Foreign investors lead private equity takeovers of UK firms

Foreign investors are snapping up the biggest stakes in UK firms amid a flurry of private equity deals.

While fewer than one tenth of deals made with UK companies involved a foreign investor in the first half of 2024, these made up 60 per cent of the total invested, according to analysis from Barclays and data firm Beauhurst.

Some of Britain’s best known companies have fended off private equity predators this year, including Direct Line. 

The US group Thoma Bravo inked a £4.3billion deal to buy Cambridge cybersecurity firm Darktrace, whose boss Poppy Gustafsson immediately quit. 

Private equity firms invested £3.5billion into UK businesses between May and July. 

Shenal Kakad, at Barclays Private Bank, said ‘companies are staying private for longer’, encouraging investors to look to private equity for funds.

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