Last year’s Brexit vote may have led to a fall in the number of merger and acquisition transactions notified to Irish authorities last year, according to A&L Goodbody.

The Review of Irish Merger Control in 2016, published by A&L Goodbody’s EU, competition and procurement group, confirms a 14 per cent decrease in the number of deals notified to the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (CCPC) in 2016, with 67 deals notified last year compared to 78 notified in 2015.

Dr Vincent Power, partner and head of EU, competition and procurement at A&L Goodbody, said: “The drop in merger notifications in 2016 may well have been related to the uncertainty generated by Brexit because the drop was very notable in the fourth quarter with a fall from 26 transactions in 2015 to 19 in 2016.

“While this uncertainty may have slowed down M&A activity in general for the moment, Brexit may not actually have that much of an impact on EU competition.

“Even if Brexit proceeds, the EU would still have power to block certain deals relating to the UK even after it leaves the EU, meaning Brexit does not mean ‘total Brexit’.”

The most active sectors for M&A deals notified to the CCPC during 2016 were commercial property, hotels, food & drink and the healthcare/pharma industries.