![\"London](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/London-Stock-Exchange-2.jpg\")
\t\tSome 79 London-listed firms have been involved in M&A activity so far this year\t<\/p>\n\t\t\tWednesday 02 September 2026 4:00 am
\n\t\t\t\t\t\u00a0|\u00a0\u00a0Updated:\u00a0<\/p>\n
\t\t\tWednesday 02 September 2026 7:44 am\n\t<\/p>\n
\t\tSome 79 London-listed firms have been involved in M&A activity so far this year\t<\/p>\n
The London Stock Exchange risks being gutted of even more blue-chip firms this year without urgent action from ministers and officials, a group of top advisers has said, after three more listed companies accepted bids from foreign buyers.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The cohort warned that \u201ccomplacency is not a viable option\u201d following news that FTSE 250 firms Bodycote and Gamma Communications, as well as energy company Capricorn, would became the latest firms to quit London\u2019s bourse this year.<\/p>\n
The trio of deals<\/a> has a combined takeover value of more than \u00a33bn, extending a record raid on Britain\u2019s stock market that has seen Schroders<\/a>, Easyjet<\/a> and insurance giant Beazley<\/a> all plucked off the bourse by foreign bidders in a matter of months. This year alone, companies worth a combined \u00a3132bn have been subject to unsolicited bids, nearly triple the figure for the same period in 2025.<\/p>\n \u201cAny hope that the steady leak of FTSE companies to overseas buyers has stopped will have been dashed by [yesterday] morning\u2019s trio of announcements,\u201d said Chris Beauchamp, chief market analyst at IG. \u201cThe news is another blow to the efforts of the London Stock Exchange, the City of London and the government to maintain the importance of London\u2019s financial markets.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n