London recorded a drop of 8.3 per cent in M&A deals during 2011, new research shows.

London recorded a drop of 8.3 per cent in M&A deals during 2011, new research shows.

The value of deals completed in Greater London reached £128.5 billion during 2011, a fall of 5 per cent when compared with the previous year, according to information services company Experian Corpfin.

The fall in deal volume was greater with a drop from 1,729 to 1,594, representing an 8 per cent decline in activity.

On a UK-wide basis the value of deals recorded jumped from £206.8 billion to £229.4 billion despite the number of deals dipping by 2 per cent.

The increase in deal values for the UK is helped by the better performances of the South West, East Anglia and the Midlands which all posted strong increases over 2010.

Wendy Smith, business development manager at Experian Corpfin, comments: ‘A 20 per cent increase in the volume of private equity backed buy-outs means that UK M&A deal activity has remained relatively robust in 2011, with a notable increase in the total value of deals – especially at the large end – against stable volumes. There still appear to be good opportunities for investment and growth across the country.’

The report finds that the value of UK large transactions (exceeding £100 million in value) rose by 13 per cent to £201 billion during 2011, with the volume of transactions, at 300, the same year-on-year.