Deals are thin on the ground.
In the mid-market M&A landscape, transaction volumes have declined significantly over the past 12 months. According to Pitchbook, European mid-market deal activity fell 28% year-on-year, with the UK seeing some of the most pronounced slowdowns. Caution around interest rates, geopolitical risk, and valuations has pushed many funds into a holding pattern, while others continue to chase a shrinking pool of quality opportunities.
But while investment teams scramble for origination strategies and intermediaries recycle the same auction processes, a growing number of funds are tapping into a much less crowded channel:
Non-executives.
Why Non-Execs See Deals First
It’s no secret: the best transactions rarely go to market. They surface quietly, months – or even years – before a corporate finance advisor is engaged. Who’s in the room when those early conversations happen?
Non-executives.
These board advisors often sit alongside founders and management teams at critical inflection points: product breakthroughs, international expansion, succession planning, or the creeping sense that now might be the right time to consider a strategic partner.
They’re not just boardroom observers. They’re sounding boards, trusted confidants, and occasionally—kingmakers.
And with over 27,000 non-executives and chairs across more than 50,000 SME boardrooms, Virtualnonexecs (VNXD) has become the largest independent community of boardroom talent in the UK, and increasingly, a powerful deal signal network for private equity.
The Deal Window: £5M to £100M Revenue Is the Sweet Spot
While many private equity firms chase unicorns or big-ticket corporates, the bulk of the UK’s entrepreneurial economy sits in the £5m to £100m revenue range. It’s exactly this space – owner-managed, founder-led, often under-advised – where non-executives make the biggest impact.
And where deals still happen.
Every month, VNXD non-execs report new capital requirements, exits being explored, or management teams in search of a strategic partner. It’s this “on-the-ground” intelligence that is rapidly positioning VNXD as the go-to M&A origination layer for PE funds.
The Numbers Behind the Trend
- Mid-market PE deals down: Across Europe, private equity mid-market activity saw a notable contraction in H1 2025. Multiple reports point to a growing backlog of capital and a scarcity of proprietary deal flow.
- Rise of off-market sourcing: Funds are shifting budgets away from auction-based dealmaking and toward building networks and direct origination teams.
- Non-execs are scaling with their boards: The VNXD network reflects this – non-executives are being appointed earlier and with clearer mandates around growth, exit planning, or institutional readiness.
From Trusted Advisor to Deal Signal
What’s emerging is a new model: where non-executives, by virtue of their embedded role, become intelligence nodes in the PE ecosystem.
VNXD is formalising this. Through its DealDirect and Operator Network tools, funds can now access redacted deal signals, commission searches for NEDs with deep sector knowledge, or even fund introductions – all off-market, often pre-intermediated, and always from inside the boardroom.
The Future of Deal Origination?
As one mid-market investor recently put it:
“We’ve spent years chasing deals through the same 12 advisors. But the moment we started talking to non-executives directly, we began seeing opportunities six months earlier – and without a process attached.”
The market might be quiet. But in the boardroom, the conversations haven’t stopped.
And VNXD’s 27,000-strong NED community is listening!