Quietest Q4 and annual M&A totals in years, says MarshBerry

- By Emmanuel Kenning
- @brokingbod
- 07 Jan 2026
- Indicative reading time: 2 minutes

There are “arguably no immediate catalysts that will likely push deal activity up to 2023/24 levels for the foreseeable future”.

That is the opinion (see box, right) of John Nisbet, managing director of MarshBerry’s UK office. The view came as the M&A specialists rolled out their figures for the year.

What will sector M&A activity in 2026 look like?

“There are arguably no immediate catalysts that will likely push deal activity up to 2023/24 levels for the foreseeable future," explained John Nisbet, managing director of MarshBerry’s UK office.

“Softening rates, debt costs that are still historically high and general

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