Accel-KKR swoops on AIM construction software firm for £208m Merger/Acquisition Private equity giant Accel-KKR has struck a deal to buy an AIM-listed construction software company in the latest of a wave of takeovers on the London Stock Exchange this year. The group has snapped up Eleco for £207.6m in a deal backed by the company’s board. Shareholders are in line for a 235p per share [...]
Abolish stamp duty on shares to reverse London’s IPO slump, say top fintechs Fintech The group that represents the UK’s fastest growing fintech companies has called for the government to scrap stamp duty on shares to boost London’s flagging initial public offering market. Innovate Finance – which counts Revolut, Monzo and Zilch among its members – has called for the Treasury to ditch the 0.5 per cent levy on [...]
Value of UK deals rockets as buyers pounce on FTSE 100 firms Merger/Acquisition The value of UK merger and acquisitions more than doubled in the first half of 2026 as foreign buyers capitalised on sluggish valuations to pick off some of Britain’s most valuable companies. Takeovers worth some £124bn were struck in the first six months of the year, up 107 per cent year-on-year from £60bn in the [...]
Can OSB’s new boss cut through the noise? September 2, 2026 A FTSE 250 bank has a new boss and plenty of challenges to confront . In this week’s column, Samuel Norman looks at what could be next for OSB. Enrique Labiano confronted a tricky inheritance when he got his feet under the desk on his first day at the helm of OSB on Tuesday. The [...]
Trio of firms poised to quit London Stock Exchange as exodus gathers pace September 1, 2026 The scale of the exodus from the London Stock Exchange has been laid bare on the first trading day back from the summer break after three listed companies simultaneously unveiled plans to exit the market. FTSE 250 members Bodycote and Gamma Communications, as well as energy firm Capricorn, each laid out fresh offers to be [...]
Paramount-Warner Bros deal faces ‘sufficient competition’, says CMA August 17, 2026 The Paramount-Warner Bros Discovery merger will face “sufficient competition” in the UK to prevent the combined Hollywood giant from gaining too much market power, the competition watchdog has said. In a full decision published on Monday, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) laid out why it cleared the £111bn tie-up earlier this month, after examining [...]
Boutique London advisory firm lands £8m funding amid M&A frenzy August 11, 2026 A boutique M&A advisory firm has landed £8m in fresh funding as it seeks to capitalise on a wave of takeover activity, City AM can reveal. London-based Lava Advisory Partners, which was founded in 2020, secured the debt finance from specialist SME lender Beechbrook Capital. The B Corp-certified firm said it would use the cash [...]
Manchester billionaire tables £583m offer for property developer Harworth August 6, 2026 Billionaire-owned Peel Group has tabled a £583m offer for Harworth as the property developer is poised to become the latest firm to exit the London Stock Exchange. The offer of 172.5p per share represents a premium of 20.1 per cent compared to Harworth’s closing share price yesterday and a 36.9 per cent premium above the [...]
Starling plans to ‘come out swinging’ in diversification bid August 6, 2026 Bernadette Smith has a spring in her step as she sits down in Starling’s headquarters to discuss her new role. The fintech’s new banking boss is buzzing with energy that she wants to pass onto customers and investors. “I want everyone to be talking about us,” she says, envisaging how she will measure success in [...]
Easyjet extends window for another Castlelake bid August 3, 2026 Easyjet has extended the window for another takeover bid from asset manager Castlelake after its offer was usurped by investment giant Apollo last month. The budget airline said on Monday that it was still set to recommend the Apollo deal to shareholders, which values its stock at £7.15 per share, but would extend Castlelake’s deadline [...]