Increasing appetite from foreign buyers says Deloitte

 THE value of North West deals led by foreign buyers in the first half increased by 71% on last year.

Deloitte’s North West Cross-Border Deals Radar shows there were 21 ‘inbound’ deals worth £583m in the six months to the end of June 2013, compared with 20 deals, worth £340m, in the first six months of 2012.  
 
Key deals included the £385m takeover of Leyland-based Enterprise by Spanish infrastructure group Ferrovial and the acquisition of Wilmslow-based nursery chain Kidsunlimited by US-listed Bright Future Family Solutions for £45m.
 
Outbound activity – North West buyers acquiring foreign assets – during the period came in at £3.6bn during the period, although this included Unilever’s £3.5bn acquisition of a controlling stake in Hindustan on the basis that it operates in the North West at Trafford Park and in the Wirral. There were 12 other deals in the period down from 15 last year worth £93m.

Aziz Ul-Haq, corporate finance partner at Deloitte in the North West, said: “It is encouraging to see transaction values increase for both inbound and outbound activity in the region, suggesting confidence continues to grow among North West businesses doing deals.
 
“In the past six months we’ve seen some larger deals, notably Unilever’s acquisition of Hindustan as it continues its push into the Indian market. However, more typical of North West economy are strategic foreign acquisitions by mid-sized firms like Tetrosyl and MB Aerospace to bolster their market share in key markets.
 
“Appetite for North West assets is also clearly strong from buyers in territories like the US and parts of Western Europe, along with an increased interest from emerging markets. We expect deal volumes to continue to rise throughout the remainder of 2013 in line with improvements in the current marketplace.”
 
Deloitte’s report is based on data provided by Experian Corpfin.