UK: Private equity across the regions

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With the IMF once again pushing up the UK's growth forecast, the country is fast-becoming the only bright spot in Europe.

Of course, the levels of activity from international firms is huge in London, driven predominantly by large-cap deals, which is often seen as the most obvious reason for the UK's current strength. However, it is arguably the rest of the UK that is driving the county's impressive growth in a continually difficult time for Europe.

By drilling down into deal activity over the past two years, it is the UK regions that have produced some of the country's most exciting and globally renowned transactions, both in investments and exits. The growing emergence of major global private equity firms in cities such as Birmingham, Aberdeen and Manchester is a clear indicator of not only the stability offered by companies operating in these locations, but their encouraging global growth prospects.

Steady as she goes
In terms of deal volume across the regions, while there has not been a significant uptick in transaction numbers, the regions are far less volatile compared with London. Where London-based deals took a hit on H1 2013, activity for that period in the regions remained consistent.

Furthermore, looking at activity since 2012, there is a small trend emerging in the Midlands and more so in the North for improved deal volume. The North has seen deal volume rise from 15 transactions in the second half of 2012, up to 23 in the first half of 2014. The encouraging level of activity is supported by the upbeat sentiment of regional market practitioners.

Through conversations with all of the participants involved in this report, it is clear that those areas outside of London are where the UK really comes to life. Major cities including Manchester, Leeds, Birmingham, Reading and Bristol have built and maintained strong communities, working in a close and harmonious manner, while the companies operating in these areas are true global leaders. Furthermore, the increasing interest in the UK's non-London engineering, manufacturing, TMT, business services and retail businesses are further testament to the country's true strength.

As the pace and scale of economic recovery continues, the vitality and verve of the UK's regional business and corporate finance communities looks set to play an increasingly important role.

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