Investment banking fees from UK deals surged by 33% in the first quarter, hitting their highest rate in three years as JPMorgan jumped ahead of its rivals to top the league tables.
Banks hauled in $1.2bn in the UK, according to data provider Dealogic, which was a 33% jump on the same period in 2023 and the highest quarterly fee pool since Q1 2021.
The jump in fees comes after a torrid two years for UK dealmaking as new listings have hit 20-year lows and M&A remained in the doldrums. While some large investment banks have continued to bolster their teams in the country, long-anticipated consolidation among smaller UK corporate brokers picked up in 2023.
Deutsche Bank acquired Numis in a £410m deal last year, while Cenkos and FinnCap, as well as Panmure Gordon and Liberum have merged amid the deal drought.
READ Barclays leapfrogs Goldman and JPMorgan to top UK fee league tables
In the first quarter, JPMorgan leapfrogged Barclays to top the UK fee league table with $127m in revenue. Barclays topped the UK league tables last year, something chief executive CS Venkatakrishnan flagged during a strategic update in February, saying the bank aimed to remain at the summit.
While it remains early in 2024, there has been a lot of change in the UK rankings during the first quarter. Bank of America came in third place, up from sixth at the same point last year, while Goldman Sachs slipped from second to fourth.
Citigroup has jumped from 10th to fifth place, while Morgan Stanley moves up a place to sixth.
The UK makes up around a third of the European dealmaking fee pool and is a fiercely contested market. Deutsche Bank has moved up from 11th place to ninth in the UK fee league tables, around a year after announcing its acquisition of Numis.
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