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Deals involving British companies - both domestic and
cross-border - fell to 87 in the second quarter from 190 in the
first three months of the year, the Office for National
Statistics said on Tuesday.
That marked the smallest number of transactions since comparable
records started in the first quarter of 2010.
The figures corroborate surveys from the Bank of England and
Deloitte that showed businesses put major plans for investment
and expansion on hold in the run-up to the Brexit vote, despite
solid turnover and orders.
Economists expect doubts about Britain's future trading ties
will continue to cloud businesses' plans, eventually weighing on
economic growth even if the country avoids a large immediate hit
from the shock vote to leave the EU.
There were only 20 instances of foreign companies buying British
firms in the second quarter, down from 52 in the first quarter
and the fewest since the start of 2013, the ONS said.
The number of mergers and acquisitions between British companies
collapsed to 47 from 95.
The ONS figures also showed the value of takeover deals fell
sharply in the second quarter to 14 billion pounds ($18.70
billion), down from 69 billion pounds in a first quarter that
was boosted by the $52 billion merger of Royal Dutch Shell <RDSa.L>
and BG Group.
($1 = 0.7486 pounds)
(Reporting by Andy Bruce)
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