M&A in the UK media and marketing services sectors: Q4 2025
Slow final quarter ends disappointing year amidst cautious optimism for 2026
57
deals completed
+29%
Moore Kingston Smith
Marketing Services Index
54%
deals backed by PE
Our view of the market
2025 saw some enormous media deals announced. This includes the potential $83 billion acquisition of Warner Bros Discovery assets and a $55 billion leveraged buy-out of Electronic Arts by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund. Other huge deals are Skydance’s $8 billion merger with Paramount, Disney taking full control of Hulu, DAZN buying Foxtel, Omnicom buying IPG and Canal+ acquiring MultiChoice, all signalling a push for scale, content and adtech dominance in a consolidating market.
However, outside the realm of the mega-deal, activity was subdued. M&A activity in the UK’s media and marketing services sectors declined significantly in 2025. We recorded a total of 301 UK deals, which is 23% down on the 393 deals in 2024. This is the lowest level of activity we have seen in recent years, excluding 2020 where deal-making was heavily affected by the pandemic.
The picture is more nuanced when we examine the quarterly data. We saw a gradual quarter-on-quarter cooling of activity during the first nine months of 2025 but then witnessed a steep decline in the final quarter, with just 57 transactions completing – 26% down on the 77 deals in Q3.
The UK’s late Budget caused uncertainty but the Chancellor did announce some sector-specific investments to encourage growth – although the cut to the CGT relief available to shareholders selling to an EOT has made this exit route less attractive. Acquirers and sellers who were in a wait-and-see mode can now plan for transactions with more confidence.
The outlook for 2026 is unclear but we remain hopeful of an improving environment for would-be sellers and acquirers. The UK’s economic outlook is currently characterised by cautious optimism for modest short-term growth. Inflation is predicted to keep falling and economists expect the Bank of England to announce further rate cuts in the coming months, which will help leveraged transactions. Additionally, the increased rates of business asset disposal relief, to apply from April 2026, may well encourage business owners to complete transactions during the first quarter of next year.
Annual deal volume
Quarterly deal volume
Q4 deal by sector
Trending: Data and analytics
In Q4 2025, data and analytics was the favourite marketing services category with acquirers. It made up 23% of all the marketing services deals we recorded – a significant increase on the 14% of deals that it accounted for in Q3. Increasingly, data and analytics has shifted from a back-office function to a primary driver and competitive differentiator for acquirers, enabling it to act as a strategic adviser by offering data-driven tools that help clients grow.
We saw cross-border transactions in the space, with UK companies proving particularly popular with European acquirers. In November, European marketing SaaS group Spotler announced it was expanding its UK footprint through the acquisition of Hive Marketing Cloud, a provider of customer data platform technology. In December, Norway-headquartered advisory and communications group Paritee announced the acquisition of Truth Consulting, a UK-based consultancy specialising in cultural intelligence, strategic insight, AI-enabled analytics and human-centred research.
Q4 2025 deal activity in the marketing services sector
Spotlight on: Martech
In the marketing services sector, while most deals involved the acquisition of traditional service-led agencies, 29% of the deals we recorded in Q4 were technology-led. This is up from the 27% in Q3 and remains significantly higher than the historical average, demonstrating a continuing demand for technology-first agencies on the part of acquirers.
70% of the technology-led transactions related to martech companies – companies developing and using technology to assist with a digital marketing strategy – while 20% were adtech and 10% mediatech.
Notable UK martech deals
![martech logos](https://mooreks.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/logocfmedia1-1.png")
In October, UK AI agent technology firm Unaric announced its ninth acquisition in two years, buying DESelect, a US-based marketing optimisation platform specialist.
In November, Surrey-based provider of technology solutions to the automotive industry TekCor4 acquired Kent-based Marketing Delivery, an AI-powered customer engagement technology specialist. The deal was backed by a minority growth investment from US venture firm FM Capital.
Major holding companies
Notable transactions
2025 was a year of upheaval for the global holding companies. The big six have become the big five, with the combination of Omnicom and IPG to become the world’s largest advertising and marketing services company by revenue. Further consolidation is rumoured to be on the cards, with question marks over the possible sale of WPP and Dentsu’s international business. With so much focus at the holding company level, most of the majors saw little subsidiary M&A activity in Q4, apart from Havas and Publicis.
Publicis announced one acquisition in Q4. In October, it acquired South East Asian influencer and content agency HEPMIL Media Group to strengthen its social and creator presence in such markets as Singapore and Malaysia.
