Christmas isn’t the only season for bargain hunting. Foreign investors have been snapping up cut-price UK companies throughout the year. Data from the London Stock Exchange Group shows that overseas bidders agreed $142bn worth of takeovers of British firms in the 11 and a bit months to December 17 this year — a 74 per cent increase on the same period in 2024. US buyers and private equity groups have driven much of the activity, with financial, real estate and industrial companies proving the most attractive targets. A handful of deals may still be completed before year-end.
淘便宜貨并不只在圣誕季。整整一年里，海外投資者一直在抄底收購打折的英國公司。倫敦證券交易所集團(London Stock Exchange Group)的數據顯示，截至今年12月17日的十一個多月里，海外競購方同意收購英國企業的交易規模達到1420億美元，較2024年同期增長74%。其中，美國買家與私募股權機構貢獻了相當大一部分成交，金融、房地產和工業類公司成為最受追捧的標的。年底前或許仍會有少數交易落地。