The UK buy-out market stayed close to last year’s lows in the first quarter of 2009, with £2.0 billion invested in 86 buy-outs, according to the Centre for Management Research (CMBOR).

The UK buy-out market stayed close to last year’s lows in the first quarter of 2009, with £2.0 billion invested in 86 buy-outs, according to the Centre for Management Research (CMBOR).

This was an improvement on the £1.3 billion recorded in the previous quarter, which was the lowest figure since 1995. However, more than half of the first-quarter figure is attributed to one deal, in which News Corporation subsidiary NDS Group was taken off the stock market by private equity giant Permira.

Large buy-outs have ‘collapsed’ in 2009, according to CMBOR, with only three deals of more than £100 million recorded. Transactions of between £10 million and £100 million have followed suit, with only eight completed so far this year, compared to 195 in 2007 and 137 last year.

The average value of a buy-out deal has fallen from £69 million in 2007 to £34 million last year and stands at £23 million in the first quarter of 2009.

Most deals have occurred in manufacturing so far this year, with 18 recorded, while technology, media and telecoms is the largest sector by value with over £1.4 billion from 15 transactions.