Latest Corporate Deal Data Analysed By Irwin Mitchell

The latest corporate deal statistics from Experian MarketIQ have revealed a fall in the number of transactions within the UK’s manufacturing sector.

The independent Experian MarketIQ report, which is derived from the Corpfin global M&A database, was published this week. It found that so far this year, there has been 1,060 deals completed in the sector. This is compared to 1,360 transactions during the same period in 2016.

The study did however highlight that the average size of deals completed has risen from £53.5m in 2016 to £64m in 2017.

So far this year, 30% of M&A in the sector has involved a UK business being targeted by a buyer from overseas. Experian’s data showed that where UK manufacturing firms were the target in a cross border transaction, US companies were the most active, followed by businesses based in Germany.

Chris Rawstron, partner and National Head of Corporate at Irwin Mitchell, said:

Expert Opinion

“Recent reports have highlighted that the manufacturing sector continues to grow. The increases are slow and I think this subdued growth in output is being reflected in lower confidence and lower deal volumes.

“Closer analysis reveals that deal performance in 2017 was at its strongest at the start of the year. There are signs, however, of improvement in the most recent quarter. Hopefully this can be built on for the remainder of the year and into 2018.”

“There are other grounds for optimism. It is encouraging, for example, to see that the average deal size has increased since last year. It’s also pleasing that businesses here are not only attractive to buyers based overseas, but have the ambition to grow their operations by targeting companies in different countries.”
Chris Rawstron - Partner

Earlier this week, the latest IHS Markit/CIPS Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) increased from September’s figure of 55.9 to 56.3. 

The latest reading for October marks the 15th consecutive month of growth for UK manufacturing. New orders and output growth remain strong and continue to grow despite increasing cost pressures on the sector. It said that growth has come in the form of increasing exports and domestic demand, supplying a steady stream of new orders to the sector.