Positive outlook
In the eyes of the current opposition, there are still signs for a vibrant and steady M&A market post-election.
The Labour party claims that "because they [the Tories] have held Britain back in the race for clean power, jobs, investment and supply chains have gone overseas".
Labour will no doubt still envisage a future committed to green spending; the party’s recent campaign document, "Let's get Britain's future back", outlined the plan to create ‘Great British Energy’, a publicly owned organisation that will invest in green energy and make the UK a leader in floating offshore wind.
And the planned National Wealth Fund would “unlock billions of pounds of private investment” to support the energy transition.
Any aspiration for homegrown energy may see a boost in asset stripping, with acquisitions of assets and expertise from overseas entities, as well as investment from abroad in private UK entities that are supporting UK energy infrastructure.
Aside from energy initiatives, any new environmental, social and governance policies and enhanced ESG reporting requirements that may be brought in by Labour could increase visibility for businesses with investors, while resulting innovation in this field could draw the attention of larger corporations looking to make bolt-on acquisitions to enhance their own credentials and offerings.
Combine this with Labour’s pledge to encourage businesses to invest in technology to drive economic growth, and it could certainly be argued that there is a positive outlook for M&A under Labour in the long-term.
Daniel Jacob is managing partner at Marriott Harrison
