Transcript: Capital alignment - Colin Smith

Transcript

Colin Smith:

The biggest misperception of the market currently is that when confidence returns, capital too will return evenly across the market.

UK deal values more than doubled in the first half of 2026 – an unprecedented rise in capital deployed… in normal times signalling a dramatic recovery. However, while values rose, deal volumes continued to fall – with almost 13% fewer deals this year to date.

With the market becoming increasingly selective, we are seeing capital concentrating around those businesses that are best-positioned to benefit from structural change: from AI technology and infrastructure to financial services transformation and healthcare innovation.

Those businesses increasingly combine the characteristics of what we are calling the Concentration Premium: strategic clarity, differentiated capabilities, executable value creation and confidence around their future relevance.

All of this changes the question that boards and investment committees should be asking: No longer: "How is this business performing today and how will it perform tomorrow?"

But instead it’s: "Are we investing effectively where future value will be created?"

Investors aren’t moving as a herd – instead they are seeking value where they can invest with confidence. Find out more in Because capital isn't waiting for the rest of the market anymore. Find out more in our latest M&A trends market outlook.