West Midlands moves up M&A league table

THE West Midlands has moved ahead of Yorkshire in the mergers and acquisitions activity table but still lags behind the North West.

The North West retained its status as the top region outside London for deals worth between £2m and £10m last year.

According to Manchester law firm Berg’s M&A Barometer, which is based on research by Experian Corpfin, the West Midlands and Yorkshire swapped third and fourth place during 2011.

The West Midlands jumped ahead of Yorkshire in the regional stakes, being the third most active region with 19 transactions (9% share) valued at £89m. Yorkshire lost its position after dropping 3% of market share from 9% to 6%.

Professional and business services transactions accounted for 25% of deals last year, taking over from manufacturing (23%). IT and computing was the other key sector with a 14% share of activity.

Stephen Foster, partner and head of corporate at Berg, said: “With the North West and West Midlands being the UK’s manufacturing hubs, but also major professional services centres, it is no surprise that they are now the leading driver for M&A activity outside London.”