East Anglia: Experian names Grant Thornton as leading adviser for merges and acquisitions in region

Grant Thornton has been named leading financial adviser for mergers and acquisitions (M&A) activity in East Anglia in a recent report by information services company, Experian.

The financial team involved in M&As said it was enjoying its most buoyant period since the credit crunch.

East Anglia was involved in 7.7% of all UK deals in the first half of 2013 with manufacturing as the busiest sector, according to the report.

Grant Thornton was named as the leading financial adviser with an involvement in seven transactions in the first half of 2013, with East Anglian businesses contributing 3.1% of the UK’s total M&A deal value.

The manufacturing industry accounted for 27% of all transactions by target activity, while other busy sectors included wholesale, retail and repair and professional and business activities.

Grant Thornton’s East of England Corporate Finance team says it has seen a marked increase in new deal opportunities and transactional activity resulting in the team’s most buoyant period since the start of the economic downturn in 2008.

Notable deals over the past year include the sale of Morgana Holdings to Swedish based Plockmatic International AB, and management buyouts of Validus-IVC Limited backed by Lloyds Development Capital and Holding & Barnes plc.

Darren Bear, who heads up Grant Thornton’s East of England Corporate Finance team, said: “Despite continuing press reports suggesting a decline in deal values and volumes, we are seeing increased activity in the region with appetite strong for robust and growing businesses from both private equity and strategic trade buyers.”