Daniel Black
Hello,
The UK’s next drop in borrowing costs might be further away than we hoped. After a welcome interest rate reduction earlier this month, we got the news this week that inflation has crept up to 3.5%, while the Bank of England’s chief economist is warning against cutting rates too quickly.
And in other news:
- BT will sell its TNT Sports stake to Warner Bros Discovery
- Johnson Matthey sold its catalyst unit to Honeywell for £1.8bn
- HSBC warns of bonus cuts for staff who work from home too much
We’re taking a break next week but will be back with the next weekly update in June.
As always, thanks for reading, and connect with me on LinkedIn if you want to discuss how I can help with your next M&A deal.
Deal Tracker
Our weekly roundup of all the confirmed M&A deals in the UK.
Industry news
- UK inflation jumps to 3.5% in April
- Government borrowing hits £20.2bn in April
- Government seeks to sell Brexit checkpoint made redundant by EU reset deal
- Robinhood takes aim at UK investment platforms with no-fee Isa
- BoE is cutting rates too quickly, warns chief economist, Huw Pill
The rumour mill
- Johnson Matthey soars on £1.8bn Catalyst Technologies sale
- Honeywell buys Johnson Matthey catalyst unit in £1.8bn deal
- Energean cuts production outlook as it seeks deals to bolster output
- Vodafone pledges £1.5bn UK network investment this year
- KKR eyes £8bn debt cut in Thames Water plan
- Daniel Loeb’s Third Point Investors plans to acquire Malibu Life Reinsurance for £50.8m
- AVI Global slams Third Point-Malibu tie-up and vows to vote against deal
- UK takeover panel cancels Harmony Energy auction
- Son of Kazakh oligarch in tussle for control of miner ENRC
- Revolut commits £0.8bn to French expansion
- Investec plans fresh UK push in wealth and corporate banking
- Standard Chartered builds out US PE coverage
- Royal London agrees to buy infrastructure asset manager, Dalmore Capital, in private assets push
- Orlando Bravo: Europe to be Thoma Bravo’s fastest growing region
- PSF Entities says no longer intends to bid for De La Rue
- BC Partners switches to minority stake sale in Davies Group after full sale talks fail
- Cinven enters exclusive talks to acquire Nutrisens from Sagard MidCap
- Rio Tinto strikes near $1bn deal for almost 50% in Chile’s Maricunga lithium project
- Ocean Wilsons says conditions met for its 56% Wilsons Sons sale
- Blackstone begins Clarion Events sale process
- Adriatic Metals confirms takeover talks with Dundee Precious Metals
- Sheikh Tahnoon’s IHC nears deal for stake in Caring’s Ivy hospitality empire
- Aviva boss insists Direct Line takeover will not harm competition
- Efune launches fresh Telegraph bid with Brexiter businessman Hosking
- Industrial chain maker Renold gets two all-cash takeover approaches
- Chesnara eyes HSBC’s UK life insurance business
- Apax affiliate to acquire Finastra’s Treasury and Capital Markets business
- Metals One stakes further 99 mining claims at Swales project
- Central Asia Metals buys New World Resources for US copper project in £89m deal
- Centrica sells 46% of Cygnus gas field to Ithaca Energy
- Harmony Energy recommends takeover by Foresight Group
- Inflexion scouts ‘under-penetrated’ North America for Axiom GRC add-ons
- Inspired board unanimously rejects Regent takeover offer
- BT nears deal to sell TNT Sports stake to Warner Bros Discovery
- Angus Energy agrees possible reverse takeover of Gulf of Mexico assets
- KKR insists its Assura takeover bid is better after PHP counteroffer
- Craneware stock rises on possible Bain Capital offer
- ICG is to invest in Hakim Group
Salaries and bonuses
- EY delays start dates for consulting recruits for third year in a row
- HSBC warns of bonus cuts for staff who work from home too much
- Bank of America’s bonuses and the MDs earning €5m+
- Ex-City minister backs bonus cap cut as government pushed to go faster on growth
- Who are the UK’s highest paid wealth bosses?
Job moves
- Apex Group appoints Tom Bennett as global head of fintech
- Temenos appoints Rohit Chauhan as new CTO
- Cinven appoints Goldman Sachs and UBS to explore €6bn Ufinet exit
- YFM Equity Partners names Jamie Roberts as new managing partner
- Citi hired HSBC’s “best banker in world” as researchers wait to learn their fates
- Barclays hires top UBS debt banker as global co-head of capital markets
- HSBC shakes up investment bank with private markets and debt financing push
- BNP Paribas promotes Luke to lead financial institutions coverage in the UK
- Ex-Barclays investment banking veteran Justin Bull dies aged 60
- Brooks Macdonald hires BlackRock executive in another leadership shakeup
- Citigroup shakes up European ECM with Sankey hire
- JPMorgan dealmaker Hampson to depart for UKGI after 40 years
- Investment bank Cavendish puts jobs at risk amid dearth of UK IPOs
- Standard Chartered raids Julius Baer for UAE private banking team
- Standard Chartered looks to hire 25 sponsors dealmakers in investment bank push
Market trends
UK economy grows at fastest pace in a year
The UK economy has delivered its strongest quarterly growth in a year, clocking in at a still-modest 0.7% in Q1 2025 (compared to 0.8% in Q1 2024) – a much needed sign of optimism before a set of new challenges kick in. The services sector grew and there was an uptick in investments, giving Labour something to smile about.
The catch? The momentum might be short-lived. Amid the ongoing trade wars, April’s data is already looking weaker, creating a narrowing path for Rachel Reeves. Public borrowing continues to outpace forecasts, leaving the Chancellor with the same uncomfortable dilemma of either raising taxes or tightening spending in the autumn.
Separate data shows the extent of the spike in the UK’s economic activity as companies rush to beat looming tariffs. UK exports to the US of non-ferrous metals, which include aluminium, copper and lead, rose by an annual rate of more than 700% in Q1, while manufacturing was up by 0.8% due to a growth of 2.7% in transport equipment.
Q1 lending falls in Europe
Debtwire reports a brutal Q1 for European direct lenders as deal volumes crashed 37% to €12.4bn. The M&A slowdown left just 162 transactions on the table, down from 199 deals in Q1 2024, creating a more competitive environment among capital-rich but opportunity-starved funds.
The situation in Q1 was further complicated by a resurgence in institutional loan and high-yield bond issuance, which increased 42% to €121.65bn, up from around €85.4bn in issuances recorded in Q124.
Tumbleweed in the IPO market
Once a powerhouse of equity issuance, the UK’s capital markets have been running at a low speed, with IPO activity this year barely closing the $200m mark.
Cobalt Holdings’ upcoming debut and handful of midsized contenders are slowly testing the waters, while the government is also actively going after high-profile IPO candidates such as Monzo and challenger bank OakNorth in an attempt to revive the market.
Fundraising
IPOs
