Our key takeaways on Software, Digital Services, Fintech, Digital Media and Marketplaces.

SOFTWARE
Jonathan Cantwell, Partner at GP Bullhound, said: “In Q4 2020, the software market saw a significant uplift in investment and M&A activity. Public valuations for SaaS companies are at all-time highs, seeing 20x revenue on average. While there were clear winners and losers in 2020 from a vertical perspective, the shift to digital across industries is apparent and here to stay. This has in turn fueled significant activity on the investment front, and on the heels of this, we expect M&A to continue to accelerate as software consolidators increasingly seek the best technologies to enhance existing offerings and differentiate with entirely new products.”

Download GP Bullhound’s Q4 2020 Global Software Market Perspectives here.

DIGITAL SERVICES
Simon Nicholls and Greg Smith, Partners at GP Bullhound, commented: “We continue to see the demand for cloud-transformation focused consultancies, which allows businesses to maximise their ability to innovate and maintain flexibility. Consolidators are also continuing to build out specialist capabilities in new markets, such as gaming and esports as well as in new channels such as the opportunity presented by social commerce.”

Download GP Bullhound’s Q4 2020 Global Digital Services Market Perspectives here.

FINTECH
Claudio Alvarez, Partner at GP Bullhound, said: “In our Q4 report, we discuss the current trends in the sector including Bitcoin’s turbulent rise, the momentum in Banking-as-a-Service (BaaS) and a landmark year for insurtech, and feature CEO/founder profiles from companies in the payments, neobanking, and buy now, pay later (BNPL) space.”

Download GP Bullhound’s Q4 2020 Global Fintech Market Perspectives here.

DIGITAL MEDIA
Alec Dafferner, Partner at GP Bullhound, commented: “Q4 saw significant financial rewards for digital media companies. While live music continues to take place exclusively through the screen, the catalogues and rights to music have appreciated in value. Also, advertisers have strayed from traditional TV platforms in favour of podcasts and games, ever increasing in popularity following the onset of COVID-19. Just in time for the new year, self improvement-focused consumer subscription apps have seen significant funding with their rise in popularity.”

Download GP Bullhound’s Q4 2020 Global Digital Media Market Perspectives here.

MARKETPLACES
Alessandro Casartelli, Executive Director at GP Bullhound, said: “This report investigates the huge growth that direct-to-consumer businesses saw in the last decade as part of the e-commerce boom, and their increasing shift towards selling exclusively through third-party marketplaces. Additionally, focused and niche marketplaces are becoming more prevalent, with cutting-edge shopping experiences tailored to high-value and hard-to-find specialised products. Finally, as digital transformation and AI continue to dominate the business landscape, conversational commerce tools are set to boost customer service and sales as they enable businesses to increase conversion and deliver a better customer experience.”

Download GP Bullhound’s Q4 2020 Global Marketplaces Market Perspectives here.

ASIAN TECH INVESTMENTS
Elsa Hu, Executive Director at GP Bullhound, commented: “With the continued recovery in domestic economies, China tech overseas investments have rebounded to levels last seen in Q4 2019, but with investments into Europe plummeting. European and US tech deals with Asian investors continued to recover, with assets in Europe in favour. While Europeans’ focus has shifted from Southeast Asia and India to China, European and US investor interest in Asian tech continues unabated.”

Download GP Bullhound’s Q4 2020 Asian Insights here.

About GP Bullhound
GP Bullhound is a leading technology advisory and investment firm, providing transaction advice and capital to the world’s best entrepreneurs and founders. Founded in 1999, the firm today has offices in London, San Francisco, Stockholm, Berlin, Manchester, Paris, Hong Kong, Madrid and New York. For more information, please visit www.gpbullhound.com

Enquiries
For enquiries, please contact:

SOFTWARE: Jonathan Cantwell, Partner, JONATHAN.CANTWELL@GPBULLHOUND.COM
DIGITAL SERVICES: Simon Nicholls, Partner, SIMON.NICHOLLS@GPBULLHOUND.COM
DIGITAL SERVICES: Greg Smith, Partner, GREG.SMITH@GPBULLHOUND.COM
FINTECH: Claudio Alvarez, Partner, CLAUDIO.ALVAREZ@GPBULLHOUND.COM
DIGITAL MEDIA: Alec Dafferner, Partner, ALEC.DAFFERNER@GPBULLHOUND.COM
MARKETPLACES: Alessandro Casartelli, Executive Director, ALESSANDRO.CASARTELLI@GPBULLHOUND.COM
ASIA: Elsa Hu, Executive Director, ELSA.HU@GPBULLHOUND.COM

For general enquiries, please contact marketing@gpbullhound.com