Bumper quarter for Altium's Manchester office

International investment bank Altium has enjoyed its busiest quarter since 2000 with a significant number of transactions led out of the North West.

The Manchester-based firm advised on 12 deals, worth £433m in Q3 2013, with the volume of deals increasing three times on the same period last year.

The average value of deals has increased by 44%, which showsthat more cash is being spent on deals in the mid-market and the outlook for future growth prospects is positive.

Five of the 12 transactions were led out of Altium’s Manchester office, including: the management buyout of online holiday price comparison site Icelolly.com, which saw Palatine Private Equity acquire a majority stake in the business; the acquisition of Bolton-based healthcare IT specialist Ascribe by EMIS Group from ECI Partners, for an initial consideration of £57.5million; the acquisition of Ultimate Finance Group by Manchester-based plc Renovo; and the NVM Private Equity backed buyout of Nelson-based Buoyant Holdings, the manufacturer of upholstered furniture.

Phil Adams, chief executive of Altium, said: “We have seen a significant increase in activity in recent months. This is bucking the general market trend as deal volumes are still thin but we are seeing more benign conditions for completing deals which should cause increased activity.

“Three of the five Manchester transactions involved a private equity player, demonstrating the continued importance of such funding. The technology sector also continues to be a key force behind the increasing number of M&A transactions, with Ascribe and Icelolly.com acting as prime examples out of the North West.”

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