Foreign takeovers of UK-listed companies recently hit a record 86% of UK deal value.
The reason? UK businesses are simply cheaper, trading at around 7.7x earnings against nearly 14x in the US.
Although the shareholders who are winning in this environment didn't try and time the market - they were prepared for it.
According to Reuters and LSEG data, UK-targeted M&A has more than tripled in a year. That's $192bn of deals announced already in 2026, with overseas buyers behind a record $165bn of it.
When a listed giant like Intertek gets snapped up, it lifts private valuations in the same sectors. And trade buyers don't stop at the listed names. They're knocking on the doors of privately-held companies too.
But a buoyant market doesn't reward the available business. It rewards the ready one. Low owner dependency. Highly efficient systems. Clean numbers. Predictable revenue.
If a serious buyer showed up tomorrow, would your business command the maximum price?
#M&A
