Mitie takeover adds to £70bn London listings exodus as boss set for £50m windfall
Mitie has become the latest casualty in a £70 billion takeover spree that is draining the London Stock Exchange of listed companies, with the facilities management firm's board backing a £3.1 billion offer from rival OCS Group.
The deal, which would hand chief executive Phil Bentley a £50 million windfall for his shareholding, represents the eighth-largest bid for a London-listed company this year. It brings the total value of completed and pending takeovers of UK firms in 2026 to £70 billion, according to analysis by investment platform AJ Bell.
Founded in 1987, Mitie has been listed on the London Stock Exchange for nearly four decades, establishing itself as one of the UK's leading facilities management companies. The proposed takeover by OCS Group, which is controlled by US private equity firm Clayton, Dubilier & Rice, values Mitie shares at 221.6p each.
Bentley, who became CEO in December 2016 after leading Cable & Wireless Communications and previously serving as managing director of British Gas, stands to receive around £50 million from the deal. The agreement also includes a £124 million payout to be shared among Mitie's 50,000 employees.
Record foreign takeover wave
The Mitie deal forms part of an unprecedented wave of foreign acquisitions targeting British companies. Foreign takeovers of UK firms have reached a record high in 2026, totaling more than $197 billion by early July – the highest year-to-date figure since records began in 1980. US bidders have accounted for more than half of these foreign takeovers.
Strikingly, foreign acquisitions now represent 86% of all UK merger and acquisition activity by value so far in 2026, compared with 75% at the same point in 2025. This marks an all-time high proportion, intensifying concerns that British firms are undervalued on the London market and vulnerable to overseas predators.
Clayton, Dubilier & Rice acquired OCS Group in 2022 when it purchased both OCS and Atalian to create a global facilities management platform. The private equity firm also owns UK supermarket chain Morrisons, which it acquired in 2021. The combined Mitie-OCS entity would employ 136,000 British workers, making it one of the UK's largest private-sector employers.
IPO drought compounds crisis
The loss of listed companies is being compounded by a severe shortage of new listings. The London Stock Exchange raised just £577 million from seven new listings in the first half of 2026. While this represents a 215% increase from the £183 million raised in the same period of 2025, it remains well below historical levels.
The first quarter of 2026 saw only two initial public offerings on the exchange, with activity hampered by geopolitical tensions including conflict in the Middle East and concerns about an AI-related stock market bubble.
Dan Coatsworth of broker AJ Bell warned that the Mitie deal represents another blow to the London Stock Exchange.
Losing another mid-cap represents another blow to the London Stock Exchange as it grapples with a major shortage of stock market flotations.
Several high-profile companies have chosen to quit London for rival exchanges in New York and Amsterdam. Betting giant Flutter, plumbing group Ferguson and fintech firm Wise have all departed, while pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca sparked speculation about a possible move when it listed shares in the US alongside its UK listing.
Warnings from banking chief
JP Morgan Chase boss Jamie Dimon issued a stark warning about the exodus, cautioning Prime Minister Andy Burnham against raising taxes on businesses.
If you have an uncompetitive tax system, capital leaves your country. And if capital leaves your country, it goes to other countries. How many companies have delisted from London in the last couple of years? I wouldn't want to see that if I was running a country.
Meanwhile, British property investment company Segro rejected a £13.5 billion takeover approach from US firm Prologis, with the American suitor accusing Segro of being "unrealistic" about its valuation.
The Mitie takeover is subject to shareholder approval and regulatory clearance. If completed, it would remove another established name from the London market at a time when the exchange is struggling to attract new listings and retain existing companies.
