THE number of business buy-outs in Yorkshire tumbled during the first nine months of the year, figures showed today.
The total value of private equity-backed buyouts in the region fell by 89% to £150.4m compared with £1.38bn for the same period last year.
The number of deals fell to 36 from 58, according to latest data from the Centre for Management Buyout Research.
The average deal value for the first three quarters of 2009 was just £4.2m against £20.9m for the same period last year and £20.9m in 2008.
Manufacturing firms were the most popular targets for deals in the region – with nine buyouts in the sector contributing 27% or £42m of the total deal value in 2009.
Family and privately-owned businesses represented the biggest source of buy-outs – with 13 deals totalling £21m.
John Walker, director at Barclays Private Equity in the North, said the market in Yorkshire still failed to show “any indication of a sustainable recovery”.
He said: “The significant drop in deal values across all size categories in the region reflects the tightening of bank debt and vendors’ reluctance to sell until profitability becomes more predictable and business valuations stabilise.”
