10th Jul 2026 15:10
(Alliance News) - Suspicious share trading activity occurred before more than four out of 10 UK takeover announcements last year, the UK's financial watchdog said on Thursday.
In a report, the Financial Conduct Authority said that abnormal trading activity it detected in share prices in the two days before takeover announcements rose to 41% in 2025 from almost 38% of deals in 2024. This took it well above the 5-year moving average of 33.7%.
The abnormal trading volume measure increased to 8.1% in 2025 from 5.6% in 2024, based on abnormal increases in trading volumes in 154 of 1,898 announcements.
"The results suggest market integrity risks remain, particularly during periods of heightened volatility. We will continue to focus on detecting, deterring and disrupting financial crime to maintain confidence in UK markets," the FCA said.
The regulator said several factors may explain the increases.
"We remained in a period of elevated market volatility, driven by global economic and geopolitical conditions. This is likely to have influenced price movements and trading volumes, increasing the number of signals detected. Price movements ahead of merger and acquisition announcements may also reflect financial analysts or the media correctly predicting potential deals."
Last year, the FCA's co-head of enforcement and market oversight, Therese Chambers, issued a public warning to market participants regarding the leaking of sensitive information.
By Jeremy Cutler, Alliance News reporter
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