Daniel Black
It is Teaser UK’s first birthday this week. A full year of bringing you weekly updates on all the M&A news and rumours.
And to celebrate, we’re bringing you yet another newsletter. The rumour mill is still chugging along, which suggests that perhaps next week will be the moment when everyone quietly starts taking a well-earned rest.
The three stories that caught my eye:
- BP might be about to sell its $8bn Castrol unit to US group Stonepeak
- Anglo American and Teck shareholders voted in favour of a $50bn merger
- Blackstone bailed on a potential bid for Big Yellow
Thanks for reading, and connect with me on LinkedIn if you want to discuss how Ideals VDR can help with your next deal.
Deal Tracker
Our weekly roundup of all the confirmed M&A deals in the UK.
The rumour mill
- BP in advanced talks to sell $8bn Castrol unit to US group Stonepeak
- Utility group Telecom Plus in deal talks with energy provider Ovo
- TotalEnergies merger creates largest UK North Sea producer
- Cinven agrees £190m deal to buy firm co-founded by former Blair adviser
- Anglo American and Teck shareholders vote in favour of $50bn merger
- Starling eyes UK acquisition to boost corporate lending
- Blackstone-Backed Mollie nears takeover of UK fintech GoCardless
- Barclays joins bank rivals buying stake in United Fintech
- British American Tobacco looks to sell down ITC Hotels stake to reduce debt
- Novartis strikes deal with UK Biotech Relation Therapeutics Ltd for up to $1.7bn
- Blank Check Firm Mayflower debuts after $500m London IPO
- Blackstone walks away from potential bid for Big Yellow
- TotalEnergies to merge UK upstream business with NEO NEXT
- Barclays explores bid for British wealth manager Evelyn
- Willis Towers Watson announces agreement to acquire Cushon from NatWest
- WTW to buy brokerage firm Newfront in up to $1.3bn deal
- UK’s Harbour Energy to sell Indonesian assets to Prime Group for $215m
Salaries and bonuses
- Anglo ditches executive bonus plan linked to $50bn Teck merger
- It’s bonus week at Jefferies: “I am told it has been a great year”
- Hedge Fund Marshall Wace is paying most of its people in London £490k
Job moves
- HSBC’s Gulf Exits Prompt Bank to Bring in Dealmakers From the UK
- PE Behemoth CVC Names Rutland President as Part of Biggest-Ever Promotions Group
- Barclays promotes 118 people to managing director — here are the names
Market trends
Investment in investment sector maintains momentum
Marshberry called November one of the busiest months for M&A in the investment sector in 2025, with nine deals above £5m pushing the year-to-date total to 59. The action spanned pensions administration, wealth management, and private equity, with notable moves from Gallagher, Amundi, and PhillipCapital.
Most deals clustered between £5-25m, but two topped £100m, which reinforced a trend that’s making 2025 the strongest year for premium deals since 2021.
Foreign investors still keen on UK assets
ONS data shows that overseas interest in UK assets translated into £7.9bn of inward M&A across 214 transactions in Q3 2025. This tally is up slightly in deal count from Q2’s 206 but down £1.8bn in value from the previous quarter.
Analysis by The NonExec data shows the bigger drop came year-on-year, falling £3.6bn from Q3 2024’s £11.5bn, suggesting foreign buyers are being more selective about UK targets. Notable Q3 deals included Lantheus Holdings’ acquisition of Life Molecular Imaging.
Monthly activity dipped through the quarter, from 84 deals in July to 74 in August before settling at 56 in September, reflecting the cautious but persistent appetite from international acquirers navigating UK market conditions.
Europe’s slow restructuring cycle
Corporate stress is building across Europe, but the surge keeps getting delayed. EY-Parthenon’s survey of nearly 200 workout bankers shows 52% saw restructuring cases rise in H1 2025, with 60% expecting further increases in H2. Yet 82% now believe activity won’t peak until 2026 or later, pushed back six months from the original H1 2025 forecast.
The reason? Companies secured long-dated debt during the pandemic’s ultra-low rate era, which has postponed the restructuring wave. That buffer is now wearing thin, as cracks are widening in automotive, manufacturing, and construction.
Eastern Europe faces the sharpest pressure, with 43% of respondents expecting H2 activity to jump over 10%, compared to one-third in the UK and Western Europe. Consensual approaches remain dominant, with amend-and-extend deals, new shareholder funding, and distressed M&A taking precedence over formal insolvencies.
Travel sector hits seven-year high
As many of you prepare to jet to festive destinations, Q3 2025 delivered the highest travel M&A volume since Grant Thorton’s tracking began in 2018, with deal volume up 8% quarter-on-quarter and 35% year-on-year.
Private equity investments rose 11% from Q2 and jumped 43% compared to Q3 2024, driven by buy-and-build strategies in tour operators and luxury travel, though most PE deals were bolt-ons to existing portfolios rather than new platform investments. Cross-border activity surged while domestic deals dropped sharply for the first time in several quarters.
Tour operators like Wexas and luxury specialists like Abercrombie & Kent expanded their footprints, and travel tech saw consolidation as generalist travel firms added new capabilities through acquisitions like Travel Curious buying Redeam Inc.
IPOs
