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UK private equity firms predict increase in investment levels in 2003, says Deloitte & Touche

Private equity firms in the UK are expecting a more positive experience in 2003 compared to 2002, according to new research from Deloitte & Touche.

Some 68 per cent of private equity firms anticipate that 2003 will be a better year for private equity than last year, while 61 per cent also expect an increase in deal volume in the next six months.

‘Corporate vendors, needing to sell subsidiaries to raise funds, have finally begun to reduce their price expectations in line with the economy and this is driving the market revival,' said Mark Pacitti, private equity partner at Deloitte & Touche.

Some 55 per cent of private equity firms expect prices to fall even further.

Popular sectors are expected to be support services and healthcare, with leisure and financial services also looking attractive.

There was further good news for investors concerned about the underlying value of portfolio companies: just 12 per cent of UK private equity firms expect the financial performance of their investee companies to decrease in the next six months, compared to 20 per cent last quarter.

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