Mergers and acquisitions activity is to double this year despite persistently weak market conditions, according to a senior management consultant in the UK.

Peter Kilgour, a managing director of the UK division of Towers Perrin, the management consultancy firm, said he expected M&A activity to increase from $400bn (€358.2bn) worth of deals last year to double that figure this year. His views contrast with those of many M&A professionals who bemoan the lack of deals and predict only the slightest of upturns in activity this year at best.