2026 confirmed as the year of the carve-out as corporates streamline and private equity deploys capital at attractive entry points.
Commercial implication. Carve-outs are the highest-fee, most advisory-intensive deals on the board — map which portfolio clients hold obvious non-core assets and open the separation conversation before the banks do.
(KPMG UK M&A Outlook)
UK deal values rose 12% to £131bn while volumes fell 12%; average deal size up 28% as investors concentrate on fewer, higher-quality assets.
Commercial implication. Fewer, larger, more contested mandates — pitch resourcing and pricing should assume high-stakes competitive processes, not volume flow.
(PwC UK)
Government proposes reform of UK merger control after investors describe the regime as unpredictable and procedurally burdensome against EU and US systems.
Commercial implication. Every live and pipeline deal with a CMA dimension needs a revised timing narrative — clients will ask what the reforms mean for their transaction this quarter.
(Financier Worldwide)
Private equity exit backlog ages: 34% of portfolio companies globally now held more than five years, up from 25% a year earlier.
Commercial implication. Sponsor clients are under mounting pressure to transact — exit-readiness reviews, continuation vehicles and secondaries are the door-openers.
(PwC / PitchBook)
Private credit under strain as borrower defaults prompt redemption requests and closer regulatory scrutiny in the UK, US and Europe.
Commercial implication. Financing certainty is back on the deal-risk agenda — restructuring-adjacent corporate work and lender-side diligence are both in play.
(PwC Global Private Credit Survey)
EU AI Act high-risk obligations go fully live on 2 August 2026; multinational clients with EU operations are in scope.
Commercial implication. This is now a client compliance event, not a legal-market story — clients need exposure mapping before their own boards ask.
2026 is the year of the carve-out
Why UK leaders should care. Separation mandates carry the longest advisory tail in corporate work — structuring, TSAs, employment, pensions, real estate. The firms that raise the question with corporate clients first will own the mandate chain; those that wait will be subcontracted into someone else’s process.
Panel 55 · Pricing 70 · BD 92 · Governance 35 · Novelty 60 · Urgency 78
Government moves to reform UK merger control
Why UK leaders should care. The proposals build on CMA work over the past year to align with the government’s growth strategy, which calls for the regulator to be swift, predictable, independent and proportionate. Clients with paused or structured-around deals will want to revisit them — a proactive note to affected clients positions the firm ahead of the consultation cycle.
Panel 60 · Pricing 45 · BD 80 · Governance 88 · Novelty 75 · Urgency 82
PE exit backlog reaches a pressure point
Why UK leaders should care. Ageing holds mean sponsors must either exit or restructure holdings. Every sponsor relationship in the client base is a live conversation: which assets are past year five, and is the firm positioned for the exit or watching it go elsewhere?
Panel 50 · Pricing 65 · BD 90 · Governance 40 · Novelty 55 · Urgency 80
UK deal values up 12%, volumes down 12%
Why UK leaders should care. Where investors commit, they commit fully — quality assets with credible growth stories are finding buyers while the mid-market stays constrained. Pitch economics, team leverage and fee models built for volume flow will misprice the mandates that actually come to market.
Panel 65 · Pricing 78 · BD 72 · Governance 30 · Novelty 45 · Urgency 60
Private credit faces its first real test
Why UK leaders should care. Defaults, redemption requests and regulatory scrutiny are rising — yet 80% of portfolio managers still expect allocations to grow. Both sides of that tension generate work: financing diligence on the way in, restructuring and enforcement on the way out.
Panel 40 · Pricing 68 · BD 74 · Governance 72 · Novelty 58 · Urgency 62
EU AI Act high-risk obligations live 2 August
Why UK leaders should care. Multinational clients with EU staff, customers or counterparties are in scope regardless of where the firm sits. The client-facing question is exposure mapping and contract review — not the firm’s own AI stack. Firms that raise it first convert a compliance deadline into a relationship moment.
Panel 62 · Pricing 35 · BD 70 · Governance 85 · Novelty 40 · Urgency 76
RFP / pricing takeaway. Larger, more contested mandates justify premium pricing but demand visible risk-sharing. Lead proposals with capped or staged fee structures for separation work and exit-readiness reviews — priced as programmes, not matters.
RFP / pricing takeaway. Regulatory strategy is becoming a scored differentiator in corporate panel reviews. Build a one-page view of what the reforms mean by deal type and include it in every live pitch with a CMA dimension — before competitors make it table stakes.
From deal counsel to separation partner
Position the firm around the full carve-out mandate chain — structuring, TSAs, employment, pensions, real estate — rather than the transaction alone. The differentiator is programme ownership, not deal execution.
Open with the exit clock, not the deal
Ask sponsor contacts: ‘Which of your holdings is the exit committee most focused on this half?’ — a portfolio conversation, not a pitch, and one that surfaces mandates before they reach a process.
The year of the carve-out: three questions every board should ask about non-core assets
Anchored on the KPMG finding. Positions the firm as the one already framing the separation conversation.
Regulatory certainty as a client deliverable
Package the merger control reform analysis as a client briefing product — deal-type by deal-type — rather than a passive knowledge update. Certainty is what investors say the UK lacks; selling it is the opportunity.
Reopen the shelved-deal file
Ask: ‘Which transactions did you park in the last eighteen months because of CMA risk?’ — the reform proposals give every corporate a reason to revisit, and the firm that asks first gets the mandate.
Financing certainty is back on the board agenda
Calm, evidence-led post on private credit strain and what it means for deal conditionality. Positions the firm on the client’s side of the risk table.