NUMEROUS regional firms may be taken over by large overseas-based organisations over the next year, a North- East dealmaker has predicted.

Angela Toner, corporate finance partner at the Newcastle office of Baker Tilly, said UK companies are catching the eye of international buyers and the trend is likely to continue as the value of sterling remains relatively low.

Ms Toner said the Newcastle office has been working with other Baker Tilly offices across the world, and expects that a high a number of deals will be completed in the next year.

“A large number of transactions that we are looking at are characterised by a large overseas buyer with a strong balance sheet,” she said.

“These businesses are taking advantage of the low value of sterling and the lack of competition from UK firms who are still finding bank finance difficult to secure.

“The recent comment from the Bank of England that a continued fall in the value of sterling would be helpful in rebalancing the UK economy is unlikely to reverse this trend in the near future.

“We have been working closely with our network of international offices and are confident that we will complete a number of deals of this type over the next 12 months.”