London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Tuesday, Jul 29, 2025

Britain for sale

Britain for sale

The world is vying for UK companies. Why aren’t the locals interested?
A tobacco company that tries to profit from treating lung diseases “invites unflattering comparisons with the man who, having killed his mother and father”, asks the court for mercy because he is an orphan, said Dasha Afanasieva on Reuters Breakingviews. Yet that is what the world’s largest tobacco company, Marlboro-maker Philip Morris, is seeking to do, with its £1bn bid for Vectura, a UK pharma specialising in medical inhalers. Philip Morris’s pitch – that it “wants to be a ‘wellness’ company and will quit fags one day, honest” – has infuriated medical groups, said Nils Pratley in The Guardian. Rival bidder Carlyle – a major US private equity firm that is hardly “the embodiment of saintliness” – thus finds itself in the unusual position of being able to present itself as the ethical option.

This saga is just one of many playing out in British boardrooms amid this year’s explosion in takeover activity. The defence sector is particularly busy, said Martin Vander Weyer in The Spectator. “Military chiefs have expressed alarm” at a £2.6bn bid for Ultra Electronics, which makes devices that protect naval vessels. And ministers are taking an “active interest” in a £6.3bn US bid for the Coventry components-maker Meggitt. But for all the talk about “the national interest”, there’s “slim chance” that either deal will be blocked. “Relatively cheap, and often with great growth prospects, British companies are suddenly all the rage on the global market,” said Matthew Lynn in The Sunday Telegraph. But one group of buyers is “nowhere to be seen” – our own FTSE giants. “There are plenty of blockbuster deals that might be done.” An offer from Vodafone might be relished by BT shareholders, for instance; and Whitbread, or indeed Unilever, could seize on Greggs, before Coca-Cola or Nestlé swoop. No one would argue for a move towards French style economic nationalism, but it would be “reassuring” if some of our own companies “could see the value that everyone else can”, and had the ambition to pursue it.

Blame the UK’s “broken system”, said Michael Tory in the FT. The reason British firms are cheap – and the FTSE 100 has performed so relatively poorly in capital appreciation terms – is down to the “over-distribution of dividends”. The risk-aversion of British boards largely reflects the aims of their income-hungry, institutional owners. “The UK needs a complementary alternative to private equity to reinvigorate its corporate sector”: mega pension funds, of the sort seen in the US and Canada, that invest at scale, and with long-term risk appetite. Without them, there’s not “much hope” of British capitalism thriving.
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
France Opens Criminal Investigation into X Over Algorithm Manipulation Allegations
A family has been arrested in the UK for displaying the British flag
Mel Gibson refuses to work with Robert De Niro, saying, "Keep that woke clown away from me."
Trump Steamrolls EU in Landmark Trade Win: US–EU Trade Deal Imposes 15% Tariff on European Imports
ChatGPT CEO Sam Altman says people share personal info with ChatGPT but don’t know chats can be used as court evidence in legal cases.
The British propaganda channel BBC News lies again.
Deputy attorney general's second day of meeting with Ghislaine Maxwell has concluded
Controversial March in Switzerland Features Men Dressed in Nazi Uniforms
Politics is a good business: Barack Obama’s Reported Net Worth Growth, 1990–2025
Thai Civilian Death Toll Rises to 12 in Cambodian Cross-Border Attacks
TSUNAMI: Trump Just Crossed the Rubicon—And There’s No Turning Back
Over 120 Criminal Cases Dismissed in Boston Amid Public Defender Shortage
UN's Top Court Declares Environmental Protection a Legal Obligation Under International Law
"Crazy Thing": OpenAI's Sam Altman Warns Of AI Voice Fraud Crisis In Banking
The Podcaster Who Accidentally Revealed He Earns Over $10 Million a Year
Trump Announces $550 Billion Japanese Investment and New Trade Agreements with Indonesia and the Philippines
US Treasury Secretary Calls for Institutional Review of Federal Reserve Amid AI‑Driven Growth Expectations
UK Government Considers Dropping Demand for Apple Encryption Backdoor
Severe Flooding in South Korea Claims Lives Amid Ongoing Rescue Operations
Japanese Man Discovers Family Connection Through DNA Testing After Decades of Separation
Russia Signals Openness to Ukraine Peace Talks Amid Escalating Drone Warfare
Switzerland Implements Ban on Mammography Screening
Japanese Prime Minister Vows to Stay After Coalition Loses Upper House Majority
Pogacar Extends Dominance with Stage Fifteen Triumph at Tour de France
CEO Resigns Amid Controversy Over Relationship with HR Executive
Man Dies After Being Pulled Into MRI Machine Due to Metal Chain in New York Clinic
NVIDIA Achieves $4 Trillion Valuation Amid AI Demand
US Revokes Visas of Brazilian Corrupted Judges Amid Fake Bolsonaro Investigation
U.S. Congress Approves Rescissions Act Cutting Federal Funding for NPR and PBS
North Korea Restricts Foreign Tourist Access to New Seaside Resort
Brazil's Supreme Court Imposes Radical Restrictions on Former President Bolsonaro
Centrist Criticism of von der Leyen Resurfaces as she Survives EU Confidence Vote
Judge Criticizes DOJ Over Secrecy in Dropping Charges Against Gang Leader
Apple Closes $16.5 Billion Tax Dispute With Ireland
Von der Leyen Faces Setback Over €2 Trillion EU Budget Proposal
UK and Germany Collaborate on Global Military Equipment Sales
Trump Plans Over 10% Tariffs on African and Caribbean Nations
Flying Taxi CEO Reclaims Billionaire Status After Stock Surge
Epstein Files Deepen Republican Party Divide
Zuckerberg Faces $8 Billion Privacy Lawsuit From Meta Shareholders
FIFA Pressured to Rethink World Cup Calendar Due to Climate Change
SpaceX Nears $400 Billion Valuation With New Share Sale
Microsoft, US Lab to Use AI for Faster Nuclear Plant Licensing
Trump Walks Back Talk of Firing Fed Chair Jerome Powell
Zelensky Reshuffles Cabinet to Win Support at Home and in Washington
"Can You Hit Moscow?" Trump Asked Zelensky To Make Putin "Feel The Pain"
Irish Tech Worker Detained 100 days by US Authorities for Overstaying Visa
Dimon Warns on Fed Independence as Trump Administration Eyes Powell’s Succession
Church of England Removes 1991 Sexuality Guidelines from Clergy Selection
Superman Franchise Achieves Success with Latest Release
×