Deale facilitates 4% of lower mid-market transactions in Spain

Deale, the first independent digital M&A platform focused on helping SMEs connect more efficiently with investors and advisors, closed the first quarter of 2026 with the strongest start in its history. Between January and March, the company facilitated the completion of 10 transactions, with a total deal value of more than €41 million. This figure represents 4% of lower mid-market transactions in Spain during the period and accounts for nearly half of all deals formalized by Deale in 2025.

In a context in which activity in the Spanish lower mid-market appears to have slowed in the first quarter of the year, with a 17% decline compared to the same period in 2025, the firm’s activity represents a 400% increase in the number of transactions facilitated compared to the previous year (vs. 2 transactions in the same period), confirming the consolidation of Deale’s digital model in M&A processes in Spain.

Profile of transactions facilitated by Deale

Regarding buyer types, they remain diversified throughout the quarter, although there is a stronger buying appetite from industrial players and family offices, which account for around 60% of the total. In addition, investor repeat usage stands out: 20% of buyers had already used Deale previously to execute corporate acquisitions.

From the seller side, 90% of cases are driven by the lack of generational succession, while the remainder are linked to expansion strategies or efficiency-driven exits.

The companies transacted during the quarter had an average turnover of €8.6 million and an average EBITDA of €814,000, reflecting strong profitability profiles and value creation for buyers.

The start of the year has also been marked by strong sectoral diversity. Deale has intermediated transactions in consulting, education, advanced manufacturing, dentistry, IT services, façade restoration, and industrial coatings, reflecting the breadth and depth of activity in the lower mid-market.

Among the most notable transactions are:

The sale of 90% of Grupo IC to the French group Léon Grosse, a benchmark in luxury retail construction for major international brands, in a deal where Anquor acted as corporate finance advisor;
Codent Healthcare Group’s acquisition of Tiragram dental clinic as part of its inorganic growth strategy in the dental sector. This is its seventh transaction in the last six months, consolidating its goal of building a leading network of independent dental clinics in Spain;
The sale of a company specialized in education, communication, local development, and consulting with more than twenty years of experience, to a family office;
The industrial group Grup Olivar’s acquisition of a company supplying industrial components for the aerospace, railway, and automotive sectors, among others, marking its second acquisition through the platform;
An investment group’s acquisition of Aplitec Vallès, a company specialized in technical coatings for the railway and healthcare sectors, strengthening its position as an industrial investor;
Individual investor José David Fernández’s acquisition of Polaris Informática y Comunicaciones, a company specialized in IT solutions and maintenance for SMEs and institutions, with a strong focus on the tourism sector and the goal of developing a new business model;
And the acquisition of a Catalan company specialized in the design and manufacturing of products for psychomotor education by a family office.

According to Gerard García, founder and CEO of Deale, “In a quarter in which the market has reduced its activity, reaching 4% of lower mid-market transactions in Spain and seeing repeat buyers return to Deale reinforces the validity of our model. This shows that the Spanish lower mid-market continues to offer attractive opportunities and that M&A digitization is no longer a promise, but an operational reality. We increasingly see more buyers, especially industrials, family offices, and individuals, as well as advisors using the platform to identify opportunities more efficiently and execute processes more effectively. All of this confirms that the platform is delivering speed, efficiency, and access to opportunities in a traditionally highly fragmented segment.”

M&A in the Spanish lower mid-market

In the first quarter of the year, Spain recorded a total of 250 transactions, a 17% decrease compared to the same period last year, when 302 deals were closed. By geography, Madrid, Barcelona, Valencia, Santa Cruz de Tenerife, and Alicante concentrate most lower mid-market activity in Spain. In terms of sectors, wholesale and retail trade, manufacturing, professional, scientific and technical activities, and construction are the most active in terms of company acquisitions.

Deale now has more than 23,000 registered users on its platform, including 10,380 investors, 9,500 SMEs in the sale process, and 3,000 advisors, and expects to facilitate up to 30 transactions in 2026.

About Deale

Deale is the first independent digital M&A platform in Europe dedicated to simplifying company transactions. The platform has more than 23,000 registered users, including 9,500 SMEs, 10,380 investors, and 3,000 advisors, and receives around 250 business sale proposals every week. The tool also reduces response times in transactions, completing deals in an average of 120 days. In its fourth year, the platform has already reached more than 1,770 satisfied users. It has also received the award for Most Innovative Start-up at the 15th Cinco Días Business Innovation Awards 2023 and was a finalist in the 4th Expansión Start Up Awards and the CaixaBank Emprende XXI Challenge, standing out among more than 100 projects in the financial innovation category

https://www.deale.es/