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Manufacturing key to pooling US investment into the North

Northern manufacturing is playing a ‘vital role’ in attracting U.S. investment into the UK, according to new research from Deloitte.

Last year, outbound M&A activity from US investors ploughing money into the UK reached £32.7bn across 322 transactions.

93 of which, or 29%, involved US buyers investing into the North, which David Frith, corporate finance partner at Deloitte in the North East, described as ‘a vital role in attracting investment into the UK.’

David explained: “The manufacturing sector continues to be one of our biggest success stories in the role it played in establishing the UK economy – so it’s unsurprising that the industry continues to dominate deal flow in the north.

“Having clearly achieved a lot in attracting investment, not just from the US but also increasingly from China and India, we now need to ensure that British businesses have all the tools they need to capitalise on the exciting opportunities that lie in the US.

“There is an exceptional appetite for deal making across the Atlantic, coinciding with a slowdown in the emerging markets, the strength of the currencies and both US and UK companies are holding record levels of cash balances.

“This will ensure transatlantic M&A activity remains a busy hub in 2016 as exemplified by the recent minority investment by US investor, FTV Capital, in North East-based financial services and technology organisation, True Potential.”

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