Value of North West listed companies leaps £2.3bn

Listed companies in the North West have achieved a strong start to the year, new data shows.

According to professional services firm Deloitte, the region’s listed businesses managed to add £2.3bn to their total market capitalisations in the first quarter of 2017.

During the period, the total value of Stock Exchange companies in the North West rose by 6%, from £39.2bn to £41.6bn.

Each of the 15 FTSE-listed firms in the region added an average of nearly £140m to their total market capitalisations.

Fashion retailer JD Sports was among those showing the strongest growth, adding £655m to its total market capitalisation.

The 50 AIM-listed companies in the North West have also seen strong growth of 2%, worth £236m. AIM-listed Stobart Group, in particular, enjoyed a buoyant start to 2017 after adding £158m to its overall value.

Deloitte’s head of plc activity in the North West, partner Chris Robertson, said: “It is encouraging to see the region’s businesses performing so well in the early stages of 2017.

“Some of the North West’s most successful companies have seen a large rise in profits this reporting period, such as JD Sports and Redrow, helping to drive increases in their market capitalisations.”

He continued: “The macroeconomic and political uncertainty that characterised 2016 has continued into 2017, unsurprisingly.

“It is therefore fantastic to see so many good examples of North West based companies’ resilience in the face of these uncertainties. While we remain cautious about the future and must accept uncertain times as the new normal, these latest figures provide continuing evidence of the strength in depth of the North West’s listed businesses.”