A  Gloucestershire firm has been named as most active corporate finance advisers in the South West last year - involved in more than 200 deals totaling hundreds of millions of pounds.

Gloucestershire-based Hazlewoods, chartered accountants and business advisers, has taken the top spot in a league table of the most active corporate finance advisers in the region.

With 209 recorded transactions in 2018, 46 of which were in the South West region, Hazlewoods is number one in the latest Experian M&A (mergers and acquisitions) report.

In the 12 months to December 31 last year the Staverton-headquartered firm's corporate finance team advised on a record number of deals with an eye-watering combined value of £851 million.

The figure is an increase in both volume and value on the previous year, which explains why the corporate finance team has grown to 30 staff.

Paul Fussell, corporate finance partner, said: "The volume of completed deals shows that the market is holding up well against a backdrop of uncertainty around the nature and timing of Britain's departure from the EU.

"Current signs are that business activity is set to continue, with the number of enquiries indicating that 2019 will be another strong year."

The Experian report revealed that despite economic uncertainty it was a bumper year for the UK M&A market, with an upturn of 2.3 per cent on the number of transactions announced in 2017.

Trade acquirers are continuing to make acquisitions to consolidate growth, whilst private equity firms continue to seek quality investee companies to deliver returns on capital.

The South West M&A market remained strong last year, accounting for 6.6 per cent of all deals nationally in 2018. Last year a total of 498 transactions were completed in the region with a value of £5.2 billion.

Click here to contact the Hazlewoods corporate finance team or call 01242 237661 or 01242 680000.