Value of UK tech deals jumps 10 per cent

IT has been more resistant to the economic downturn than other sectors

A strong performance by the UK technology sector last year helped to push global deals to respectable levels in 2008, according to new research by PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC).

The report found that, although global volumes declined by a fifth to 570 completions from a post-bubble peak of 713 in 2007, UK-inspired deals formed a third of all worldwide transactions. The value of domestic transactions was up nearly 10 per cent.

"Although global economic conditions are considered to be the worst for decades, technology companies which survived the turmoil of the dot-com crisis of 2001/02 are far better equipped now to weather the toughest of storms," said Andy Morgan, technology sector leader for corporate finance at PwC.

"But the big question is: has the technology deal environment developed some truly defensive attributes, or will the inevitable impact of the downturn on corporate IT budgets hit home in 2009?"

The technology sector has been able to ride the economic storm better than some others because of increasingly flexible business models, according to the report. However, deal activity still fell in the UK during 2008. PwC reported 162 deals with a UK bidder or target compared to 184 in 2007.

The report also predicted that the UK could become an increasingly attractive offshoring destination for Asian and Indian firms thanks to the weak pound, and that growth in offshoring opportunities in the UK is set to outpace the US.