Mergers and acquisitions involving British firms fell to a three-year low last year. Deal volumes totalled $355bn, down from $603bn in 2015.
The global backdrop was partly to blame, with fears over Chinese growth last January and jitters over the US presidential election result unnerving investors. The Brexit vote and the immediate resignation of David Cameron "added to the sense of unease", as Deirdre Hipwell notes in The Times.
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