In the United Kingdom, investment bankers, lawyers and accountants received more than £1.2bn in fees for advising on mergers and acquisitions involving UK-listed companies in 2026. The value of such deals rose by 175% to $132.9bn, or about £100bn, The Guardian reports, citing data from the London Stock Exchange.
Foreign buyers were actively acquiring British companies, while the takeover wave was supported by private equity funds and US buyers interested in undervalued British businesses. Against this backdrop, concerns are growing about the future of the London stock market, as companies leave the exchange and new listings decline.
Deal advisers
JP Morgan was the most active advisory bank in deals involving British companies. According to London Stock Exchange data, the bank advised on 14 deals with a combined value of $89.4bn, or £67.6bn. The leading law firm was Slaughter and May.
The year’s most lucrative deal was the acquisition of laboratory research group Intertek by private equity firm EQT for £10.6bn. The deal is expected to generate more than £370m in fees. EQT is advised by Morgan Stanley, Barclays and Deutsche Bank, while Intertek engaged Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan Cazenove and PJT Partners.
More current news is available on the UA.News Telegram channel Telegram.
Bonuses and remuneration
The rise in financiers’ incomes was also helped by the abolition at the end of 2023 of a rule that capped bank bonuses at twice annual salary. Each bank now sets its own upper limit. Goldman Sachs, in particular, allows its best-performing employees to receive up to 25 annual salaries.
Partners at London’s leading law firms also received record remuneration: the average income of Linklaters partners was £2.5m for the year to April, compared with £2.3m at Clifford Chance and £2.2m at A&O Shearman. At Evercore, the average payout to senior dealmaking executives reached about £2m, while the highest-paid individual received £16.2m.
Trade union representatives criticised high payouts in the financial sector amid the cost-of-living crisis in the United Kingdom. Trades Union Congress General Secretary Paul Nowak again called for a windfall tax on lenders.
Read us on
Download our app
