Manufacturers increasingly looking for new acquisitions

A specialist in manufacturing finance in Cambridgeshire has said local manufacturers are reporting “good results” in mergers and acquisitions.

Mark Smith, who works for Barclays Corporate in Peterborough, said that the latest PMI manufacturing numbers showed that the region’s manufactures were becoming increasingly inclined to explore options for purchasing new businesses.

“We are seeing more manufacturers feeling sufficiently confident in the order books to start investing in their businesses to future proof themselves for the year ahead,” he said, adding that manufacturing output in February had jumped by 12 points from its January measurement.

Smith explained that the manufacturing industry in the east of England was generally showing some optimistic signs, particularly in the matter of the availability of growth finance.

“The conversations we are now having with manufacturers are also far more positive, particularly in the mid-large corporate space,” he said. “Private equity is becoming more active in the sector and there is greater talk of mergers and acquisitions amongst industrial companies in the UK.”

There does remain, according to Smith, a number of significant divides: between SME and large-cap businesses, and to a certain extent between the north and south of England.

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