M&A is a clear theme for the UK Consumer sector: Aided by superabundant capital and low interest rates, the uptick in deal activity seen in May and June, compared to the first four months of 2019, continued into July and now early August. M&A has also broadened out across several Consumer sub-sectors (e.g. leisure, homewares, home improvement, pet care and beauty) having been more narrowly concentrated on the UK clothing retail sector and the UK pubs industry earlier in the year. Buyers have been a mixture of trade buyers and private equity operators. We also note the re-emergence of cross-border deals (e.g. Majestic Wine, Swallowfield, Focusrite, Portmeirion). Deal activity seems to be a response to many consumer companies already struggling to meet or exceed growth expectations, exacerbated by questions of how companies should navigate the new normal of a turbulent, disruptive world, and evolve their business models in response. There is no discernible unifying theme in the most recent deal activity, rather it is a mixture of: (1) achieving simplification and focus through demerger (e.g. Travis Perkins and the demerger of its Wickes DIY retailing business) and divestiture (e.g. Swallowfield); (2) scope M&A (e.g. Portmeirion, Focusrite, and boohoo Group) designed to accelerate top-line growth by adding attractive market segments, enhancing capabilities and opening up new markets; (3) scale M&A (e.g. Stonegate acquiring Ei Group) designed to achieve a lower cost position through benefits of scale (namely, cost synergies), building market power and other industry consolidation benefits; (4) establishing an initial foothold in interesting spaces (e.g. Pets at Home and Next); (5) bidders considering the long-term investment nature of the business as more suitable to the private market (e.g. easyHotel and Merlin Entertainment); and (6) forced sales process/capitulation due to financial distress/existential crisis (e.g. Bonmarché and MySale).