M&A Market Update
December marked another active month for investment sector mergers and acquisitions (M&A), with six deals exceeding £5m announced, bringing the 2025 total deal count to 65.
During the month, there were three deals in the wealth management space, including U.S.-based Creative Planning’s acquisition of Maseco Private Wealth, Wren Sterling’s acquisition of Evans Hart and Perspective Financial Group’s acquisition of Prosser Knowles Associates. There was continuing activity in the pensions sector with WTW’s acquisition of Cushon and JAB Insurance’s acquisition of Utmost Life and Pensions. December also saw the announcement of one of 2025’s most significant deals: Trian Fund Management and General Catalyst Group Management’s acquisition of asset manager Janus Henderson.
Total Announced UK Investment Sector Transactions, Annual
Deal values in December covered a broad range, with three deals above £100m. The aggregate was boosted by the $7.4bn acquisition of Janus Henderson, one of the largest transactions by value in 2025. While the year saw the highest concentration of deals exceeding £100m since 2021, just over half of M&A activity continued to involve deals below £25m.
Announced UK Investment Sector Transactions by Target Size
December featured a mix of acquirer types: three private equity (PE) firms, two overseas acquirers, and one quoted company. This reflects the year as a whole in which PE dominated, signaling strong confidence in UK market fundamentals, while overseas buyers were the second most active group, often also linked to PE.
PE-Backed Transactions as a % of Total Announced Transactions
Notable transactions (December 2025):
- Nelson Peltz’s Trian Fund Management and VC firm General Catalyst Group Management have agreed to buy asset manager Janus Henderson for $7.4 billion. The deal, initially proposed in October, values Janus Henderson at $49 per share—an 18% premium over the $41 closing price when the transaction was first announced. Funding will come partly from funds managed by Trian and General Catalyst, complemented by commitments from a strategic investor group that includes Qatar Investment Authority, MassMutual, and Sun Hung Kai & Co. The transaction is expected to close by mid-2026.
- JAB Insurance announced it had acquired Utmost Life and Pensions, the bulk purchase annuity business of Utmost Group. The sale includes over £5bn in assets and 175 employees and will allow Utmost to focus on its wealth solutions business.
- U.S.-based wealth manager Creative Planning announced the acquisition of London-based Maseco Private Wealth. Maseco specialises in giving advice to U.S. citizens living in the UK and has £3.6bn in assets under management (AUM). Creative Planning is headquartered in Kansas and has $600m in client assets and is backed by PE firms TPG and General Atlantic.
- WTW announced the acquisition of Cushon from Natwest, a workplace pensions, savings and financial wellbeing fintech group. Cushon brings £4bn in AUM and 730k members to WTW’s portfolio and further expands its position in the master trust market.
Other UK transactions (December 2025):
- Wren Sterling announced the acquisition of London-based IFA Evans Hart, adding £900m in assets under management (AUM) and offices in London, Kingston, Bookham and Deddington.
- Perspective Financial Group announced the acquisition of Gloucester-based IFA Prosser Knowles Associates, adding £400m of assets under advice (AUA), 27 staff and two offices. Perspective also announced the acquisition of several smaller deals: BLM Partnership Limited, Chiltern Consultancy Limited and Lloyd O’Sullivan Financial Services Limited, with all three adding a combined total of £650m in AUM.
- Beckett Investment Management Group announced the acquisition of Ely-based Absolute Sense Financial Planners adding £135m in AUA.
- Clifton Wealth Partnership announced the acquisition of Wales-based Lifestyle Financial Advice adding 400 households and £75m of AUM.
- MWA Financial announced the acquisition of Market Harborough-based Stonewood Financial Planning adding £53m of AUA.
- Titan Wealth announced the acquisition of Bath-based IFA Morgans Limited adding 3k clients, five advisers and eight members of staff. The deal follows Titan’s acquisition of Caerphilly-based Thomas Carroll IFA in November.
- Integrity365 announced the acquisition of Bristol-based IFA Brooks Wealth Management.
- Finli Group announced it had acquired three firms adding £1.1bn of client assets to the group, growing the firm’s presence in Lancashire, Yorkshire and the Home Counties. The names of the acquired firms were not disclosed.
- BRI Wealth Management announced the acquisition of Gloucestershire-based FutureFocus Advisory adding £40m of AUM.
- Azets Wealth Management announced the acquisition of Cornwall-based adviser Evans Falco.
- SJP partner firm Twelve Wealth Management announced the acquisition of fellow SJP partner practice Smith Hobbs Wealth Management.
- FE fundinfo announced the acquisition of Contengo, a technology provider delivering advanced performance reporting, wealth analytics and data migration solutions to IFAs.
