Overseas investors plough £1.4bn into North West firms

The North West continued to attract strong investment from overseas in 2015 as it bolstered links with a number of the world’s emerging economies, new research has found.

A study from business advisory firm Deloitte, undertaken in partnership with information services company Experian, found that inbound deals in the region last year came to £1.4bn.

The figure represents a 27% increase against the £1.1bn seen in 2014, while the total volume of deals rose by almost 25%.

Of the 19 jurisdictions investing in the North West, the US led the way by accounting for 34% of the transactions. Meanwhile, Germany, France, Australia and India accounted for three deals each.

Despite a large portion of the inbound deals coming from the US, the research found that the majority of the region’s outbound deals (68%) targeted European companies.

Deloitte’s corporate finance director for the North West, Olly Tebbutt, said: “It has been another strong year for cross-border deals, with interest spread widely across sectors.

“Some of the year’s biggest deals have been in technology and manufacturing, traditional North West strongholds, but we have also seen an increase in activity in the retail and pharmaceutical sectors as the region continues to grow.”

One of the North West’s key inbound transactions in 2015 was Illinois-based distributor CF Industries’ acquisition of GrowHow UK, a manufacturer and seller of nitrogen, for £368m.

Conversely, Manchester-based cyber security company NCC Group’s £94m acquisition of Dutch firm Fox-IT was one of the region’s biggest outbound deals, along with engineering giant Amec Foster Wheeler’s acquisition of Foster Wheeler AG, the Switzerland-based engineering services company, for £73m.

Mr Tebbutt continued: “Following high profile visits of both the Chinese and Indian premiers in the last few months, overseas investors are beginning to understand the benefits of the Northern Powerhouse and the growth potential to be found in the North West.

“As a result, interest in the region’s companies is at an all time high, with investment being received from around the globe.”

He added: “With exciting overseas-funded infrastructure projects like Airport City set to further increase the region’s standing on an international scale, we are in the middle of an extremely positive trend.”