Tughans Solicitors

Tughans Leads Advisor Deal Review Table

The latest Experian® deal review and advisor league tables have revealed that Belfast law firm Tughans secured the top ranking position in Northern Ireland for the number of deals completed in the first half of 2014. The report indicates that Tughans was the most active legal advisor in terms of volume for H1 2014 participating in seven out of the 26 local deals.

The report was carried out by the UK and Ireland division of global information services company Experian® and the Northern Ireland league tables formed part of a detailed review of deal transactions in eleven UK regions and the Republic of Ireland.

Overall Experian® figures for the UK and Republic of Ireland show that deal volumes were down almost 11.4% for H1 2014 but the aggregate value of transactions was up by 65%.

The report states that 26 transactions were announced in Northern Ireland during H1 2014 with a deal value of £154m. The main industry involved was manufacturing with nine deals followed by professional services (seven deals) and construction (five).

John George Willis, Head of Corporate at Tughans said:

Tughans have experienced a marked increase in M&A and direct foreign investment activity over the initial six months of 2014, especially in transactions involving local engineering and manufacturing companies and there’s little doubt we will see more in the next six months.

All the Experian ® listed deals indicate significant investment for the Northern Ireland economy. US companies such as Astec and Brunswick aren’t buying into Northern Ireland to let their newly acquired operations here tick over. They want to grow these operations and employ more people here as they move into European markets.

It is clear that investors see value for money here as the deal league table was dominated by investment from outside Northern Ireland. Their view is that they’re getting a lot of potential growth for every dollar they invest here. They don’t see buying here as a risk and the fact that Astec’s share price rose on the back of its Tyrone acquisition supports that view.