Figures Support International Trends Identified At Irwin Mitchell

A local dealmaker has pointed to the importance of maintaining investment in a skilled workforce, high speed transport links and regulatory incentives, following statistics published by Mergermarket which reveal that 70% of all UK M&A activity in 2012 came from foreign investments.

The statistics show that foreign investments added up to £57.1bn last year - the highest annual value since £74.8bn in 2008. Overall UK M&A totalled £80.6bn in 2012, up 5.1 per cent compared with 2011, and accounted for 18.6 per cent of total European deal activity.

UK cross-border outbound activity in amounted to £43.1bn, down by a third compared to 2011, recording its lowest value since 2009. The fourth quarter figure of £14.3bn however marked a third consecutive quarterly rise, up from £6.5bn in the first quarter of 2012.

Matt Ainsworth, Corporate Partner at the Sheffield office of Irwin Mitchell, said: “These figures come as no surprise and yet again show how important inward investment is to the UK economy.

“At Irwin Mitchell we have, in recent years, seen a significant amount of M&A activity with foreign companies in the Yorkshire region, particularly from the US. It is important that focus is given to maintaining and improving local skilled workforces, high-speed transport links and regulatory incentives to ensure that we remain competitive and continue to attract and increase these levels of investment going forward.”