Member Article

£2 billion boost for North West according to Deloitte

The North West’s listed companies enjoyed a fantastic end to 2014, adding almost £2 billion to their collective market capitalisation, according to new research from Deloitte.

The advisory firm’s latest North West Share Index report reveals that public companies in the region grew at an average of 7.39%.

As a result, their collective market cap swelled to £25 billion – a high for the year – with each company gaining an average of £24 million.

The strongest performing company in the North West during the final quarter was Outsourcery, headed by Dragons’ Den star Piers Linney.

Following a lucrative deal struck with Microsoft in November 2014, the business saw its market cap grow by 94.80% in Q4.

Similarly, online home appliances retailer AO.com saw growth of 49.04%, while primary care property business Assura, aided by a £180 million share issue, showed strong quarter on quarter growth to increase its value by 92.46% in Q4.

The region’s largest listed companies, those on the FTSE350, mirrored the strong performance of the North West as a whole, with six of the nine experiencing market cap increases totalling £1.5billion.

Of these, four saw a surge of more than 10%, with chemicals producer Victrex increasing its market cap by 29.64%, and water services provider United Utilities adding over £736 million to its value.

Partner in charge of PLC activity at Deloitte in the North West, Chris Robertson, said: “2014 was a landmark year for the North West, with a number of investment plans announced for the medium-to-long term.

“This had the impact of drawing some of the country’s largest financial institutions up North, with both Numis and Secure Trust Bank making the move to Manchester.

“It’s therefore going to be an exciting year for businesses based in the North.

“With this in mind, it is pleasing to see the North West’s listed businesses performing so well, underlining the enormous potential in the region.

“It is also encouraging to see some of the newer listed companies witnessing market cap growth, with the likes of 4D Pharma, AO.com and Premaitha Health all experiencing strong increases.

“This demonstrates that the public markets remain a viable option to businesses, and we expect a busy year in the capital markets ahead.

“With further investment promised from the government to go towards creating a Northern Powerhouse, the North’s listed companies are now in prime position to take advantage of favourable conditions.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Sophia Taha .