North West private equity market slows

THE North West’s private equity buyout market has seen its slowest quarter for more than two years.

According to the latest figures from the Centre for Management Buyout Research just four deals – worth £79.8m – were completed in the third quarter.

The research, sponsored by Equistone Partners Europe, shows 49 UK deals completed worth £3.5bn, with an average deal value of £67.4m. In the North West the average deal was worth around £20m. During the same period last year there were 10 North West deals worth £187m.

The regional picture was dominated by Equistone’s £58m creation of Concept Life Sciences in July through the acquisition and merger of Peakdale Molecular, Resource & Environmental Consultants and Scientific Analysis Laboratories.

Equistone partner Steve O’Hare said: “After such a strong period for the North West, it was inevitable that the region would go through a lean spell at some point, particularly given the impact summer holidays have on completions.

“It is clear that the economy is in a better state than previous years and there is a greater sense of confidence from management teams looking to buy and sell. Deal pipelines also remain strong and the consensus is that this third quarter lull will pick up on the run up to Christmas and into 2015.”

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