The private equity buyout market in the North West was reportedly the UK’s second most active last year, according to the latest published data from Centre for Management Buyout Research (CMBOR).
Their research revealed that in the North West area alone a total of 34 deals worth £1.63bn were completed in 2013, rating the region as second only to London for the year where a total of 38 deals worth £3.8bn were completed.
Nationally, the number of overall completed deals and their values fell from in 2013; £16.4bn to £13.5bn, with the number of transactions down from 206 to 183.
Key private equity deals completed in the North West during the year included the sale of B&M Bargains for more than £900m; the acquisition of Chester based Admiral Taverns to Cerberus Capital Management, the deal for hair products company GHD and the £73m management buyout of Stockport based online travel agent ‘On the Beach’. Between October and December, a total of six deals worth £119m were completed in the North West.
Steve O’Hare, partner at Equistone Partners Europe in the North of England, said: “Yet again, the North West continues to be one of the top performing regions in the UK and is only marginally behind London for private equity activity. The region continues to be a fertile place for entrepreneurs to grow their businesses.
“With growing confidence in the economy, we expect to see a similarly strong performance in 2014 as private equity continues to support growth in businesses both within the UK and internationally.”
Tim Morris, M&A partner at EY, one of the sponsors of the research, added: “Standout deals completed at the beginning of this year, including B&M Bargains and Admiral Taverns, have boosted confidence and driven activity in the region – making the North West one of the UK’s most active for private equity buyouts in 2013.
“We expect to see overall deal activity levels increase in 2014. In particular, we anticipate more primary buyouts from large corporates, as confidence in realising good value from the disposal of “non-core” subsidiaries has returned.”