Deal values across the region ‘spike sharply’ to £17.5bn
Deal values across Yorkshire and the Humber have “spiked sharply” to £17.5bn confirmed this year so far – a 327% increase from the £4.1bn in the same period during 2017.
According to data released by Experian detailing transactions so far for 2018, Yorkshire and Humber stood out as one of the few UK regions to see year on year growth in transaction volume. Deal activity in the Yorkshire and Humber region has risen by 3% so far in 2018, with 389 deals recorded this year compared to 378 transactions announced for the corresponding period in 2017.
Yorkshire and Humber-based companies were involved in 7.6% of all UK deals, and contributed 6.2% of their total value over the year. Those topping the list were the Asda-Sainsbury’s merger and the Stars Group acquisition of Sky Betting and Gaming.
Experian said: “Manufacturing was again the main industry in the region with 125 deals, representing over 32% of all transactions, closely followed by wholesale and retail with 117 deals (a 30% share). The wholesale and retail industry was well ahead in the value rankings, with the sector being responsible for just over £12.4bn worth of all transactions within the region.”
PwC and RSM were the most active financial advisers in the region during 2018, having each been cited in 14 deals.
Morgan Stanley was top of the value rankings having advised on three transactions for £10.2bn; the largest of these was a role on the buy-side of Sainsbury’s combination with Leeds-headquartered Asda . This £7.3bn transaction – the largest ever in the UK food retail space – also saw Gibson Dunn & Crutcher act on behalf of Walmart, which was an influential factor in them topping the legal value rankings having advised on two deals worth just under £10.7bn.
Gibson Dunn & Crutcher also provided legal advice for Canadian-based Stars Group on its £3.4bn acquisition of Leeds-based Sky Betting and Gaming, the second largest deal recorded within the Yorkshire and Humber region during 2018. The highest legal adviser by volume was Clarion Solicitors, involved in 22 transactions for a recorded consideration of approximately £31m.
The number of small deals dropped from 76 recorded in 2017, to 59 transactions announced this year, a 22% decrease. This has been reflected in the value of small Yorkshire and Humber transactions recorded at £159m, a 29% fall from the figure of £223m announced last year.
The region saw 51 mid-market deals announced during 2018, in comparison to the 30 recorded for the same period last year – 70% increase. The value of those transactions reached almost £1.5bn; up from £807m in 2017, a spike of 86%.
There were four large transactions valued at £1.3bn announced within Yorkshire and Humber in the first nine months of 2018. This was down from the corresponding period in 2017, when 11 deals were announced for a total of almost £3.1bn.
Five mega transactions were announced within the region, with the value of those deals just under £14.6bn. However, none of these were announced within the last quarter.
