This issue celebrates the 20th anniversary of CARG. Who were the movers and shakers at the start of 2006? What did the market look like then and what were the most significant regulatory challenges?
For context, 2006 fell two years before the Financial Crisis. Gordon Brown was the Chancellor of the Exchequer. The focus was on economic growth and while the regulatory breaks were off, companies and their advisers were grappling with the Companies Act, a new piece of legislation that introduced comprehensive changes around company formation, directors’ duties and shareholder rights including, strict regulations on accounting and auditing, as well as preparing for the introduction of controversial new IFRS regulations in 2007 and 2008.
At the end of 2005, many of the advisers that topped the rankings are the same names that you see today but jumping forward to the start of 2026, quite a number of firms have been subsumed into larger entities through mergers, others have faded away completely and there is a large posse of US law firms that just didn’t have a presence in the UK twenty years ago.
Interestingly, while the industry sectors represented by companies on the markets haven’t altered a great deal since 2006, the development of the companies within each sector and their business drivers have changed considerably. Just think about the metamorphosis in the retail sector over the last twenty years. At the beginning of 2006, Amazon had a market cap of US$19.6bn, for example, today its US$2.37T!
As we head into 2026, the outlook for companies is generally positive. Feedback from clients and contacts is that most consider their glass to be half full rather than half empty. Inflation (at the time of writing) has fallen to 3.5%, the Bank of England has cut interest rates to 3.75% and the EY ITEM Club Autumn Forecast has upgraded its forecast for UK GDP growth in 2025 to 1.5% and expects 0.9% growth in 2026, before accelerating to 1.3% in 2027. There have been a couple of significant IPOs – Shawbrook, Princes and Beauty Tech, although their share prices have since dipped, and there are a number of attractive prospects in the pipeline namely, Monzo, Revolut and Allwyn, if they can be convinced to float in London. At the beginning of this year, the FTSE 100 smashed the 10,000 mark, signaling a strong start to the year.
While the impact of economic upheaval in recent years cannot be understated, companies and their advisers appear to have accepted that uncertainty and upset are the new normal – they are rolling-up their sleeves and getting on with the job. It is now five years since Covid and its aftermath, four years since the start of the war in Ukraine, and one year since President Trump took office and started to impose unprecedented unilateral tariffs – a situation which continues to dominate current world events. We are rolling with the punches.
Even speculation that the AI bubble may burst with devastating consequences has failed to create a furore – we’ve been there and done that before. Commentators have predicted that the likely market response will be an increased interest in ‘quality’ stocks in more traditional industries that have perhaps been overlooked and undervalued because of the focus on tech and feel like a safe place for investors. Afterall, not everything can be automated and even the most innovative technology companies need basic products and services to develop their ideas.
Also on the horizon is the introduction of the new measures announced in the recent Budget to encourage retail investment in UK shares. It will be interesting to see if the tax incentives to invest in Stocks & Shares ISAs together with the go-ahead from April 2026 for banks and other financial firms to give investment recommendations, will move the dial. At the very least it will result in more jargon-free information about the market reaching a wider audience of potential investors which is to be welcomed.
While the pace of change has felt rather full-throttle and unpredictable in recent years, change is the only true constant in life. Companies have adapted to unprecedented geopolitical and social change in recent years and if history has taught us anything, there will undoubtedly be some unexpected curveballs in future. Despite these challenges, companies and the markets will continue to adjust and develop. There is a lot to look forward to this year. One thing is certain – 2026 promises to be an exciting year!
This article was originally published in the 20th Anniversary edition of the Corporate Advisers Rankings Guide. For more information, please contact Joseph Archer.
