Deal values drop but volumes hold up
THE value of deals announced in the North West during the first quarter of 2011 dropped to £3.4bn in the first quarter of 2011, compared with £3.9bn last year.
However, the volume of deals done remained the same at 142. However, this was a slight increase on the previous quarter, where the 137 deals with a value of £2.7bn were completed.
The figures, provided by corporate finance house Experian, show that deal volumes within the region remained reasonably healthy, particularly as last year’s comparative figure contained the £955m sale of Cheshire-based Pets at Home to US private equity firm Kohlberg Kravis Roberts.
Nationally, deal volumes dropped from 1,153 last year to 937 but the value increased from £45.3bn to just below £48bn.
Wendy Smith, business development manager at Experian Corpfin, said: “2011 hasn’t yet brought the rise in deal activity many had hoped for as appetite for higher risk, high return proposals remain low. However, the UK still fared a slightly better than the rest of Europe.
“Within the UK, we have seen some regional pockets that out-performed the national trend. Wales, the North West of England and Yorkshire all saw an increase in the volume of deals quarter-on-quarter.”
“This shows that those businesses that present good quality opportunities are still finding the funding to get deals off the ground.”
