TIM: Britain For Sale: The country's biggest firms are being picked off 'one by one' as foreign predators pounce

THIS IS MONEY reports:

First it was Wincanton, then Currys and now Direct Line. Companies at the heart of the UK economy are being preyed on by foreign suitors – and it could be just the start.

As global dealmaking comes back with a bang after a long hiatus, private equity barons and cash-rich corporations see listed British businesses as a bargain.

And some observers fear the worst. ‘The situation is looking structural and terminal for UK mid-cap businesses,’ said Richard Bernstein, boss of activist investor Crystal Amber.

‘This is very serious. They are just being picked off one by one.’

The signs were already there.

Charles Hall, head of research at investment bank Peel Hunt, said: ‘A hollowing out of mid-cap UK listed firms is happening.

‘At the current pace of departures, the FTSE Smallcap index will cease to exist in 2028.’

A poll last month by broker Deutsche Numis found that the majority of FTSE board 350 members surveyed said they were at greater risk of being acquired by overseas buyers this year…

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