Member Article

Cross-border deals soar in the North West

Inward investment has rocketed in the North West over the past six months, with a reported 71% rise in foreign companies making deals in the region.

Statistics released by business advisory firm, Deloitte, have shown that cross-border deals in the North West came to a £583m total in the six months up to the end of June 2013.

The region secured 21 inbound deals, compared with 20 in the first half of 2012 when total foreign investment came to £340m.

Key agreements with foreign firms included the £385million takeover of Leyland-based Enterprise by Spanish infrastructure group Ferrovial and the acquisition of Wilmslow-based nursery and workplace childcare provider Kidsunlimited by US-listed Bright Future Family Solutions for £45million.

Outbound activity from the North West also topped last year’s figures, with 13 deals worth £3.6bn in comparison with 15 deals in the same period last year, worth just £93m.

This was largely accounted for by the buyout of Hindustan for £3.5billion by consumer products giant Unilever, which has large sites in Wirral and Trafford Park, near Manchester.

The remaining outbound deals were far smaller, including the acquisition of the French division of European parts distributer Quinton Hazell by Bury-based car care products group Tetrosyl and Burnley-based engineering firm MB Aerospace’s acquisition of US aero-engine component manufacturer Delta Industries in a deal backed by Washington DC private equity firm Arlington Capital Partners.

Aziz Ul-Haq, corporate finance partner at Deloitte in the North West, commented: “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.”

Figures came from Deloitte’s North West Cross-Border Deals Radar, which measures cross-border M&A activity in the North West and is based on data provided by Experian Corpfin.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Miranda Dobson .