digital world](https://www.financedigest.com/bridging-the-gap-between-banking-and-digital-accessibility-in-todays-digital-by-default-world.html "Bridging the Gap Between Banking and Digital Accessibility in Today’s ‘Digital by Default’ World"), data is now shared between thousands of locations.

Multiple third parties, such as [credit ratings](https://www.financedigest.com/sp-global-fined-1-1-million-euros-for-premature-credit-rating-publications.html "S&P Global fined 1.1 million euros for premature credit rating publications") and interbank payment services, need access to this data to provide their services. It is also [shared with employee and customer devices through mobile](https://www.financedigest.com/the-subsequent-decade-to-see-the-automotive-window-films-market-ride-on-shared-mobility-at-a-cagr-of-5.html "The subsequent decade to see the Automotive Window Films Market ride on shared mobility at a CAGR of 5%") banking apps and bring-your-own-device (BYOD) solutions, which have proved a challenge for many financial organisations.

[Banks are now faced with the challenge of a rapid rise](https://www.financedigest.com/the-future-of-financial-services-how-apis-are-fuelling-the-rapid-rise-of-open-banking.html "The future of financial services – how APIs are fuelling the rapid rise of Open Banking") in users interacting with their systems, making it impossible to simply draw a firewall around the IT infrastructure and thereby protect the data they hold.

In addition, the predicted explosion of connected devices – [expected to reach 20.8 billion globally](https://www.financedigest.com/citi-expects-global-equities-to-rally-18-by-end-2023.html "Citi expects global equities to rally 18% by end-2023") by 2020 – leaves IT systems much more vulnerable to attack, making it crucial to rethink the approach to security. The advent of online and mobile banking, cloud computing, third-party data storage and apps is a double-edged sword. While enabling significant [innovation and advances](https://www.financedigest.com/the-advanced-computed-tomography-scanners-market-to-have-growth-devised-on-innovation.html "The Advanced Computed Tomography Scanners Market to have growth devised on innovation"), they have also created a perimeter that is very difficult to define. This means that financial companies must take a [holistic technical approach](https://www.financedigest.com/a-holistic-approach-to-esg-is-the-best-chance-of-success-in-a-competitive-private-equity-investment-market.html "A holistic approach to ESG is the best chance of success in a competitive private equity investment market") to cybersecurity, which involves resisting attacks at the endpoint, network, cloud and application layers.

There is also a [growing trend for applications](https://www.financedigest.com/global-animal-pregnancy-test-kits-market-2021-swot-analysis-drivers-restraints-growing-opportunities-latest-trends-applications-and-forecast-to-2028.html "Global Animal Pregnancy Test Kits Market 2021 SWOT Analysis, Drivers, Restraints, Growing Opportunities, Latest Trends, Applications And Forecast To 2028") (such as SWIFT, the interbank payments software) and a bank’s underlying IT infrastructure to be managed by different teams with little or ineffective communication taking place between them. While the promise of new software applications available through cloud-based providers holds huge promise for organisations, the risk of [cyber breaches sky-rockets and the task of securing](https://www.financedigest.com/how-to-handle-cyber-security-during-mergers-and-acquisitions.html "How to Handle Cyber Security during Mergers and Acquisitions") critical systems is made much more complicated and challenging.

For [finance and insurance firms](https://www.financedigest.com/digital-marketing-for-finance-and-insurance-firms-is-changing-are-you-ready.html "Digital marketing for finance and insurance firms is changing — Are you ready?"), investing in and installing new security products is simply not enough. In fact, implementing such [products without an understanding of the way each critical application](https://www.financedigest.com/amino-acids-premixes-market-overview-analysis-with-application-product-source-opportunity-and-region-2022-2029.html "Amino Acids Premixes Market Overview & Analysis with Application, Product, Source, Opportunity and Region 2022-2029") is functioning in relation to the wider system is a futile investment and risks devastating internal disruption. It is [becoming increasingly common for financial services firms find themselves in complicated situations by hastily investing in security products and then suddenly arriving at the realisation that their chosen products cannot be effectively implemented into the already existing infrastructure](https://www.financedigest.com/are-banks-destined-to-merely-become-infrastructure-providers-in-the-banking-industry-of-the-future.html "Are banks destined to merely become infrastructure providers in the banking industry of the future?"). In the worst-case scenario, this [poses a serious risk to organisational security](https://www.financedigest.com/london-police-say-queens-funeral-poses-biggest-ever-security-test.html "London police say queen’s funeral poses biggest ever security test").

Gartner [predicts that throughout this year](https://www.financedigest.com/predicting-wind-storms-35-years-on-from-the-great-storm.html "Predicting Wind Storms 35 years on from the Great Storm "), 90 percent of organisations will lack an application integration strategy. but to wrap policies around applications, visibility of how applications are interacting within an organisation’s infrastructure is essential. [\[2\]](#_ftn2)  Without this, the company may find that a security policy creates a series of repercussions by stopping one application from talking to another.

To avoid this fate, companies can install new [applications on a production](https://www.financedigest.com/increasing-demand-for-extruders-and-compounding-machines-to-be-observed-in-speciality-plastics-and-master-batch-production-applications.html "Increasing Demand for Extruders and Compounding Machines to be Observed in Speciality Plastics and Master Batch Production Applications") network, which involves creating a test environment that emulates the “real” network as closely as possible. Financial players can create a software testing environment that is cost-effective and scalable by using virtualisation software to install multiple instances of the same or different [operating](https://www.financedigest.com/stellantis-reshuffles-european-financing-operations-through-new-jvs-with-banks.html "Stellantis reshuffles European financing operations through new JVs with banks") systems on the same physical machine.

As their network grows, additional physical machines can be added to the test environment so that it continues to simulate the production network and allows for the avoidance of [costly mistakes](https://www.financedigest.com/life-insurance-for-seniors-can-be-a-costly-mistake.html "Life Insurance For Seniors Can Be A Costly Mistake") in deploying new operating systems and applications or making big configuration changes to the software or network infrastructure.

If they are to truly tackle [threats of cyber breaches in a future-proof way](https://www.financedigest.com/the-best-ways-to-protect-your-business-from-cyber-threats-in-2021.html "The best ways to protect your business from cyber threats in 2021"), banks and financial services firms need a bespoke security policy that traces every interdependency within their systems and adapts protection policies to fit the complexities of the system. This will need to be led by business application owners and risk and compliance officers who can speak from the [top](https://www.financedigest.com/high-barrier-packaging-films-for-pharmaceuticals-market-set-for-5-cagr-through-2029-blisters-remain-top-application-area-says-a-new-fmi-report.html "High Barrier Packaging Films for Pharmaceuticals Market Set for 5% CAGR Through 2029; Blisters Remain Top Application Area, Says a New FMI Report") down about how each application needs to function and what the regulators require.

[\[1\]](#_ftnref1) [https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/uk-businesses-cyber-attacks-security-breach-figures-fraud-hackers-government-report-a8321931.html](https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/uk-businesses-cyber-attacks-security-breach-figures-fraud-hackers-government-report-a8321931.html)

[\[2\]](#_ftnref2) [https://www.gartner.com/newsroom/id/3233217](https://www.gartner.com/newsroom/id/3233217)


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