£3.6bn goes on buyout revival

MANAGEMENT buyouts are on the rise after six poor months. The value of deals for the first quarter of this year reached £3.65bn, almost the same as in 2000, according to the Centre for Management Buyout Research.

But the bulk of this figure comes from last week's £2bn sale of the Unique and Voyager pub chains by investment bank Nomura to a consortium involving venture capital groups Cinven and Legal & General Ventures.

One of the report's authors, Tom Lamb of Barclays Private Equity, said: 'This deal is the largest we've seen in a long time, though it is a low risk venture because pubs tend to have a predictable cashflow. Many companies have announced disposal programmes but will wait until the economic recovery is sufficiently under way and businesses due to be sold can show a recovery.'

A surge of buyouts is expected in April when a new 10% rate of capital gains tax kicks in. Lamb said: 'This is likely to favour small and mid-market deals.'