UK financial services M&A outpaces global deals in H1 as value surges eightfold

EY analysis

clock • 2 min read

UK financial services M&A transactions rose by 25% in the first half of 2026, with the total disclosed value for deals increasing eightfold to £33.7bn, according to EY’s latest outlook.

Rising from £4.2bn in disclosed transaction value in H1 2025, the ballooned figure for the same period in 2026 includes seven deals exceeding £1bn in value, two of which were so-called mega-deals valued between £8bn and £10bn, according to data from the firm today (6 July). The deals worth more than £1bn contributed 93% of total deal value in the period, explaining the eightfold boost to overall transaction value. UK banks, insurers and asset managers publicly disclosed 135 transactions between January and June, compared to 108 in the same period last year. It comes after a separat...

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