Aviva’s £3.7bn takeover of Direct Line approved by UK watchdog July 1, 2025 Aviva’s acquisition of smaller insurance peer Direct Line has been approved by the competitions watchdog, paving the way for the formation of Britain’s biggest home and motor insurer. The £3.7bn takeover will not be subject to a phase-two investigation, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) said on Tuesday, after a preliminary probe to assess whether [...]
Starling Bank sets sights on US expansion June 26, 2025 Starling Bank has set its sights across the Atlantic for future growth prospects as the UK fintech eyes a US banking licence or entering the market through an acquisition. The neobank took a £223m hit to profit in 2024, down from £301m in the previous year and has since scouted endeavours overseas to boost its [...]
Cavendish shakes off M&A woes to swing to profit June 26, 2025 Cavendish swung back into profit in the latest financial year despite a sharp drop in revenue in its mergers and acquisitions division. The London-listed investment bank turned a slim £700m in pre-tax profit for the year ending March 31 but this marked a hefty shift from the £4.3m loss in 2024. The firm said its [...]
Brave Bison’s new deal signals rising EdTech trend June 25, 2025 Brave Bison’s acquisition of MiniMBA, the online marketing education business founded by professor Mark Ritson, marks a significant strategic expansion into the professional training space for the UK-based digital media and marketing group. The £19m deal, announced Wednesday, is AIM-listed Brave Bison’s largest to date. It follows a string of acquisitions, including Social Chain and [...]
Tritax Big Box makes £485m swoop for Warehouse REIT after Blackstone snub June 25, 2025 Tritax Big Box has reached a £485m deal to acquire rival Warehouse REIT, fending off a previous offer from US private equity giant Blackstone. The cash and shares offer, which has been recommended by the Warehouse board, values the company at £485m. Warehouse has withdrawn its recommendation that shareholders approve an earlier Blackstone offer as [...]
Deal fever: Banking giants plot takeovers to ramp up market share June 18, 2025 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 June 10, 2025 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 June 10, 2025 Lord Ashcroft bought shares in Mitie on the same day it unveiled £370m takeover talks for a business he co-founded, CityAM 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 [...]