Companies relax purse strings as UK mergers boom

Mergers and acquisitions involving British companies have reached their highest point since the financial crisis, suggesting that the recession may be on its way out. Deals made since January have reached a four-year high of $86bn, according to research by Thomson Financial.

The biggest deals were energy-related, including BP's $9bn investment in India's Reliance Industries' oil and gas fields. The news means that there has been a 164 per cent increase in mergers and acquisitions with British companies on the same period in 2010.

The beginning of last year saw a seven-year low of $32.5bn worth of deals being made. This was primarily due to firms stashing money, low valuations of companies and a conservative buying climate. According to Bloomberg, 466 of Europe's largest companies were sitting on $691bn of cash at the end of last year.

Henry Jackson, managing partner of investment firm OpCapita, said that activity should "continue at these levels for the rest of this year".

Read a full report at the Guardian. ·