Business & Technology
UK chief executives boost M&A as AI drives dealmaking rise
UK chief executives are increasing merger and acquisition activity to support AI transformation, according to EY-Parthenon, with 87% expecting their appetite for deals to rise over the next 12 months.
Among UK respondents, 69% said they are actively pursuing M&A, 63% are considering strategic alliances, and 42% are looking at joint ventures. The findings suggest that dealmaking is being used less for scale alone and more to meet specific strategic goals.
Technology and AI featured prominently in acquisition thinking. When assessing acquisitions or divestments, 46% of UK CEOs cited enhancing technology or AI as a leading consideration, just ahead of strategic fit with long-term growth priorities at 45%.
The survey also found domestic growth was the top market priority for UK leaders. After the UK, respondents identified the United States, Germany, France and India as their main growth markets.
That domestic focus sits alongside a broader view of Britain as an investment destination. In the global results, CEOs ranked the United States as the leading destination for planned M&A activity, followed by India and the UK.
Silvia Rindone, EY UK&I Managing Partner for EY-Parthenon, said the latest responses pointed to more confident use of transactions despite a difficult backdrop. “Despite global turbulence, UK CEOs are approaching M&A with renewed confidence and clear strategic intent, using targeted deals to accelerate technology transformation, strengthen AI capabilities and build long-term value.”
“As activity gathers pace, the UK continues to stand out as a priority for growth, supported by a clear and efficient regulatory environment and strong sector appeal across consumer, energy, life sciences, defence and wealth management. This momentum reinforces the UK’s position as a leading global destination for capital, placing M&A at the heart of the next phase of business growth,” Rindone said.
Confidence holds
The poll found that 87% of UK CEOs are confident about the outlook for the year, while 78% remain optimistic about their organisation’s profitability. That confidence appears to be feeding into spending plans, with 85% saying they feel positive about their ability to invest in emerging technologies.
Executives are still navigating a range of pressures. More than half (54%) ranked geopolitical tensions, instability, and conflict as their first- or second-priority risk over the next 12 months.
Cybersecurity was the next most frequently cited risk at 37%, followed by macroeconomic volatility at 26% and talent shortages at 21%. In response, leaders said they are strengthening financial resilience through cost discipline and capital reallocation, which 23% of respondents cited, while 19% said they are accelerating digital and AI investment.
A large majority, 88%, said disciplined growth and a clear path to profitability matter more than rapid market expansion in the current environment. That helps explain why targeted transactions, rather than broader expansion for its own sake, are moving higher up the agenda.
AI spending
Separate findings suggest AI is becoming more central to corporate planning. Nearly three-quarters of UK CEOs (74%) said they plan to increase AI investment this year compared with 2025.
Respondents said the most measurable effects of AI so far have been in strategy and decision-making (43%) and customer service and experience (37%). This points to a shift away from limited trials towards wider use in core business functions.
The workforce implications are also becoming clearer. Over the next three years, 43% of UK CEOs said they expect to redesign roles to combine human and AI work, while 42% plan large-scale reskilling and upskilling, and 38% expect to increase hiring for AI, data and digital roles.
Rindone said those changes are pushing leaders to think beyond technology spending alone. “Alongside continued investment in technology, UK CEOs are increasingly focused on how human skills can be combined with technology to unlock the full value of AI. The emphasis is now shifting towards redesigning roles, building new capabilities, and developing operating models in which human and AI strengths work together effectively.”
“This is not simply a reskilling challenge, but a strategic one. Organisations that invest early in talent, culture and leadership, while using M&A activity to access technical expertise, will be better placed to drive productivity gains, manage change and sustain long-term growth in an AI-enabled economy,” she said.
The research was based on an anonymous online survey of 1,200 CEOs globally, including 100 in the UK, drawn from large companies across 21 countries and five industry groups. In the UK sample, 69% of respondents were from publicly listed companies, and 45% represented businesses with annual revenue exceeding USD 1 billion.
Business & Technology
Mouse droppings found in Oxford city Chinese restaurant
Ten Seconds Yunnan Rice Noodle in New Inn Hall Street was inspected by Oxford City Council on May 26.
Inspectors subsequently handed the Chinese restaurant a rating of two out of five, meaning “improvement necessary”.
According to the report, received by the Oxford Mail after a Freedom of Information request submission, officers identified a series of concerns, including evidence of mouse activity.
The report states that mouse droppings were found throughout the business in two food storage rooms and the bar area.
In one of the storage areas, mouse activity was present where noodles were kept in plastic carrier bags and potatoes and onion were left in the open.
“Historic” mouse droppings at Ten Seconds Yunnan Rice Noodle (Image: Oxford City Council)
Inspectors said pest-proofing measures were “not great” and identified a hole beneath a sink in the bar area which could potentially allow pests to enter the premises.
In the report, the inspector said: “At the time of the inspection, I observed a number of historic mouse dropping in both the food storage areas.
“The most recent pest control report mentions no mouse activity in any of the food storage areas.
“All areas where food is prepared and stored must be kept clean and capable of being kept clean. This is so that pests are not attracted into your premises and the risk of food being contaminated by dirt is minimised.”
