The booming North continues to draw in more investment. This time the region recorded record investment from the US.
England’s Northern Powerhouse – with Manchester at its centre – remains a hotspot for US investment. In the year since 2013, 54% of all transactions between the Uk and the US have taken place here.
Business advisors Deloitte explained that US investors are turning to the North of England for strategic investments with mergers and acquisitions activity between the two countries remaining strong.
Four months ago, in February, it was revealed that out of 93 major transactions between the US and the UK since 2013, 51 of them had been completed in the Northern Powerhouse.
In England’s North, manufacturing made up almost 33% of US outbound transactions, followed closely by technology and media at 22% and consumer business at 16%.
In fact, Americans are beginning to shift their focus in the North as over 40% of transactions involved a US private equity player.
Key transactions in the last 12 months include acquisition of Cheshire-based nitrogen manufacturer and seller GrowHow UK for £368m, by Illinois-based distributor CF Industries in July, and the sale of five student accommodation properties by Mancunian Student Castle Investments to Canadian CPPIB Liberty Living for £330m in August.
Iain Marlow, assistant director in corporate finance at Deloitte, said:
While US investors are concentrating heavily on London and the south east, the regions are playing a vital role in attracting investment into the UK.”
“Given our rich industrial past it is no wonder that manufacturing continues to underpin deal flow in the north, but the data also highlights another important trend, and that is the growing success of our technology, media and telecommunications industry.”
“Ongoing investment in technology and infrastructure across the north is ensuring that the Northern Powerhouse remains an exciting place for international companies and investors to do business.”
“Having clearly achieved a lot in attracting investment, not just from the US but also increasingly from China and India, we now need to ensure that British businesses, across all the regions, have the tools they need to capitalise on the exciting opportunities that lie in the US.”
Cahal Dowds, vice chairman of Deloitte’s corporate finance advisory business, added:
There is an exceptional appetite for deal making across the Atlantic, coinciding with a slowdown in the emerging markets, a strong US dollar and sterling, and a similarity of business structures and styles.
“US and UK companies are holding record levels of cash balances, and with slow organic earnings growth, they are increasingly pursuing higher profits through mergers and acquisitions activity.”
