Acquisitions - Acquirers patient despite consolidation warning

Following a senior banker's warning that consolidators will have to find ways to generate growth other than acquisitions, some of the UK's senior large broker heads are preparing to bide their time, writes Andrew Tjaardstra

The last few years has seen an unprecedented amount of acquisition across the business world, with broking no exception. In particular, the rush to buy before the change in Capital Gains Tax feels like a different era. Many say that the world has changed, meaning there was perhaps too much emphasis on the present rather than the future. Bill Cooper, managing director of financial institutions at Lloyds TSB Corporate Markets, gave a warning in PB's sister title, Post, on 16 April that size alone