M&A Conference 2026

Event overview:

The UK Finance M&A Conference returns to London on 7 July 2026, bringing together senior regulators, leading economists, global investment banks, corporates, private equity professionals and legal experts to examine the forces defining today’s dealmaking environment.

This full‑day programme will explore cross‑border trends, geopolitical factors, regulatory expectations, AI‑driven risks, shareholder engagement and emerging opportunities across public and private markets. Delegates will gain practical insight into navigating uncertainty, adapting transaction strategies and identifying new sources of value in a complex and competitive landscape.

Combining expert analysis with strategic foresight, the event offers unparalleled networking and knowledge‑sharing for practitioners across the M&A ecosystem. Join us to explore how to successfully navigate dealmaking in a rapidly evolving world.

Learning outcomes:

Hear from leading voices across finance and law who bring real‑world experience and forward‑looking perspectives.
Expand your network by connecting with senior decision‑makers from across the M&A ecosystem.
Stay ahead of disruption by exploring how technology, AI and geopolitical shifts are redefining transaction strategies and opportunities.

Area of expertise:

Capital markets & wholesale

The agenda is subject to change.

09:00 – 09:30

Registration opens with networking coffee

09:30 – 09:40

UK Finance welcome

09:40 – 09:45

Headline partner welcome

09:45 – 09:55

Ministerial speech

09:55 – 10:10

Keynote speaker

Geopolitics and M&A: the wider backdrop to dealmaking

10:10 – 10:35

Fireside chat with audience Q&A

Takeover Panel: key considerations for public deals.

10:35 – 11:00

Networking break

11:00 – 11:45

Interactive panel session

The new power sectors of M&A: what’s hot, what’s next

A strategic review of the most active sectors in today’s market and the macro drivers shaping deal volume and valuation dynamics. With insights from leading sector specialists from major investment banks.
Financial Institutions: market outlook across banks, insurers, asset and wealth managers, and the evolving fintech landscape.
Infrastructure: investment trends across roads, water, rail, and data centres, including the rise of co-investment models and long duration capital strategies.
Renewables and energy transition.
Defence and energy security: how geopolitical uncertainty and national security priorities are reshaping M&A opportunities and investor appetite.

11:45 - 12:30

Interactive panel session

From deal execution to integration
Part one – Closing the deal: law, regulation and the practical reality.

Regulatory and legal panel featuring CMA, the Cabinet Office, and perspectives from the EU and US practitioners.
Impact of evolving regulatory outlook on valuations and deal execution timelines.

12:30 – 13:30

Networking lunch

13:30 – 14:15

Interactive panel session

From deal execution to integration
Part two – Pre-close considerations to post-close integration value creation.

AI-enabled deal execution: where it accelerates process, improves decision-making and creates competitive edge.
Impact of AI on business models.
Cyber resilience in M&A.
Realistic synergy setting.
Due diligence blind spots and integration challenges.

14:15 – 15:00

Interactive panel session

Broader and deeper capital pools: public and private markets in play.

From Public to Private: how capital is rewiring deal‑making.
Drivers behind the continued rise of take-private transactions, including valuation gaps, low activity within public equity markets, and increasing activism pressure.
The growing role of private capital, including credit, in enabling take-private deal financing.
Refinancing trends and how sponsors are using private credit, hybrid structures and asset backed solutions to extend optionality.
Evolving exit opportunities.

15:00 – 15:20

Afternoon networking break

15:20 - 16:05

Interactive panel session

Beyond the vote: shareholder engagement in practice.

Growing vocality of institutional shareholders
Shareholder activism trends and investment trust requisitions.
Comparison of US vs EU activist approaches operating in the UK.
Proxy advisers and governance themes.
Board level engagement strategies.

16:05 - 16:20

Closing keynote speech

16:20 – 16:25

Closing remarks

16:25 – 17:30

Drinks reception

17:30

Event close

Avanthi Weerasinghe

Head of Market Practice and Regulatory Policy, UK Finance

Avanthi leads on listings, corporate finance including M&A, and secondary capital market-related policy files. Before joining UK Finance in 2022,...

Avanthi leads on listings, corporate finance including M&A, and secondary capital market-related policy files.

Before joining UK Finance in 2022, Avanthi worked for 15 years as a financial services regulator, including as a Technical Specialist at the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) in the UK. At the FCA, she held roles within its Capital Markets division, focusing on market monitoring, policy and strategy formulation, and trading venue supervision. Avanthi was involved in implementing regulatory frameworks such as MiFID II/ MiFIR and the Market Abuse Regulation and led the FCA’s sector views for wholesale capital markets, contributing to the FCA’s business planning. She also led the IMF FSAP for the FCA in 2021 and previously held various capital market regulatory and legal roles.

Avanthi is a dual-qualified lawyer in England and Wales, as well as in Sri Lanka and sits on the Membership and Communications Committee of the Law Society of England and Wales.

Julie Shacklady

Director, Primary Markets, Capital Markets and Wholesale Policy, UK Finance

Julie leads the Primary Markets and Corporate Finance team at UK Finance, which focuses on primary market issuance and public M&A/Corporate Financ...

Julie leads the Primary Markets and Corporate Finance team at UK Finance, which focuses on primary market issuance and public M&A/Corporate Finance.

Julie has a wealth of experience in this area, having worked as a lawyer for over 20 years at (amongst others) Linklaters and Goldman Sachs and latterly as a policy expert within the FCA’s Capital Markets Policy team. Julie sits on the editorial board of the Capital Markets Law Journal.

Julie is also an experienced Executive Coach.

Addleshaw Goddard

Addleshaw Goddard is an international law firm, almost 250 years in the making. We are trusted by over 5000 major organisations, including 51 FTS...

Addleshaw Goddard is an international law firm, almost 250 years in the making. We are trusted by over 5000 major organisations, including 51 FTSE 100 companies, to solve problems, deliver deals, defend rights, comply with regulations and mitigate risk.

Our work spans more than 50 areas of business law, paving the way to deliver the best possible outcomes for clients across multiple industries. Appointed time and again, we help them do business, operate and grow - effectively and safely - in over 100 countries worldwide. And while the challenges our clients bring us may vary, we approach and solve them with the same, single-minded focus: finding the smartest way to achieve the biggest impact.

Financial services is at the beating heart of our business. With over 1000 clients in the sector, we understand the challenges that financial institutions face and the opportunities that are available to them.

This event will bring together practitioners and stakeholders from across the M&A industry, including investment banks, investors, lawyers, regulators, private equity practitioners and corporates to share fresh insights into the world of deal making.

Hosted by