UK Public M&A: 2025 in Review & 2026 Outlook

After a relatively slow start to 2025, UK public M&A activity saw a significant recovery in Q2 and over the summer before declining in late Q3 and into Q4. In this review, we explore the key themes from 2025 UK public offers and share market predictions for 2026.

• Recap of 2025 Activity Levels: Deal volumes remained stable overall, but Q1 and Q4 were slower; aggregate firm offer value fell by 30.5%, to approximately £38.22bn.
• Strategic Bidders Lead: The overall volume of firm offers involving strategic bidders was higher than those involving private equity-backed bids. However, private equity bidders continued to be a significant driver of activity, including at the higher end of the market (representing four of the top six deals by value). International, particularly U.S., bidders were dominant.
• Unique Consideration Options Continue: Stub equity remained a common feature in private equity bids — and we continue to see a trend in these becoming more inventive — but there was a marked decline in all (listed) share offers as compared to 2024.
• Bidders Show Willingness to Compete for Quality UK-Listed Assets: 2025 saw a continued trend of an increasing numbers of competitive situations. We saw strategic bidders competing against private equity bidders, as well as, more unusually, private equity versus private equity bids, underscoring bidders’ willingness to compete for quality UK-listed assets.
• Harder Investor Stances: Investors have become more willing, and will likely continue to take robust stances in rejecting offers that they consider undervalue the target company even where the offer is recommended (with indications of such opposition already early in early January 2026)  — and in the face of “full and final” offers being tabled by the bidder.
• More Favorable Financing Market: 2025 saw an increase in activity in the broadly syndicated loan market, leading to an increasingly competitive environment for bidders looking to support their UK offers with debt. The private credit market was, and remains, a strong contender with competitive credit spreads and additional optionality (such as payment in kind terms), particularly in the context of currencies like Sterling.
• Busy 2026 Pipeline Expected: We anticipate a busy 2026 for the UK public M&A market.
  • Bidders will maintain their focus on the mid-market, with technology, infrastructure and professional services assets attracting strong interest, and we expect competitive situations to remain a feature. International and, in particular, U.S. private equity and strategic bidders will continue to feature heavily given the amount of capital available to them.
  • Targets and their investors will continue to take robust positions on valuation and long-term prospects of the target and look to reject offers that are seen as opportunistic.

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