Havas ended 2025 with a flurry of activity – completing five acquisitions in the final quarter. In November, it announced that it had acquired a majority stake in Gauly, a corporate and financial communications firm based in Germany. In December, it expanded its data expertise with the acquisition of French data consulting and engineering firm Unnest; strengthened its experiential marketing arm Havas Play with the acquisition of UK-based experiential agency Bearded Kitten; bought Australian independent media agency Kaimera; and launched Havas Play into Belgium with the acquisition of DIGIZIK.
Towards the end of November, there was speculation in the press that Havas, in conjunction with private equity firms KKR and Apollo, might be looking to take over its struggling rival holding company WPP. However, Havas Chief Executive Yannick Bolloré later told employees that no discussions were being held with WPP.
Almost one year after the deal was first announced, Omnicom finally completed its acquisition of Interpublic at the end of November, following receipt of all necessary regulatory approvals. Under the terms of the agreement, legacy Omnicom shareholders own approximately 61% of the new combined company, while legacy Interpublic shareholders hold approximately 39%. Now that the deal has concluded, we expect to see further M&A, as Omnicom looks to rationalise its interests, either through consolidation or strategic divestment.
With its very busy Q4, Havas took the title of the most prolific network acquirer in 2025, completing a total of 11 acquisitions. 2025 saw an increase in M&A activity by the networks as they completed a total of 21 transactions between them, compared with just 16 last year. However, this activity was essentially driven by just two of the holding companies – Havas and Publicis – with the remainder largely inactive.
Challenger networks
Q4 was unusually quiet for the challenger networks, with only a couple of the serial acquirers that we track announcing new deals.
In October, M&C Saatchi acquired The Women’s Sports Group, a specialist advisory and media rights consultancy, with a view to broadening its global sports credentials.
Following the two acquisitions it made in Q3 (advised on by Moore Kingston Smith), MSQ announced in December that it was further expanding its presence in North America with the acquisition of Atlanta-based digital experience company Arke.
Marketing services industry stock market performance
In Q4, global stock markets showed reasonable gains. The S&P 500 was up by 2% in the final quarter, while the UK’s FTSE 100 was up by 5%. However, marketing services companies were out of favour with investors, resulting in the Moore Kingston Smith Marketing Services Index underperforming the market significantly and ending Q4 6% down. We lost one constituent of the index, with the delisting of IPG following its acquisition by Omnicom in November. Of the 12 companies remaining, only four ended the quarter in positive territory.
Q4’s star performer was Publicis, which saw its share price increase by 9%. Investors responded to reports that the company’s organic growth is accelerating and that it is growing significantly faster than its peers. In October, Publicis announced Q3 revenues above analysts’ expectations and raised its full-year forecast, citing customer demand for AI-led advertising as a key source of growth.
Our worst performer in Q4 was Mission, which didn’t have the best year after rebuffing a takeover bid from Brave Bison in 2024. It has consistently underperformed market expectations and, in mid-October, its Chief Creative Officer, Dylan Bogg, resigned with immediate effect, sending Mission’s shares on a continuing downward slide.
Moore Kingston Smith Marketing Services Index Q4 2025
Private equity
Of the 57 transactions we recorded in Q4, 54% involved private equity (PE) investment, either directly or via an existing portfolio company. This is marginally down on the 56% of last quarter but shows that PE remains a key driver of M&A activity.
Looking at the year as a whole, we find that PE-backed investments accounted for 57% of the 301 deals. This is significantly ahead of the 46% that we recorded in 2024 and is the highest level in the last five years, as both 2023 and 2022 came in at 53% and 2021 was 54%.
The UK PE market was boosted by a series of interest rate cuts in 2025, making leveraged transactions more affordable than they have been for a couple of years. Economists expect further rate cuts in 2026, lending more power to the leveraged buyers. Despite a more constrained fundraising environment, PE still has significant dry powder to invest in the UK, and we expect to see increased activity by PE-backed buyers as market conditions improve.
Percentage of PE-backed deals
Notable UK PE-backed deals
Moore Kingston Smith advised on a number of UK PE-backed transactions in Q4.
In September, Centaur Media sold The Lawyer for £43 million to Legal Benchmarking Group, which is backed by Triple Private Equity. The transaction brings together one of the UK’s most respected legal media and intelligence brands with a leading provider of benchmarking and performance data for law firms worldwide. The strategic combination will support The Lawyer’s continued growth as a data-driven business intelligence platform serving the global legal sector. Moore Kingston Smith advised Centaur Media on the transaction.
In October, UK-based B2B technology marketing agency Revere was acquired by Marketbridge, a US-headquartered integrated growth consulting and marketing firm. The move marks Marketbridge’s second European acquisition since its purchase of April Six earlier in 2025. Marketbridge is backed by PE house RTC Partners. Moore Kingston Smith advised Revere on the transaction.
