THE value of merger and acquisition (M&A) deals in the UK increased last year despite the gathering economic gloom – with East Anglia seeing the biggest increase in the country.

Across the UK as a whole, the value of M&A deals during 2011 grew by 10.9% compared with the previous year, from �206.827billion to �229.401bn, according to figures compiled by Experian Corpfin.

But the value of deals in East Anglia jumped more than five-fold compared with 2010, from �2.274bn to �11.500bn.

The region also bucked the national trend in terms of the number of M&A deals during 2011, with an increase of 3.2%, from 221 to 228, against a slight fall of 2.3% across the UK as a whole, from 4,386 to 4,286.

The overall rise in value reflected an increase in large transactions, involving values of more than �100million, which were unchanged in terms of volume but up by 13% in value.

Wendy Smith, business development manager at Experian Corpfin, which is part of the global information services group Experian, said private equity deals had made a major contribution to the increase in value.

“A 20% increase in the volume of private equity backed buy-outs means that UK M&A deal activity has remained relatively robust in 2011, with a notable increase in the total value of deals – especially at the large end – against stable volumes,” she added.

“There still appear to be good opportunities for investment and growth across the country.”

Elsewhere, volumes fell sharply in Europe, the United States and Asia, but the US did record a rise in value.