The amount of buy and build deals closed in Europe has tracked at the same rate recorded in the first quarter of the year, new findings reveal.

Despite a preliminary finding of 61 add-on acquisitions being noted during the second quarter of the year (compared with 63 over the same period in 2012), the average value of deals has climbed above the £65 million mark.

Whereas findings form Silverfleet Capital and mergermarket in the second quarter of 2012 showed 63 deals worth an average of £47 million, new findings reveal that the 61 deals noted so far were worth £66 million each. The average value is based on the 15 deals with disclosed values which occurred during the quarter.

Within Europe, the two significant add-ons recorded were the €303 million acquisition of ATC Group and €250 million add-on of Hochtief Solutions.

Neil MacDougall, managing partner of Silverfleet Capital, comments, ‘During the second quarter of 2013 there was a very noticeable increase in transaction size, with the average deal size at £66 million being the highest seen in the last seven quarters.

‘At the same time, the indications are that the number of add-ons will also have rebounded through to a lesser degree.’

With historical data normally showing that the volume of add-on deals is correlated with the volume of private equity-funded buy-outs in Europe, Silverfleet Capital predicts that the final number of add-ons completed in the second quarter will grow.

On a geographic breakdown, the study finds that the Nordic region was the area with strongest growth – while France posted an improvement from a low number of Q1 buy and build deals.