Wealthy individuals are expected to lead the merger and acquisition (M&A) market in Ireland this year as they seek alternative homes for their money.

It is no secret that Irish investment has been dominated by property over the past few years, but speakers at an M&A conference in Dublin yesterday said this was now starting to change.

"There are a lot of high net-worth individuals, therefore broking houses can take on a large number of private clients," said Leo Crawford, chief executive of BWG Group, adding that in this way the Irish market was different to the UK. "You are not going to see much venture capital money going forward."

According to the conference's speakers, the M&A market in Ireland will be driven by a combination of bank debt and private client money this year, something that is a consequence of the Celtic Tiger boom that Ireland has been experiencing. "People are now looking at companies more than property," said Alan Doherty, managing director of AIB Corporate Finance.

As for the state of the market, most commentators agree that despite the very healthy performance last year - M&A activity in Ireland jumped 75 per cent to €8.4 billion - things will remain strong again this year. "There has never been a better time to sell a business than at the moment," said Mr Crawford.

Speculating on the sectors that will see most activity in 2007, Mr Crawford said buyers could do worse than look at the food processing sector. He said that increasing price pressure from retailers and rising raw-material costs were putting an unbearable burden on these businesses.

Mr Doherty also said he expected to see more cross-country activity, with Irish companies making acquisitions outside the State and foreign companies coming into Ireland in search of targets.

Ed Lucas, publications editor with Mergermarket Group, the conference organisers along with Arthur Cox and KPMG, forecasted strong growth in the Irish M&A market this year, saying deals could rise by as much as 40 per cent, to €12 billion.