03
Jul
UK deal drivers – The impact of macroeconomic uncertainty on M&A
Parliamentary elections in the UK, Germany and France. The return of President Trump to the White House. If 2024 was marked by political risk, 2025 has not let up. Dealmakers in the UK had hoped to return to a more dynamic M&A environment, but Chancellor Rachel Reeves' Spring Statement has not put to bed concerns over her fiscal headroom. Trump continues to pick apart the global financial order. Post-Brexit, post-globalisation, UK dealmaking success depends on navigating this evolving environment through the prism of political, fiscal and regulatory risks and opportunities. How can dealmakers chart this course?
- Who are the main dealmakers in the UK market now? Corporate acquirers, private equity firms or family offices?
- How is the UK’s attractiveness holding up in a fractured environment? Which sectors are most attractive to acquirers?
- How are acquirers finding valuable assets? Are PE funds looking towards public assets in a hunt for value? Do take-privates and BRILOs present opportunities or risks?
- FTSE vs private markets – what is driving the widening valuation gap? Is there hope for London’s IPO market as an exit venue?
- Getting ready for M&A – what financing options are there for acquirers? What role can debt financing play?
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SpeakersCharlie Taylor-Kroll UK Bureau Chief Mergermarket
Edward Little Head of Buyout UK & Managing Director Ardian
James Robinson Managing Director, Head of UK M&A JP Morgan
Carly Burrows Head of Corporate Finance HSBC Innovation Banking UK
Nicola Longfield Partner, Deal Advisory KPMG
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Edward Little joined Ardian in 2018 and is based in London. He is a Managing Director, Head of Buyout UK and a member of the Buyout Management Committee. He has a track record of investments across sectors and geographies, with a focus on Technology and Services investments in the UK. Prior to joining Ardian, he worked at TPG in their London private equity group. He previously worked at HIG Capital and Rothschild M&A advisory. Edward holds a First Class Honours degree in Economics from the London School of Economics and Political Sciences.
James is the Head of J.P. Morgan's UK and Ireland M&A group, having spent the last twenty years advising global clients on a wide range of high profile public and private M&A transactions. James joined J.P. Morgan in 2004, started in UK TMT Investment Banking covering a broad universe of clients, before moving to Australia for a number of years as part of the Diversified Industries coverage group. James graduated from UCL with a BSc in Economics in 2004.
Carly has worked in Corporate Banking for 25 years with roles spanning the UK and Singapore and is currently the Head of Corporate Finance at HSBC Innovation Banking UK. In her current role, Carly leads a team of experienced Tech Bankers based responsible for later stage, scaled companies in the tech & innovation economy. Carly and her team work in partnership with clients to tailor solutions to meet their evolving and event driven financing, treasury and risk management needs leveraging in-depth sector expertise, eco-system connectivity and global reach across the wider HSBC group.
Nicola leads the UK Deal Advisory business and is a Consumer Deals Partner with over 20 years of professional experience, almost exclusively in advising a range of corporate and private equity clients on M&A transactions.
Nicola has focussed on consumer deals, leading some of the most high profile international deals in the sector, including Mars, Froneri, Tate & Lyle, ABF, Diageo, Evergreen and Jimmy Choo.