Sponsored by
Region's private equity deals rise despite crisis
THE number of private equity deals involving Yorkshire-based companies almost doubled in the second half of 2007 despite the credit crunch, according to the UK Regional Mid-Market Barometer.
The report, published by LDC and private equity magazine unquote, reveals that there were a total of 13 transactions valued at between 5m and 150m completed in the six months to December, compared to seven in the first half of the year.
The rise suggests that mid-market deals below 150m – the staple of Yorkshire's deal-making activity – have not been affected by the liquidity crisis, which took hold in July last year as the US sub-prime mortgage market collapsed.
The 2007 total reflects a strong overall performance for the region's mid-market, with 20 deals completing over the year compared with 18 in 2006.
The combined value of deals also increased from 657m to 680m.
Some of the larger deals involving Yorkshire companies included:
Inflexion's 44m buyout of Halifax based Eurotel Holdings in November.
Hermes Private Equity's 40m management buy-in of Leeds based Symington's in September.
LDC's 40m buyout of Doncaster based Direct Group in August.
John Swarbrick, senior director for LDC in Yorkshire, said: "The dislocation of the debt market led to a sharp slowdown in deal activity at the larger end of the market in the second half of last year.
"Yet the momentum in the mid-market continued to build thanks to a stream of high quality businesses coming to the market, a supportive banking community and a vibrant professional services community."
Deloitte topped the league table of corporate finance advisory firms handling mid-market transactions across the North, with 12 deals worth 475.5m. DLA Piper Rudnick Gray Cary was ranked the leading legal adviser with 14 deals worth 378.8m.
Nationally, 264 mid-market transactions completed during the whole of 2007, a 15 per cent rise on the 230 deals completed in 2006. Total value, however, dropped 9 per cent to 7.69bn.
Email to a friend
Print this page- Leeds lose Ward to Palace: Is there anyone they can afford now?
- Sheffield Wednesday leaving it late to hijack Leeds United over Ward
- As Snodgrass dithers over Leeds, Warnock throws a lifeline
- Ball is in Leeds United’s court over contract - Snodgrass
- Police turning blind eye to Asian voter fraud, says MP
Looking for...
Featured advertisers
Jobs
Search for a job
Motors
Search for a car
Property
Search for a house
Weather for Yorkshire
Friday 25 May 2012
Today
Sunny
Temperature: 10 C to 23 C
Wind Speed: 20 mph
Wind direction: East
Tomorrow
Sunny
Temperature: 8 C to 20 C
Wind Speed: 16 mph
Wind direction: East
