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The UK’s ranking of top investment banks is typically dominated by American and British firms. But this quarter there is a surprising new entrant: France’s BNP Paribas.
Paris-based BNP ranks third so far this year for advising on £25.6bn worth of UK takeovers, according to data provider Dealogic. That level already surpasses BNP’s entire volume for such transactions across last year.
BNP’s surge, putting it just behind Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan, has been driven by roles advising overseas buyers on acquisitions of two marquee UK assets.
The group’s bankers advised US asset manager Nuveen on its £9.9bn acquisition of London stalwart Schroders, and Engie’s £10.5bn takeover of the UK’s biggest electricity distribution company UK Power Networks.
Its move up the ranking comes as the French group expands its UK-based team, which currently comprises about 20 senior bankers focused on UK takeover deals. The group is aiming to become a top 10 local player, after finishing last year ranked 16.
“We have always been ambitious for our UK franchise, but we are also humble in the sense that we know the year is long and that we still need to continue investing,” said George Holst, the bank’s global head of corporate coverage. “We are not expecting to be tomorrow comfortably a top three UK M&A house.”
Holst worked on a major UK takeover in 2024, advising Czech billionaire Daniel Křetínský on a £5.3bn takeover of the Royal Mail’s parent company.
BNP is also known in the UK for its capital markets business across both debt and equity. It has utilised its other capabilities alongside its advisory work, providing the financing to Nuveen for its Schroders acquisition.
The firm sees opportunity in sectors such as industrials and telecoms, media and technology, and hired Sally Rushton from Barclays last year to run global infrastructure banking.
“We have significant ambitions still in investment banking in Europe and the UK represents the largest investment banking fee pool in Europe,” added Mark Lynagh, BNP’s head of global banking UK. “If you want to be relevant in M&A — a significant volume of M&A is cross-border — you need a credible UK franchise.”
BNP has sought to grow its corporate and investment bank in recent years, expanding in equities but with a big push on the advisory side too, where it has traditionally been weaker than big Wall Street banks or specialists such as Rothschild or Lazard.
The French bank put its huge balance sheet to work during the pandemic when other lenders retreated, helping it capture new clients in the likes of Germany as well as underpinning the drive to land roles on deals.
The UK takeover market picked up last year to reach the highest level since the pandemic, as a surge of foreign buyers sought to snap up London-listed companies with cheaper valuations.
However, this year has had a turbulent start, with plunging software valuations followed by war in the Middle East making it more difficult for companies to agree deals.
Additional reporting by Sarah White
