London Stock Exchange faces ‘material depopulation’

The London Stock Exchange is facing “material depopulation” following a boom in the M A landscape dominated by overseas buyers, a top investment bank has warned. Some 42 bids for London-listed firms are currently ongoing with a total market capitalisation of £74bn, according to a new note from Peel Hunt. The figure is more than double the £35bn from the entirety of 2025 across 40 bids. Overseas bidders make up 64 per cent of the 2026 figures, broadly flat with the previous year. But the buoyant deals market has come amid a “dearth of IPOs”. Since the start of 2023 there have been 166 bids for firms with a price tag over £100m with the collective value topping £180bn. This is compared to just 11 IPOs above £100 for a total value of £6bn. “To say that the UK has a problem retaining its companies and listing new ones would be a massive understatement,” said Charles Hall, head of research at Peel Hunt. He added the number and value of bids for UK firms were running at “exce