Sustained M&A activity is improving job prospects for financial services workers, according to Dave Way, managing director at accountancy & finance recruiter Marks Sattin.

Latest ONS figures reveal the value of acquisitions in the UK by foreign companies is £12bn in Q3 2010, up from £2.7bn in Q2 2010. Acquisition expenditure abroad by UK firms rose from £2.4bn in Q2 2010 to £5bn in Q3 2010, the highest quarterly value since Q2 2008.

Meanwhile the value of UK domestic acquisitions in Q3 2010 was £2.6bn, up slightly from £2.1bn in the previous quarter.

Way says: “Financial services workers will take great encouragement from the M&A figures released this morning by the ONS – especially in the run up to bonus season. One of the main reasons behind the freeze in pay during the past two years has been the failure of banks to secure significant amounts of M&A work.  

“We can already see the effect of the increased M&A activity on the City job market. If this level of M&A activity is maintained and UK companies continue to look to seek high-value deals abroad, we can be certain to see happy faces and fat wallets in the square mile in the New Year.”