Accountants and business advisers firsm BDO LLP as been named as the top financial adviser in East Anglia in the latest Experian Merger & Acquisition (M&A) Activity League Table.

BDO, which includes an office in Ipswich, completed eight deals during the first half of 2014 with a combined value of more than £60million.

Keith Ferguson, the firm’s M&A partner in East Anglia, said: “This heartening result in the highly respected Experian League Table is clear evidence that we are a very strong force in the East Anglian market place.

“There is more optimism in the region and we are witnessing growing numbers of ambitious companies wanting to grow through acquisition. The main driver of deal volumes is the manufacturing sector, followed by wholesale and retail.” BDO has offices in Ipswich, Norwich, Great Yarmouth and Cambridge.”

The report reveals that the main industry involved in M&A deals during the first half of this year was Manufacturing, accounting for 42.77% of transactions, followed by Wholesale, Retail and Repair (22.64%), with Financial Services a close third (20.75%).

Manufacturing was top top by value, being responsible for £1.85bn worth of transactions, representing 57.48% of the total value of East Anglian deals. There was a rise of 39% in mid market (£10m to £100m) transactions with an increase from 18 deals in 2013 to 25. Deal values also increased at a similar rate of 46%, from £559m to £818m.