A FIFTH of all mergers and acquisitions completed in Yorkshire so far this year have involved businesses in distress, according to latest research.
Figures from M&A data provider Corpfin and insolvency industry trade body R3 showed that distressed deals have been running at their highest level in recent years.
Out of 192 deals completed in the first three quarters, 38 – or 20% – involved companies acquired out of administration or other formal insolvency procedures.
That compares with 29 insolvency deals – just 7% – out of a total of 412 deals in the region for the whole of 2008.
Peter Sargent, president of R3 and its spokesman for Huddersfield, said: “We predicted earlier this year that autumn would be an ideal time to start to acquire businesses in distress and these figures seem to bear that out.
“The continuing fall in company values, together with low interest rates, are combining to create the optimum conditions for distressed deals.”
Mr Sargent, who lives at Meltham, said: “There are now plenty of opportunities available for companies which are on the acquisition trail and have the capacity to move quickly.
“The improvement in business performance that these acquisitions can generate would go a long way towards both maintaining existing employment opportunities and creating new ones in the future.”
