DESPITE a handful of high-profile deals, the number and value of buyouts dropped considerably in the North-East last year, according to new figures.

Some 19 buyouts/buyins worth a total of £195m were carried out across the region last year, compared to 39 deals totaling £308m in the previous year.

The trend was due to a "substantial"

downturn in management buyouts (MBOs), while the number of buyins remained static, according to Deloitte.

There were a number of substantial deals completed last year, including the £77.8m acquisition of Newcastle United by sportswear tycoon Mike Ashley.

Other deals included the flotation of Newcastle-based oil and gas pipeline company Wellstream, in April, and the management buyout of Attends Healthcare, a manufacturer of healthcare products, for £63.3m.

Paul Kaiser, corporate finance associate partner at Deloitte in Newcastle, said: "In the North-East, we saw a significant drop in MBOs when compared to previous years.

"The credit crunch has had a dramatic impact on bigger private equity deals, which has impacted on the year's overall deal value and volume."

Nationally, the private equity market dropped by 80 per cent in the final quarter of last year, with the value of UK buyouts down to £2.9bn in the three months to December, compared to £15.4bn in the same period of 2006.

Despite the slump, a record £42.2bn worth of deals were carried out throughout last year, compared to £26.5bn the previous year.