The value of dealmaking in the UK financial services sector soared last year, with the total disclosed deal value for 2025 nearly double that of 2024. This came in spite of a dip in deal volume, as value was driven by a number of major transactions.
According to data from EY’s latest analysis of financial services M&A, total disclosed deal value in the sector reached £38 billion in 2025, up by 93 per cent from £19.7 billion in 2024, amid a resurgence of larger deals.
During 2025, there were a total of 12 M&A transactions in the financial services sector exceeding £1 billion. This flurry of major deals helped to drive the overall increase in disclosed deal value, despite deal value falling to 337 during the year, compared to the record high of 378 seen in 2024.
Damian Hourquebie, EY UK Financial Services Strategy and Transactions Leader, said: “Despite a challenging UK market, pro-growth investment appetite was strong last year, with total deal value nearly doubling since 2024, and renewed focus on larger strategic transactions, particularly in the banking and insurance sectors.”
EY’s analysis showed that the broader trend of increasing deal value and flat or falling deal volume was largely consistent across the subsectors of the financial services industry.
In the banking sector, volume remained flat last year, with 70 deals in both 2024 and 2025, while total deal value rose from £6.3 billion to £9.5 billion. This was supported by three transactions valued at more than £1 billion.
In the insurance sector, deal volume dipped from 186 in 2024 to 145, while deal value soared from £4.6 billion to £19.8 billion, driven by seven transactions exceeding £1 billion.
In the wealth and asset management market, meanwhile, 2025 saw the same number of deals as 2024 (122). In contrast to the rest of the sector, however, deal value fell marginally from £8.8 billion to £8.7 billion, with two transactions valued at over £1 billion.
Mirroring a trend that drove the wider UK M&A market during 2025, EY reported that acquisitions of UK financial services companies by non-UK buyers increased from 74 in 2024 to 94 last year, while the total disclosed value of inbound transactions soared from £3.9 billion to £30.3 billion.
Acquisitions of overseas targets by UK companies fell from 97 in 2024 to 88 in 2025, but the value of outbound acquisitions increased from £1.7 billion to £6.2 billion.
Looking ahead to 2026, Damian Hourquebie said: “Robust M&A activity in the UK is expected to continue in 2026. Assuming inflation and interest rates continue to stabilise, investor confidence will likely drive ongoing transaction activity. UK businesses will increasingly target significant deals that aim to bolster their long-term growth goals, optimise costs, and drive innovation in a competitive market.”
Check out our 2026 M&A outlook for more on the trends that defined UK M&A in 2025, the factors that could shape dealmaking in 2026 and an in-depth look at why the financial services sector is set to be one of the busiest for M&A this year
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