London’s investment bankers and lawyers have made more than £1bn from a frenzy of takeover deals this year, sparking anger over high City pay during the cost of living crisis. The value of mergers and acquisitions of UK stock market listed companies has surged 175% in 2026 to $132.9bn (£100bn), according to the London Stock Exchange, as overseas buyers snap up British companies at record pace. Fees paid to investment bankers, lawyers and accountants working on these deals topped £1.2bn, official filings suggest, helping drive multimillion-pound pay packets.
The bumper fees were fuelled by a string of corporate takeovers driven by a flood of private equity cash and acquisitive American buyers targeting undervalued British businesses. The spree of acquisitions of listed companies has led to concerns over the future of the London stock market. The takeover frenzy has fed advisory business at the biggest banks and law firms in the City.
Bankers at JP Morgan have been the busiest, advising on more takeovers involving UK companies than any other bank this year – a total of 14 deals worth a combined $89.4bn (£67.6bn), according to the LSE. The leading law firm was Slaughter and May, it found. UK bankers have also benefited from soaring bonuses, after the government scrapped a rule capping bonuses at two-times annual salaries in late 2023.
Each bank now sets its own upward limit. Big investment banks such as Goldman Sachs now allow performers to be paid up to 25 times their annual salary. The surge in business comes while the banking sector lobbies against paying higher taxes in the UK.
Jamie Dimon, the billionaire boss of JP Morgan, has issued several warnings to Andy Burnham and his chancellor, John Healey, against raising taxes on banks in his inaugural budget on 28 October. The industry body UK Finance echoed the view this week. Lenders in the UK currently pay a 28% corporation tax rate, higher than the standard 25%, as well as a separate surcharge on their UK balance sheets.
The most lucrative deal in the City this year was the £10.6bn takeover of the lab testing group Intertek by the private equity firm EQT, which is expected to generate more than £370m in fees. Morgan Stanley, Barclays and Deutsche Bank are working on the deal for EQT, while Intertek paid Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan Cazenove and PJT Partners. Lawyers at top City firms have started to out-earn some bankers.
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