Thursday 23 July 2026 2:41 pm
| Updated:
Thursday 23 July 2026 2:42 pm
Photographer: Chris Ratcliffe/Bloomberg via Getty Images
We need a whole of government effort to halt Britain’s companies falling prey to overseas bids, says Andrew GriffithMitie’s takeover by rival facilities management group OCS marks the London Stock Exchange’s eleventh £1bn takeover so far this year. That’s before the Prologis bid for Segro.The cry will go up about the London Stock Exchange’s competitiveness, and the usual suspects will reach for the blunt lever of the state directing pensioners where to put their investments. Well worn territory though these arguments may be, they are in danger of focusing on the symptom not the cause.Vibrant public markets are essential. But so too are private markets, credit lending to businesses and the formation rate of entirely new companies. New Companies House registration fell by 10 per cent in 2025 piste. A sustainable forest needs acorns and saplings as well as mighty oaks.That is why as shadow business secretary I believe we need a whole of government effort to halt Britain’s companies falling prey to overseas bids.First, boardrooms and founders need confidence. This will be the third summer in a row of unhelpful speculation about where the Chancellor’s axe may fall. How can we cajole boards to dig in and talk up their prospects without the confidence that the ground will not be shot away beneath them So, the new Prime Minister and Chancellor need to rule out any tax hikes now to provide certainty and confidence rather than months more uncertainty.Back to the 70sSecond, we need real action to ease the cost headwinds that all British businesses are facing. Energy and employment costs foremost among them. We could get a generation back into work by repealing Labour’s 330 page, ‘back to the 1970’s’ (Un)Employment Bill. Immediate consent for the Jackdaw and Rosebank , removal of the Energy Profits Levy and announcing an end to carbon taxes would all be welcomed by businesses large and small. And because higher energy and employment costs ultimately feed into the cost of living, this would help consumersThird, we need a fundamental change in the level of regulation. To get anything done in the UK is too hard, too expensive and too slow. In respect of financial regulation Kemi Badenoch recently set out our plans to end ring fencing, relax capital adequacy ratios and reform the Financial Ombudsman Service.In time, lower and simpler taxes and a fundamental change of culture to welcome back wealth creators and the ambitious young who are leaving for opportunities overseas must follow. But for all who care about the fate of British companies – large and small, listed or unlisted – these are the urgent actions which would helpAndrew Griffith is shadow business secretary
