UK - Mid-market feeling the squeeze

The report, which covers deals in the £5-150m range in the UK, shows that deals in the £5-50m bracket have weathered the storm somewhat better than its larger counterpart, with the number of investments sliding 16% year-on-year from 221 to 185. Meanwhile, the number of £50-150m deals in the UK fell by over 30% from 60 in 2007 to 41. The total value of transactions in both size segments fell by around 17%.

Looking at the fortunes of each region in the £5-50m deal segment, the Southern region unsurprisingly fared best. In total the volume of deals completed in the South fell by just 10%, while the value of deals recorded actually posted an increase of more than 5% over the previous year. The Northern and London regions saw the opposite trend, with volumes falling by a similar degree while values recorded a much sharper drop.

In the £50-150m value bracket, the declining availability of debt pushed deal numbers significantly down across all regions, with percentage falls ranging from 18% in the North to around 37% for London and the Midlands. Meanwhile, in value terms, the completion of a number of substantial transactions in the South saw its market value once again buck the overall trend and rise by over 10% to £809m. Value of deals in the North held relatively steady, while London and the Midlands saw sharp falls.

As is commonly the case in the UK, companies in the Services sector accounted for the largest number of deals taking place with around 22.5% of the total. These deals were worth an aggregated £1.4bn, with five of the investments estimated to be worth £100m or more. The largest deals in the Services segment were the buyouts of Morrison Utility Services by Englefield Capital and Cognetas (£135m); and Clarion Events by Veronis Suhler Stevenson.

To request a free detailed copy of the report, please click here.

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