Daniel Black
Hello,
It’s been a relatively slow week for market rumours and confirmed deals. Is it just the Easter break or another sign that deals are paused while the market waits for some certainty to return?
That said, there are still a number of noteworthy stories for your attention, including:
- THG rejected a £600m bid for Myprotein
- IPOs apparently won’t be back until 2026
- Revolut doubled profits to £1bn
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.
The rumour mill
- Reeves says UK won’t rush to reach trade deal with US
- Reeves opens door to cutting US car import tariffs in UK trade talks
- Can Trump’s tariffs help European banks steal a march over Wall Street rivals?
- IMF chops UK growth forecast as Trump tariffs hit global economy
- Bailey says BoE must ‘take seriously’ risk to growth from Trump tariffs
- Tariff turmoil casts pall over European banks’ 2025 earnings power
- UK borrowing soars as business activity contracts at fastest rate for 2 years
- UK’s FTSE 100 outperforms global peers after BoE’s Greene comments
- BoE is under pressure to cut rates as UK inflation falls again
- BoE’s Greene says US tariffs likely to put downward pressure on UK inflation
- Cellnex CEO sees overhaul done by year end, eyes growth in UK
- Permira makes India pivot in Asia strategy shake up
- Halfords’ hard pedalling could steer it towards a takeover
- BT agrees deal to sell Italian business
- Revolut profits surge above £1bn on crypto trading boom
- Santander seeks to split motor finance business from UK unit
- London-listed investment firm Fidelity Japan begins review of operations
- DCC plc will sell its healthcare division for £1.05bn to Investindustrial
- UK CMA approves Topps Tiles’ purchase of CTD Tiles
- European telecom groups line up deals in hope of looser merger rules
- Camellia subsidiary proposes sale of Leesh River Tea Estate
- Science in Sport agrees terms for takeover by bd-capital
- Admiral agrees to sell US motor insurance business to JC Flowers
- Regent Acquisitions launches £109m cash offer for Inspired
- Inspired says Regent Acquisitions £109m offer undervalues it
- DBAY Advisors mulls bid for Anexo alongside some of management team
- Anexo asks shareholders to take no action on possible DBAY bid
- THG rejects Myprotein bid from Selkirk worth up to £600m
- BP share buyback outlook at risk from oil price slump, analysts say
- Argentex weighs sale to IFX Payments after margin call chaos
- Britain posts much bigger budget deficit for 2024/25 than expected
- PSG is to buy stake in cybersecurity biz Glasswall
Salaries and bonuses
- This year’s biggest bonus increases in financial services were not in banking
- Stricken London FX firm Argentex paid its CEO £1.1m last year
- Banks are giving out unusual ‘bonuses’ to contract engineers
- UK executive pay increases surpass US competitors
- UK employer pay rises hold at 3%, Brightmine says
Job moves
- Peter Hargreaves to join Hargreaves Lansdown board following £5.4bn takeover
- Bowmark bolsters team with eight promotions
- BlackRock rejigs global emerging markets team with new London and Hong Kong units
- Deutsche Bank hires ECM veteran, Paul Weiss boosts London office
- BancTrust strips out management and compliance roles as cost-cutting ramps up
- Moelis adds tech banker Oussadon to bolster European dealmaking team
- Point72 hires ex-Millennium portfolio manager Prejesh Patel
- LSEG poaches S&P executive to co-head data and analytics
- Pismo appoints Vishal Dalal as global CEO in post-acquisition leadership shift
Market trends
Dealmakers take advantage of the relative calm
In Europe’s volatile equity markets, sellers are moving fast and seizing the brief windows of market calm to get deals done. For instance, Ageas raised €550 million to fund its takeover of British Esure, and a day later, sponsors Cinven, Permira and MidEuropa sold a $309.86 million stake in Polish Allegro.
Both deals landed during rare green trading days. With tariffs shaking the markets and block discount widening – Allegro priced at a 7.2% discount – advisors are urging their clients to act swiftly when sentiment turns positive, even briefly.
Despite global turbulence, Europe remains relatively steady: the Stoxx 600 is down only by 0.89% YTD, compared to the S&P 500’s 12% slide. With PE funds facing pressure to return capital, and LPs sitting on heavy public losses, these sporadic windows are becoming viable tools for sponsors to re-open the secondary blocks market.
Global optimism, UK caution
Speaking of private equity, PitchBook reports a sharp rise in the value of PE investments in European financial services firms in Q1, with €7.8 billion flowing into the sector, compared to only €6.4 billion during the same period last year. However the number of deals remained low, with just 101 transactions, the fewest since Q3 2021.
As expected, UK-based PE firms remain cautious, with only half of them looking to increase their investment levels. The primary concern for UK firms is talent retention, as competition for skilled professionals intensifies. Meanwhile, across global markets the sentiment is upbeat, with 67% of firms planning to boost investments this year.
Moreover, a Grant Thornton survey suggests that PE strategies themselves are getting craftier. While traditional debt options are tightening, firms are looking into alternative funds and unitranche financing, or even swapping debt for equity stakes.
Goldman tops the charts
And finally, our sincere congratulations to Goldman Sachs for securing the top position among financial advisory firms in Q1, according to Mergermarket.
IPOs
- IPO window likely to open in first half of 2026
- Zopa Bank doubles profit as $1bn fintech weighs London IPO
- Elliott goes public with 5% BP stake