They advised the owner to remove all historic mouse droppings within the food business and continue to identify any issues of pest proofing within a month.
A hole where pests could have entered underneath the sink (Image: Oxford City Council)
The business was instructed to remove the droppings and improve pest-proofing measures where previous temporary work had failed.
Food storage issues were also highlighted during the inspection.
In an “overfilled” fridge, officers found raw chicken stored above ready-to-eat foods, including uncovered beans and spring onions, which could cause cross-contamination leading to food poisoning.
That same fridge, which stored items such as cooked rice, chicken ballotine and prawns, was above the required eight degrees, raising concern about food poisoning.
A large number of food containers were also unlabelled, despite the food looking fresh.
The officer insisted a “robust system for ensuring adequate stock rotation” was implemented and recommended all food be kept in sealed, pest-proof containers.
An overfilled fridge which was measured above safe temperature (Image: Oxford City Council)
No food-safe sanitiser or disinfectant were available on site, only a kitchen cleaner which they said did not provide adequate disinfection.
Despite the concerns, the report noted there had been a “huge improvement” in cleaning standards since the restaurant’s previous inspection.
The business also had a food safety management system in place and a pest control contract with Pure Pest Solutions.
The council has required a range of improvements, with compliance timescales ranging from one week to one month with a revisit inspection planned.
Business & Technology
Oxford startup secures Innovate UK Women in Innovation Award
Oxford-based Peripear has secured an Innovate UK Women in Innovation Award and a £74,974 grant for its development of a wearable device designed to prevent perineal trauma during labour.
The funding will support continued product development ahead of the company’s planned first-in-human study.
Nina van Schaick, co-founder and COO of Peripear as well as a midwife who trained at Oxford Brookes, said: “I’m sure I wasn’t the only one to see this gap.
“I was incredibly lucky to meet my co-founder, Eviatar Natan, right as my frustration about the lack of translation of evidence into practice had peaked.
“There was a proven mechanism that could reduce injuries occurring in up to 90 per cent of vaginal births, and it was being left out of clinical pathways simply because no standardised tool existed to deliver it.”
Peripear is developing what it describes as the world’s first automated perineal thermotherapy wearable, designed to prevent perineal trauma during childbirth.
A perineal thermotherapy wearable is an emerging medical device.
It is a hands‑free warm compress device used on the perineum during the second stage of labour to reduce severe tearing and episiotomies while improving maternal comfort.
Ms van Schaick added: “I’m a farmer’s granddaughter, and when I started practising over 14 years ago, I asked: where is the tool I need to implement this evidence? I looked around and realised we were still asking clinicians to improvise.
“Peripear is what happens when the person who has lived the problem, both personally and professionally, meets the person who can help her build the solution.”
Business & Technology
UK bike manufacturer on brink of £30m collapse after 139 years
The company behind bikemaker Raleigh, which was founded 139 years ago and has supplied bikes to the UK’s cycling city of Oxford over the years, has filed to appoint administrators.
Accell UK and Ireland, part of Netherlands-based Accell Group, filed a notice of intention to appoint administrators as the wider group kickstarted insolvency proceedings.
This follows a difficult spell for Nottinghamshire-based Raleigh, which confirmed job cuts in 2024 before reporting a £30m loss in financial accounts published the following year.
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The boss of Accell said it was a “deeply sad and frustrating situation” and that it had “tirelessly explored” every option for the future of the cycling business.
The company bought Raleigh in 2012 for around 100 million US dollars (£74 million), adding to its roster of bike brands throughout Europe including Haibike, Winora and Ghost.
Raleigh was founded in Nottingham in 1887 and was well-known for its Chopper model, which featured extended handlebars and is now part of its “retro” range.
It no longer manufactures bikes from Nottingham, and its head office has moved to Eastwood, Nottinghamshire, while the company has shifted to selling electric bikes under Accell’s ownership.
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Accell went through a restructuring in February, securing additional funding from shareholders and lenders and reducing debts.
The group said it had since “explored every possible avenue” for its future, including discussions with potential buyers, but that it had not been possible to find a solution which means the business can continue operating.
It has therefore initiated insolvency proceedings in the Netherlands.
Accell’s chief executive Jonas Nilsson said: “This is a deeply sad and frustrating situation given all the hard work and everything we have achieved, with the support of shareholders and lenders, to restructure Accell’s operations and finances.
“It is an especially difficult moment for our employees, creditors, customers, suppliers, and partners.
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“Every realistic option for the future of the business has been tirelessly explored, and none have resulted in a solution to continue the Group in its current form.
“Our immediate focus is to support an orderly process, provide clarity wherever possible, and work with the relevant court-appointed administrators to preserve viable activities and employment where circumstances allow.”
At its 1970s height, Raleigh employed more than 13,000 people across the UK, with around 8,000 working at its various Triumph Road sites in Nottingham.
The former factory land later became the University of Nottingham’s Jubilee Campus.
Raleigh subsequently moved its headquarters to Church Street in Eastwood, before leaving that site and relocating to Durban House in 2024.
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