Consumer & Retail |

Quarterly M&A Update | January 2026

Latest market trends, valuation levels and deals

2026 – can consumer sentiment finally rebound?

Q4 2025 remained shaped by macro uncertainty and a cautious consumer backdrop, particularly in Germany where sentiment continues to be dominated by a strong savings bias. The holiday season again fell short of many retailers’ expectations, underlining muted demand heading into 2026.

Despite this, European Consumer & Retail deal activity was robust, with 365 transactions in Q4 2025, driven mainly by resilient segments such as Food Retail, Health & Wellness, value-for-money concepts and omnichannel enablers, while larger discretionary deals remained selective.

Valuations held broadly stable at an average of 12.4x EBITDA. Defensive categories and differentiated business models with pricing power continued to outperform, whereas more cyclical segments stayed under pressure in a promotion-driven environment.

Looking ahead, the key question for 2026 is whether demand rebounds meaningfully or consumer caution persists.

We are delighted to share the latest issue of our Consumer & Retail Quarterly M&A Update for the fourth quarter of 2025. In this report, we provide an update on latest industry trends plus insights into valuation levels and recent transactions.

We hope you enjoy the read and look forward to your feedback.