Overseas investment in region has doubled over past 12 months
The amount of investment made by overseas companies in North West businesses has doubled in the past year.
Figures from Deloitte’s latest Cross Border Deals Radar report, carried out in partnership with Experian, found that £123m was invested by foreign companies in the third quarter of 2018 – more than twice the £50m seen during the same period last year.
This comes despite a reduction in the total number of transactions, with 11 deals completed in the last quarter compared to 17 in 2017.
The largest deal completed over the period include the £100m sale of Blackpool-based Taurus 3, which owns the Tangerine Confectionery brand, to Valeo Foods Group.
Other deals included the sale of the European personal care liquids business of McBride to Dutch cosmetics company Koninklijke, and the acquisition of Liverpool social care business Homecarers by Ciece headquartered in Madrid.
In contrast North West companies refrained from investing in overseas assets in the last quarter, with just four deals worth £302m completed.
The value is boosted by the £250m acquisition of US-based Minit Mart by Blackburn headquartered EG Group, completed in early September.
The total remains a significant reduction compared to the previous year, which saw 16 transactions valued at more than £2.8bn.
Despite ongoing market uncertainty surrounding Brexit, appetite for North West assets from Europe remained strong, with 60 per cent of transactions completed involving a European nation.
With five deals, the US maintained its position as most prolific dealmaker, followed by Portugal, Spain, Sweden and Australia.
Olly Tebbutt, partner at Deloitte in the North West, said: “Given current market conditions, it is understandable that North West companies are cautious when it comes to making overseas acquisitions.
“However, it is encouraging to see that appetite has not weakened from both the US and across Europe, underlining the importance of the region to solidifying the UK’s global position.
“Given ongoing negotiations surrounding the specific terms of Brexit, it will be interesting to see how this will affect M&A in the next six months as the UK continues to transition, but these figures clearly highlight the value that the North West has, both in the UK and overseas.”
