Distressed Firms Currently Account For 1 in 8 Acquisitions

08/08/2011

The number of opportunities for investors looking to make distressed acquisitions remains high despite a fall in the number of transactions across Yorkshire - according to insolvency Partner at Irwin Mitchell, Andrew Walker.

Mr Walker made the comments following research by Experian Corpfin on behalf of the insolvency trade body R3 which found that distressed acquisitions continue to account for a significant proportion of deals in Yorkshire.

The figures show that in the first half of 2011, one in eight acquisitions in the region (16 out of 129) involved a business in administration or other formal insolvency procedure.

This compares to one in nine acquisitions (31 out of 267) during 2010 and one in six acquisitions (46 out of 255) during 2009 when activity was at its peak.

Andrew Walker, who is chair of R3 in Yorkshire and partner at Irwin Mitchell, comments:

“Distressed acquisitions have become a key part of the deals landscape over the past three years. Investors have been taking the opportunity to acquire businesses and assets while values are low and we have seen the emergence of specialist turnaround investors.

“However in recent months there have been fewer bargains and many investors are struggling to acquire credit to make a purchase.

“For those investors who have the money supply they should remain alert as we can expect to see a continued supply of decent investment opportunities in the run-up to recovery, despite the number of insolvent deals recently falling.”