North West the most attractive Northern Powerhouse region for US investors

US companies are choosing to invest more in the North West than any of the other regions making up the Northern Powerhouse, according to new data.

Of the 93 M&A deals involving US buyers that have targeted the North since the start of 2013, 51 took place in the North West, while 34 were in Yorkshire and eight in the North East, according to research from professional services firm Deloitte.

In 2015, outbound M&A activity from US firms investing in the UK hit £32.7bn across 322 deals, of which 29% were in the Northern Powerhouse regions.

The manufacturing industry accounted for close to a third, with technology, media and telecommunications (TMT) in second place at 22%. Consumer business, meanwhile, accounted for 16%.

Deloitte’s assistant director of corporate finance, Iain Marlow, said: “While US investors are concentrating heavily on London and the South East, the regions are playing a vital role in attracting investment into the UK.

“Given our rich industrial past it is no wonder that manufacturing continues to underpin deal flow in the North, but the data also highlights another important trend, and that is the growing success of our TMT industry.”

He continued: “Ongoing investment in technology and infrastructure across the North is ensuring that the Northern Powerhouse remains an exciting place for international companies and investors to do business.

“Having clearly achieved a lot in attracting investment, not just from the US but also increasingly from China and India, we now need to ensure that British businesses, across all the regions, have the tools they need to capitalise on the exciting opportunities that lie in the US.”

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