It continued to be a busy H2 for deals at Travers Smith, and in this note, we bring you the M&A, Private Equity and ECM trends we have been seeing in the UK market during this period. Get in touch with one of the contacts listed or your usual Travers Smith contact to find out more.
In H2, the number of firm takeovers offers for companies listed on the Main Market and AIM was down. There were 20 firm offers announced (13 – Main Market and 7 – AIM) compared with 37 firm offers announced for H1 2025 (19 – Main Market and 18 – AIM). However, when comparing the total number of firm takeover offers for the year 2025 with the total number of firm takeover offers for the year 2024, the numbers are almost identical (2025 – 57 firm offers and 2024 – 56 firm offers).
The sector which saw the most takeovers in H2 was the financial sector with 8 firm offers followed by oil, gas and chemicals with 3 firm offers. Offers involving real estate assets, in be particular UK REITS, was down from a high of 6 in H1 to 1 in H2.
There were 10 public to private takeover offers in H2 (6 – Main Market and 4 – AIM) which was a decrease from the 16 in H1 (7 – Main Market and 9 – AIM).
There was a good spread of private M&A transactions across sectors in H2. Deals got done, with many ongoing processes as well, albeit with a sharper focus on resilience and visible growth. Sponsor appetite continued to be strong, both on the buy-side and sell-side, but buyers remained selective about where and when to play hard.
While there are still clear headwinds — valuation pressure, regulatory scrutiny, selective buyer appetite — the tone across the market clearly felt more constructive than 12 months ago. Capital is being deployed, vendors are adjusting expectations, and deal structures are evolving to get transactions over the line. There is no shortage of opportunities for those ready to be nimble, and we feel the next 6 months should provide plenty of room for well-prepared sponsors and management teams to move with confidence.
The new UK Prospectus Regime, that takes effect next week, along with the 2024 listing reforms aim to make London a more attractive venue to be listed and remain listed for a broader range of companies. Whilst, changing global tariff policies and conflicts continued to contribute to ECM market uncertainty in H2, we were delighted to see a number of companies coming to market in Q4.
Our IPO Guide sets out key considerations for companies and management as they think about listing in London. In H2, we saw a notable increase in the number of ECM-related queries, and advised on a number of AIM to Main (ESCC) moves. Access to a wider investor pool, improved liquidity in shares and changes to the IHT regime applying to AIM are fuelling the larger AIM corporate issuers considering a move away from AIM to the ESCC category.
