UK on course for the biggest year of takeovers since 2021 after £74bn of offers in H1
Investment bank Peel Hunt has released its H1 2025 review of UK takeover trends, highlighting the most intense period for UK takeovers in recent years.
Michael Nicholson, head of advisory and M&A comments: “The volume of activity has been plain to see – at the current run rate, 2025 will be the most intense period of UK takeovers in recent years, averaging two new bid situations per week. Notwithstanding the modest average transaction size, £74bn of firm offers in H1 would annualise to the highest aggregate value of listed takeovers since 2021.”
UK-listed consolidators are giving US private equity a run for their money
UK accounted for 63% of bidders in 2025 YTD, compared to 46% in the last five years
- US bidders continue to show high levels of interest in the UK: US private equity firms have been offerors on 14% of all bid situations in H1 2025, rising to 27% when US strategics are added into the mix
Michael says: “In H1 2025, US PE firms have met their match in the form of UK-listed consolidators. The benefits of greater scale and more liquidity, while preserving key assets and high-quality businesses in the UK markets, have become increasingly persuasive factors in the considerations of UK plc boards and investors when weighing up offers with share consideration against all-cash proposals.”
UK boardroom sentiment is shifting
Michael comments: “The battle between KKR and Primary Health Properties for Assura appears to carry a symbolic significance for the UK market as a whole, not just the highly active REIT sector which has also seen the board of Warehouse REIT switch its recommendation from a cash bid from Blackstone to a cash and share offer from Tritax Big Box REIT. Likewise, Rosebank Industries’ acquisition of ECI in the US, supported by a £1bn+ equity raise, passes a further landmark in the return of the UK consolidator. In some UK boardrooms, there are evidently signs of shifting sentiment from a sense of vulnerability to a more front-footed, strategic outlook.”
Spotlight on Real Estate M&A
- The real estate sector accounts for 20% of all target companies in 2025 YTD, compared to a five-year average of just 11%
Michael says: “The real estate sector has emerged as a focal point in UK public M&A activity in recent months, underpinned by the sustained discounts to NAV at which many of the mid-sized, externally managed REITs trade, alongside ostensibly more robust pricing in the direct real estate market.”