Deal fever: Banking giants plot takeovers to ramp up market share Banking British banking is poised for a major shake-up as top names go on the hunt for fresh acquisitions. Lenders have been scouting new deals that would send shockwaves across the industry. Much of the prospective dealmaking involves London lender Shawbrook, whose private equity owners have been circling high street bank Metro. Ahead of this, Shawbrook [...]
Oxford Instruments shares sink as it sells quantum business to US firm Tech Oxford Instruments has become the latest British business to hand its quantum technology to the US after reaching a deal with California-based Quantum Design. The FTSE 250 business has offloaded its quantum arm, called NanoScience, to the US firm in a £60m deal, a move it said would help improve focus on profitability amid a [...]
Lord Ashcroft bought shares in Mitie on day it made offer for firm he founded Markets Lord Ashcroft bought shares in Mitie on the same day it unveiled £370m takeover talks for a business he co-founded, City AM can reveal. The peer and Tory grandee spent £1m acquiring 714,600 shares in the facilities management company on Thursday 5 June, company filings show, the day the firm confirmed it was in talks [...]
Bargain basement Britain: Tech takeovers continue with three billion-pound swoops in a day June 9, 2025 The frenzy of UK tech takeovers showed no signs of slowing down on Monday after three separate billion-pound M&A moves were made within hours of each other as US tech giants continued their hunt for British bargains. First to announce a move on Monday was London-listed semiconductor firm Alphawave, which confirmed it had reached an [...]
ECB cuts interest rates as UK ‘hesitation’ risks dealmaking strength June 5, 2025 Interest rates in the eurozone have been cut, taking the deposit facility rate to two per cent as fresh data suggested inflation came in just under the European Central Bank (ECB)’s two per cent target rate in May. The cut means the ECB’s rate now stands at two per cent, a halving of rates set two [...]
Foreign companies drive £19bn M&A surge as UK firms ‘attractively valued’ June 3, 2025 Takeovers of British firms reached the highest level in nearly three years as several multi-billion pound transactions made by foreign companies pushed up the value of mergers and acquisitions (M&A), official data has shown. Inward M&A deals in the first three months of the year exceeded £19bn, nearly four times that seen in the last [...]
Is Natwest set for a deal spree after privatisation? May 27, 2025 As Natwest finally breaks from the shackles of government ownership, the banking juggernaut may be gearing up for an acquisition spree. The FTSE 100 giant is speculated to return to privatisation in a matter of days after the government accelerated its sell off over the last year. Shares in the firm rose one per cent [...]
Cyber and AI fuel surge in UK tech M&A deals May 21, 2025 The UK’s software M&A market has hit a record high, with £13.2bn deployed across 420 deals over the past year, marking a 27 per cent year on year rise and revealing the nation’s pivotal role in Europe’s tech investment scene. A recent survey from BearingPoint Capital found that despite escalating macroeconomic headwinds and growing valuation [...]
Org Group acquires UK tech recruitment firm in global expansion May 16, 2025 Multinational professional services firm Org Group has acquired Manchester-based technology recruitment firm Venturi, in a strategic move that expands its presence in Germany and the US, and strengthen its capabilities in digital talent acquisition. The acquisition bolsters the group’s growing portfolio, adding Venturi’s tech expertise to a business that already includes global talent from Morgan [...]
Santander rejected £11bn Natwest bid for UK business May 9, 2025 Santander rebuffed an £11bn bid for its UK retail banking division from Natwest earlier this year because it was was too low. The two lenders are no longer in negotiations, according to people familliar with the matter cited by the Financial Times, despite consistent speculation about the fate of the Spanish financial juggernaut’s UK business. [...]