Rob Britton’s Post

Public M&A in the UK soared in 2024 with a slew of megadeals, and activity looks to be robust in 2025, with reduced political, inflation and interest rate uncertainty. Take-privates and share-for-share offers have become more common. George Knighton | Ani Kusheva | Simon Toms | Craig Kelly #mergersandacquisitions #europe #privateequity #antitrust #uk

The last year has seen a lull in M&A activity due to economic uncertainty, but with the dust settling in the aftermath of the UK budget and US election 2025 could bring about a seismic shift. Experts predict private equity companies will be a major player, and UK CFOs should be poised to capitalize on this. Remaining agile and leveraging data driven insights has never been more essential to stay competitive and ride the M&A wave. Check out the full article here 👇 https://lnkd.in/exiQT9mh #CFOinsights #financetrends

From a Cash Flow Returns On Investments point of view, the UK looks undervalued. These are the largest UK companies excluding Financials and Real Estate. Please feel free to contact me if you want a full breakdown of companies on the list. We also have a list for the UK small, over 1,100 of the largest US companies, and 500 of the largest companies in Europe. #investing #finance #assetmanagement #investmentmanagement

💬 "Despite clear challenges, the long-term opportunities for UK smaller companies remain and if we scratch under the surface, there are some strong stories to tell." 🗣️ Abby Glennie, Deputy Head of Smaller Companies at abrdn, on why supportive measures to boost share ownership and IPOs could add some much-needed oil to the UK economy. Read more: https://ow.ly/XxnI50RE7Yu

It was a huge day for the London Stock Exchange today as the Financial Conduct Authority made the most sweeping reforms to the UK listing regime in decades. The changes are certainly a leap forward for companies looking to list in the UK and has the potential to revitalise the London IPO market. The shift in disclosure requirements removes significant regulatory friction for companies seeking to list on the LSE and new dual-class structures create a more attractive environment for pre-IPO shareholders and brings London into line with other jurisdictions like NY. Entrepreneurs considering a listing may also appreciate the change in rules that has dropped the requirement for a shareholder vote in Class 1 transactions, putting public companies on an equal footing when it comes to M&A. But there is more work to do particularly on freeing up domestic capital to invest in UK equity. Lucinda Guthrie and I put together a piece for the Evening Standard sharing our thoughts on today's big news and the challenge ahead for new UK Chancellor Rt Hon Rachel Reeves. Have a read here: https://lnkd.in/dDbHi6qa Let me know what you think! #UK #LSE #listing #ipo #deals #businesses #fca

We estimate that an additional 350 UK businesses were sold in October in advance of the budget to pre-empt increases in capital gains tax. I accept that lots of the proceeds, especially from the plc takeovers, may be going to institutional and overseas investors but these are the minority. If we ignore Entrepreneurs' Relief and take an average deal value of £10 million the budget 'accelerated' capital proceeds to entrepreneurs of £3.5 billion. At a 20% CGT rate this is £700 million of incremental proceeds to the Treasury. You can do your own maths but the outcome is clear - scaring businesses owners into an exit with rumours of draconian tax rises led to the biggest month for UK exits on record. #sme #corporatefinance #mergersandacquisitions #accountants

Results are out for Q2 2024 UK M&A activity which saw a decline, with reduced deal values across transactions, reflecting a cautious business environment at that time. For small business owners, this suggests there were reduced opportunities for company sales and external investment. Tightening financial conditions and ongoing cost pressures further constrained growth prospects. However, easing uncertainty about the economic outlook may have encouraged strategic partnerships or smaller-scale deals. Despite challenges, there was potential for small businesses to explore local consolidation or attract investors seeking stable, smaller enterprises, more details https://lnkd.in/ewfdcQZs

Is selfish investing harming UK markets? 💭 I listened to Charles Hall on Abraham Okusanya’s Adviser 3.0 podcast recently, talking about the state of the UK’s financial markets. Money has been flowing out of UK smaller companies consistently over recent years. He explained that part of the reason for this is that UK investors are great at sending their capital overseas. 🌍 He calls this ‘selfish investment’ - in particular when large institutions (pension funds, charities etc) look after their own interests and ignore the wider benefits of investing at home. ——————————- Individually, this makes sense. Diversification is paramount and there are plenty of growth opportunities overseas. But collectively, we have to accept that if we aren’t willing to support our own equity markets, we can’t expect other countries to do it for us. ❌ When we send our capital overseas, we starve our home-grown companies of the funding they need to grow, forcing them to look elsewhere. As growing companies move overseas, we lose talent, jobs and innovation which could have contributed to economic growth (and increased tax revenue to fund national services! 🚑). ——————————- I must admit, I was initially sceptical about the government’s plans for a ‘British ISA’ and the Mansion House reforms to encourage additional investment in the UK. But I now feel it’s a small step in the right direction towards reversing the recent trend. 📈 If the UK is a supportive place for companies to grow and list, it benefits all of us through improved opportunities, growth and wealth. 🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧

Marketing Communication. Capital at risk. For professional investors in the UK only. Join us on Tuesday, July 16 at 10am, for a webinar with Andrew Marsh and Nick Shenton. They will discuss their highly active approach to investing in for UK equity income, the catalysts that could trigger a re-rating of the UK market and why they think share buybacks are different this time around. https://lnkd.in/eFCHzxhd #ukmarket #ukequities #rerating #investing

💡 Equity Capital Markets reform: Where are we now? The UK #equitycapital markets are undergoing a swathe of regulatory #reforms impacting, to a degree, all UK-listed companies and all companies seeking to list or raise capital on the UK public markets. It is hoped that the reforms will encourage more high-growth, founder-led companies to list in the UK, make capital raising easier, and remove barriers to retail participation 📈 In their latest article, our Equity Capital Markets team review the latest #updates and what they envisage the next steps will be in each key area of reform ⏭   Read more here 👉 https://lnkd.in/deNr7eRN paul cliff, Sam Meiklejohn, Martin Montgomery, Debbie Shaw