Manufacturing businesses in England attracted significantly more venture capital last year, despite a fall in M&A activity

A new report has revealed that manufacturing businesses in England attracted significantly more venture capital last year, despite a fall in M&A activity in the sector.

According to data from national law firm, Irwin Mitchell, there was a 29.2% increase in the number of PE-backed transactions in the sector despite a six percent fall in the total number of deals in the sector.

The study found that across England, 28.5% of M&A in the sector was supported by venture capital, whilst 12 months ago the figure stood at 20.6%.

Manufacturing businesses in the South East were the subject of almost a third (31.5%) of all M&A in the sector. The North West was home to 14.4%, whilst the North East saw just 4% of activity.

Twenty seven percent of private equity backed manufacturing deals were in the South East, however this fell from 33.7% the year before.

Andrea Cropley, Partner and Head of Irwin Mitchell's Corporate team in the North of England said: "Although deal levels reduced, there were some encouraging signs in relation to private equity. The manufacturing sector is clearly attractive at the moment. Faced with this growing appetite and an improving economic picture, ambitious companies here in the UK should seriously consider this option whilst they explore opportunities for developing and growing their business."

This research is based on data sourced from Experian Corpfin's proprietary M&A deals database.