UK confidence may be softer, but deal flow is shifting rather than stopping: 2026 will reward buyers and advisers who move early, diligence harder and structure for policy risk. In this article, Nertila Asani, EMEA SVP Sales at Datasite, explains how Britain’s shifting confidence could create new opportunities.
The Saltus Wealth Index shows overall confidence in the UK economy at 66% among high-net-worth individuals (HNWIs), down from 84% ahead of Labour’s Budget. That matters because HNWIs are investors, business owners and employers, and prolonged uncertainty can delay capital decisions just as the UK needs growth. For dealmakers, the implication is practical: the bar for quality is rising, pricing is getting sharper, and the best outcomes will go to those who can underwrite resilience and execute with discipline.
This doesn’t stop dealmaking; it shifts it. Compressed confidence clarifies business quality, separating companies with real pricing power and recurring revenue from those riding the cycle. For disciplined buyers with capital to deploy, that creates entry-point opportunities that rarely appear in buoyant markets.
Dealmaker Adaptation
Over the past year, the UK’s most successful dealmakers haven’t stepped back from volatility; they’ve tightened execution. Diligence is taking longer as buyers test assumptions more rigorously, and agreements are being structured with more flexibility, including protections that adjust if conditions change after signing.
That discipline is showing up in the data. Global deal kick-offs on Datasite, new transactions launched on-platform, before any public announcement, rose 15% year over year in 2025 across a platform that facilitates around 19,000 new deals annually. Average prep time was 14 days, while diligence reached 174 days, signalling faster starts but longer, more exacting buyer work once a process is live.
Private markets are central to that story. Private equity can’t afford to pause: with substantial dry powder and return expectations from limited partners, firms will keep pursuing opportunities regardless of the macro backdrop. In an environment of embedded uncertainty, private markets offer structural advantages—flexible structuring and insulation from daily market noise—that can help create value rather than erode it.
The AI Effect
AI-shaped deal market dynamics throughout 2025, and its influence is deepening. It’s improving efficiency, valuation modelling and integration planning, while also becoming a target category in its own right. Corporate and private equity buyers are competing for businesses with established AI infrastructure, machine learning capability and proprietary data assets, which is pushing valuations higher and raising expectations for post-completion execution. For UK dealmakers in a confidence-constrained market, AI-enabled businesses remain one of the clearest areas of sustained buyer conviction.
Deal teams are also deploying AI internally, using it to accelerate document review, surface risk earlier in diligence and manage process complexity more efficiently. In a market that rewards speed and precision, that adoption gap between firms is beginning to matter.
Market Opportunities
The conditions of 2026 demand more, not less, from dealmakers. Risk assessment needs to go deeper, mapping vulnerabilities across supply chains and regulatory exposure with greater granularity than the last cycle required. Speed still matters, and the firms investing in technology and repeatable processes to shorten timelines without sacrificing rigour will be best placed to act when the right assets emerge.
Policy uncertainty is no longer a temporary disruption; it’s a structural feature that deal terms must absorb. Earn-outs tied to policy or performance outcomes, stronger contractual protections and more creative structuring will increasingly become standard rather than exceptional. For serious dealmakers, that complexity is simply part of the work.
The winners in 2026 will be the firms that prioritise assets with durable cashflows, pressure-test downside cases early, and use flexible structures to keep deals moving despite policy noise.
