Daniel Black
Hello,
London has dropped out of the global top 20 for IPO markets, according to a new report this week. The $248 million it has scraped together marks the weakest fundraising performance in three decades.
It comes alongside news that Diversified Energy is switching its listing from London to New York, while AstraZeneca also announced plans to list its shares directly on the New York Stock Exchange, putting them on equal footing with its London-listed stock.
In other news:
- M&A deals topped $1tn in Q3
- Ørsted is in talks to sell stake in £8.5bn UK wind project to Apollo
- Bain Capital’s Special Situations unit bid for Costa Coffee
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
- Owner of Gail’s and PizzaExpress bids for Costa Coffee
- AstraZeneca, Sanofi surge on optimism pharma can clinch US price deals
- HSBC continues global retreat with Sri Lanka retail banking sale
- BW ESS to sell stake in 700-MW UK battery portfolio to AIP
- Soho House gets HSR early termination for planned takeover
- Ørsted in talks to sell stake in £8.5bn UK wind project to Apollo
- 3i said to mull options including sale of French IT firm Evernex
- Josh Harris’s firm in talks to take control of Aga cooker business
- An Investindustrial affiliate, Windoria is acquiring a Saudi Arabian food producer, Al-Fursan Al-Maghawear
- BoE needs to reduce inflation without hitting jobs, rate-setters warn
- Saipem’s investors approve merger with Norwegian oil contractor Subsea7
- London Stock Exchange isn’t for sale, its CEO says
- AstraZeneca to upgrade US listing in ‘knock-back for London’
Industry news
- M&A deals top $1tn in third quarter
- LSE opens up new private stock market to retail investors
- London falls out of global top 20 for IPO Markets
- UK policymakers should be concerned about ‘relentless’ M&A wave and need to take steps to support the market, top broker warns
- UK set to exempt newly-listed company shares from stamp duty
- Banks prep for M&A boom with dealmaker hiring spree: ‘We’ll regret it if we don’t’
- SJP reveals funds worth £24bn are failing to deliver value
- Waitrose, members’ clubs… Yes, Dubai is the new London for hedge funds
- How HSBC plans to win over more wealthy Brits
- Saba Capital to launch UK’s first ETF targeting investment trusts
Salaries and bonuses
- Citadel Securities’ average UK pay hits $1.3m as trading firms battle for talent
- Pay at hedge fund Citadel in London: $500k to $21m
- Qatalyst Partners Limited paid an eye-watering average of $1.41m per head to its 12 London-based staff in 2024
- Hudson River Trading hikes UK staff pay as volatility boosts revenue
- Hedge fund Millennium’s London employees are earning less, again
Job moves
- Esure chief executive and CFO to step down as Ageas completes acquisition
- BGF appoints Head of Value Creation
Market trends
UK’s hedge funds are flourishing
The UK’s hedge fund industry has defied post-Brexit skepticism, sitting on $531bn in assets and tracking toward $680bn by 2030, as forecasted by Mordor Intelligence.
The 4.21% CAGR stems from pension funds reallocating away from leveraged LDI mandates, regulatory moves toward cross-border harmonisation, and managers deploying new technology and data tools to enable them to make hay from volatile macro conditions.
London itself holds 37.6% of deployed assets and leads regional growth at 5.43%, reinforcing its role as Europe’s hedge fund nerve centre, despite higher compliance costs, talent poaching from New York, and lingering EU passporting uncertainty.
M&A volumes speed to $3.4tn
After a stuttering spring, global M&A volume surged 32% YoY to $3.4 trillion in 9M25. This marks the highest tally since 2021’s record run, states the newest Mergermarket analysis.
The report notes that Q3 has delivered a wave of megadeals, as “corporates pursue transformative transactions and divestitures to streamline operations and unlock capital”.
Trade balancing act
Official analysis of the Q2 2025 economic landscape shows that UK businesses are navigating complex cross-border challenges. According to the ONS, the account deficit has widened to 3.2% of GDP, driven primarily by a £7.7bn increase in the primary income deficit, while the trade picture shows mixed signals: goods exports fell £6.5bn even as services maintained strength with a £53.8bn surplus.
Symbiosis boosts sell-downs
European equity markets are proving that collaboration between private equity houses and institutional investors pays off. Mergermarket reported secondary sell-downs hitting $52.4bn YtD, the strongest mark since 2017.
Cases like Exosens, Allegro, and Galderma demonstrate the results: Sponsors price conservatively, institutional investors profit, stocks continue trading higher through multiple sell-downs.
Meanwhile, the IPO market continues to struggle under outdated valuation practices, leading to cancelled deals like Autodoc and Brainlab in Germany, as well as the London listing of Cobalt Holding. Market participants argue that adopting the same constructive dialogue seen in block trades could help revive Europe’s IPO market.
Fundraising
- Verdane closes €2bn European growth fund
- Notion Capital closes $130m growth fund, appoints two Partners to lead strategy
IPOs
- Revolut could dual list in London after government overtures
- Shawbrook to weigh London IPO filing in coming days
- Diversified Energy to switch its primary listing from London to New York