In November, UK-based reputation and communications consultancy Headland acquired Bladonmore, an international digital, brand and content business, to expand its client offer and international footprint. This is Headland’s first acquisition since LDC reinvested in the business in October 2024, having first partnered with the firm in 2021. Moore Kingston Smith advised Bladonmore on the transaction.
TV, film and entertainment
Within the TV, film and entertainment sector, TV and film transactions proved the most popular with acquirers in Q4, accounting for 50% of the deals – a sizeable increase on the 38% in Q3.
Production services deals were the most prominent, accounting for 50% of the transactions, closely followed by pure content plays, which accounted for 42%.
In recent years, UK media group Global Media & Entertainment significantly diversified into a 360-degree media company by building on its radio heritage and expanding its digital platforms, outdoor advertising, video content and podcasts. In October, Global launched Global Studios, a creative powerhouse for video-first podcasts and acquired The Fellas Studios, a leading UK creator network. This was followed in the first few days of 2026 by the announcement that Global was acquiring a majority stake in The Overlap, a sports media group founded by Gary Neville, which generates millions of video views across such platforms as YouTube. Moore Kingston Smith advised The Overlap on the transaction.
Notable UK TV, film and entertainment deals
In November, US private equity firm Great Hill Partners acquired a controlling stake in Motion Picture Licensing Company, which collects royalties on behalf of Hollywood studios, including The Walt Disney Company and MGM. The deal, reported to be worth several hundred million pounds, involved Motion Picture Licensing Company’s existing private equity backer Tenzing rolling over part of its interest and remaining an investor.
In October, John Gore Studios announced a significant expansion of its UK production capability with the acquisition of a majority stake in Hilltop Screen, an independent production company founded by award-winning drama producer Hilary Bevan Jones.
Q4 2025 deal activity in the TV, film and entertainment sector
Publishing
B2B publishing secured the top spot in Q4, accounting for 70% of the deals.
The main UK publishing news story in Q4 was the December announcement that the owner of the Daily Mail had secured funding for a £500 million takeover of The Telegraph. The consortium RedBird IMI – a joint-venture between the US PE firm RedBird Capital Partners and the United Arab Emirates’ International Media Investments – took control of The Telegraph in 2023. However, it was forced to put the newspaper group up for sale in 2024 after the UK government legislated against foreign state ownership of British newspaper assets. The deal remains subject to the approval of the culture secretary and regulators, including Ofcom and the Competition and Markets Authority. Rival bidders are rumoured to remain interested, so what has been dubbed by some observers as “the auction from hell” may continue to run.
Notable UK publishing deals
In December, Moore Kingston Smith advised Legal 500, the global legal benchmarking platform, on its strategic acquisition of Mondaq, a knowledge-sharing platform that provides expert intelligence on legal, regulatory, tax and financial matters.
In October, UK B2B publishing and events group Jacobs Media sold its digital travel technology publication Travolution to European travel technology solutions firm Travelsoft.
Q4 2025 deal activity in the publishing sector
Outlook
2025 was disappointing for the media and marketing services sectors from an M&A perspective. However, we do expect to see a rebound in 2026, with increased activity driven by such factors as improving economic conditions and reduced financing costs. The mega-deals that completed or were announced in 2025 are likely to lead to more deals in the mid-market as the large, combined entities seek to rationalise their existing holdings, reduce overlaps or plug remaining holes in their offering. PE is likely to continue to underpin the market, with a significant amount of dry powder waiting to be deployed and an improving environment for PE realisations. Entrepreneurial business owners may be encouraged to sell before the changes in business asset disposal relief in April.
Paul Winterflood, Corporate Finance Partner at Moore Kingston Smith, comments:
“Whilst the underlying numbers in the final quarter of 2025 were disappointing, we are seeing significant signs of improvement in the market. Whilst deal timelines are stretching as investors and acquirers are taking longer in due diligence but we are seeing more early-stage deal activity which should convert into deal numbers in the first half of 2026. Acquirer and investor appetite remains high, particularly for strategic communications, experiential, social and creator-led capabilities.”
Moore Kingston Smith media M&A highlights
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Methodology
Moore Kingston Smith has analysed M&A transactions involving a UK buyer and/or UK seller where the target company is classified as operating in marketing services, publishing, or TV, film & entertainment. Within these sectors, businesses are further classified into sub-categories.
The research is primarily based on data extracted from Pitchbook, supplemented by publicly available information from industry and company sources where appropriate. The research aims to capture all transactions that fall within the stated criteria, although it is possible that some qualifying transactions may not have been identified.
