London investment bankers, lawyers, and accountants raked in more than £1.2bn in advisory fees throughout 2026 as a wave of cross-border takeovers drove a 175% surge in mergers and acquisitions involving UK-listed companies, according to data from the London Stock Exchange and official filings. The flurry of corporate buyouts, fueled by private equity capital and American buyers targeting undervalued British equities, pushed the total value of UK-listed M&A deals to $132.9bn (£100bn).
Surging Deal Values and City Advisory Fees
The total value of mergers and acquisitions involving UK stock market-listed companies reached $132.9bn (£100bn) in 2026, marking a 175% increase. This transaction activity generated bumper fees exceeding £1.2bn for the financial and legal professionals orchestrating the deals. JP Morgan led the advisory league tables for UK company takeovers, managing 14 deals with a combined value of $89.4bn (£67.6bn), according to London Stock Exchange figures. Slaughter and May emerged as the leading law firm for the period.
The largest individual transaction of the year was the £10.6bn acquisition of laboratory testing group Intertek by private equity firm EQT, a deal projected to generate more than £370m in advisory fees alone. Morgan Stanley, Barclays, and Deutsche Bank advised EQT on the transaction, while Intertek retained Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan Cazenove, and PJT Partners. Advisory revenues are expected to climb further once pending or uncompleted transactions are finalized, including Apollo Global Management’s £5.7bn agreement to take FTSE 100 airline easyJet private.
Record Executive Pay and Remuneration Rebounds
Advisers and dealmakers benefited directly from the transactional boom alongside the relaxation of regulatory limits on executive compensation. In late 2023, the UK government lifted a cap that restricted bank bonuses to two times annual salary, allowing individual institutions to establish their own ceilings. Major investment banks such as Goldman Sachs permitted top-performing employees to receive bonuses of up to 25 times their annual salary.
Legal partners at London’s top-tier firms also achieved record payouts. Average partner earnings at Linklaters reached £2.5m in the year leading up to April, while Clifford Chance partners averaged £2.3m and A&O Shearman partners collected £2.2m. At boutique financial advisory firm Evercore, senior managing directors acting as dealmakers received an average payout of approximately £2m, with the firm’s highest-earning member collecting £16.2m.
Tax Debates and Wider Economic Context
The record financial sector payouts coincided with industry lobbying against potential tax increases in the UK. Jamie Dimon, the boss of JP Morgan, and industry body UK Finance cautioned government officials against raising taxes on lenders ahead of the budget on 28 October. UK banks currently face a 28% corporation tax rate—higher than the standard 25% corporate rate—alongside a separate balance sheet surcharge.
Labor representatives criticized the high remuneration figures against the backdrop of broader economic pressures. Trades Union Congress General Secretary Paul Nowak called for a windfall tax on lender profits, arguing that institutions funding large executive payouts should contribute more as households face rising energy costs. GMB national secretary Charlotte Brumpton-Childs also condemned the disparity between financial broker compensation and the wages of essential workers.
At the same time, the concentration of activity in private equity takeovers highlights ongoing structural shifts in the London market. While advisory teams capitalized on buyout fees, industry participants expressed concern that a continuous stream of company departures and low initial public offering volumes could diminish future revenue streams tied to equity research and stock market flotations.
Related reading