Deals slump but values rise to £3.6bn

THE number of deals in Yorkshire slumped by almost 40% between July and September compared with the previous quarter according to new figures.

However, the total value of transactions rose to £3.6bn according to financial information company Corpfin.

There were 78 deals recorded in the region – a 38.6% drop on the previous quarter’s 127 transactions – but overall the total value increased by 223.2%.

However many Yorkshire-based advisers have been working on deals outside the region with Alison Legg of KPMG in Leeds advising private equity group Dunedin on the management buyout of Jersey-based Rathbone Trust International for £23.5m, which was announced today.

Corpfin said KBC Peel Hunt was the most active financial advisor with five transactions, while DLA Piper toped the table for legal advisors with six transactions, twice as many as any of its competitors.

The research was based on transactions of more than £500,000 announced between July 1 and September 30, 2008.

There were five transactions over the £100m mark – compared to two in the previous quarter, whilst two transactions topped £1bn.

The figures were boosted by the £1.1bn investor buyout, led by Lion Capital, of Young’s Seafood owner Food-Vest Group in Grimsby, and the £1.4bn cash offer for Imperial Energy Corporation, which has its registered head office in Leeds by Cyprus firm Jarpeno which was announced in July.

There were five transactions within the £10m and £100m bracket in Yorkshire – a 70.6% slump compared to the 17 deals in the previous quarter.

The deals totalled £106m – a drop of 81.2% from £566.4m recorded in Q2.

Small deals of under £10m accounted for 15 transactions and valued £56.1m compared to last quarter’s 28 deals which totalled £103.1m.