The UK lower-mid-market has seen a sustained period of Leveraged Buyouts (‘LBO’), with senior lenders and private credit funds continuing to use various products to finance companies capable of servicing substantial debt to unlock transactions. In these transactions strong structural demand and cash-flow durability, rather than headline growth, determine which businesses are capable of taking […]

In recent years, few sectors have attracted the attention of private equity (PE) quite like UK professional services, particularly accountancy firms.

On 28 February 2026, strikes were launched against Iran. Within days, the Strait of Hormuz, the channel that normally carries around a fifth of the world’s oil and LNG, was effectively closed. Brent crude jumped from roughly $70 a barrel to peaks near $120. UK wholesale gas prices rose by around 75% in under a month.

Andy Burnham, heir presumptive to the Labour Party and Number 10 (wherever that might be in the future) has openly expressed support for the equalisation of Capital Gains Tax with income tax rates.

Investors loved it, private equity firms chased it and public markets rewarded it with valuation multiples that often seemed to defy financial logic.

Since the pandemic in 2019, the UK has experienced a steady pattern of new uncertainties. In March 2026, the escalation of conflict involving the United States and Israel in the Middle East has only caused more uncertainty in global markets, with immediate consequences for dealmaking activity.