Goldman settles for junior roles on trio of UK deals
Wall Street bank cements position on top of league tables, but rivals have taken top billing on recent deals including ITV
Goldman Sachs has taken junior roles on a trio of high-profile British deals after missing out on top billing in recent weeks, an unusual move for the perennial leader in UK mergers and acquisitions.
In the last three weeks, the Wall Street investment bank was named in second-tier advisory roles on three British deals involving Segro, ITV and Bridgepoint.
Goldman typically eschews junior roles on UK deals, according to people familiar with the matter, because they come with either low or no fees and can weigh on the bank’s reputation as the go-to adviser for boards.
Goldman is ranked as the number one adviser on UK takeovers for the year to date, far ahead of Morgan Stanley and Rothschild, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
“It is somewhat unusual to see Goldman repeatedly named behind independent advisers or competitors on prominent UK board mandates, because Goldman’s traditional position has been to lead the most important strategic assignments,” said Valeriya Vitkova, associate professor of finance at Bayes Business School in London.
Winning any type of advisory role — even a junior one — on the biggest deals is seen by many bankers as better than missing out entirely because it helps institutions secure credit for industry league tables. Those are based on the size or number of deals worked on rather than actual fees, which are usually confidential.
Many Wall Street firms use creative tactics to ensure they get credit on deals because league table leadership is an important calling card when pitching for future transactions. In the UK, banks also regularly parlay their position as corporate broker into advisory roles.
Goldman has secured top billing on transactions including Unilever’s combination of its food business with US spice and sauce maker McCormick, Intertek’s planned sale to private equity group EQT and the takeover of ingredients group Tate & Lyle.
But UK property group Segro last month named Evercore and Morgan Stanley as “joint lead” financial advisers as it sought to fend off a £12.6bn takeover attempt from US rival Prologis. Goldman was later added as a “financial adviser” — a more junior role — on what would be one of the biggest takeovers in Europe this year if it goes ahead.
Two days earlier, ITV announced the sale of its broadcasting business to Sky, a unit of US company Comcast. Evercore and Wall Street rival Morgan Stanley were ITV’s lead advisers, with Goldman merely financial adviser and joint corporate broker.
Meanwhile, UK private capital group Bridgepoint chose Moelis as lead adviser on its $1.4bn purchase of the real estate arm of US investment firm Kayne Anderson, calling Goldman its “capital markets adviser”.
It missed out altogether on the sale of UK asset manager Schroders to US rival Nuveen, GSK’s $10.6bn deal for biotech Nuvalent and Rio Tinto’s failed merger with Glencore.
Goldman, whose international business is co-led by one of London’s most high-profile bankers Anthony Gutman, has been locked in a battle for leadership in takeover advice for years with traditional rivals such as Morgan Stanley and JPMorgan Chase.
However, boutiques such as Evercore and Centerview have been increasingly competing for mandates on the biggest deals.
Evercore’s position in London has also been strengthened by its 2025 acquisition of Robey Warshaw, with veteran advisers Simon Robey and Simon Warshaw retaining strong relationships with chairs and CEOs at some of the UK’s biggest companies.
Goldman declined to comment.