This is the time of year to look back over the last 12 months. Everyone will have their own political view, but there has been broad frustration at the changes in direction on policy and the lack of a clearly defined agenda. Equity markets and businesses have worried about the economy being talked down and the frustration that the Chancellor’s professed desire for growth seems to be undermined by some of her actions. We would love to hear how you are feeling about the markets and what challenges or opportunities you are seeing as we head into 2026.
Our business is 30 years old, and we don’t think we have seen such investor indecision as we have in 2025.
However, it is easy to wallow in self-pity, when there are some positive shoots out there. Hardman’s business falls into four parts: UK quoted companies, tax-advantaged investments, private companies and consulting, and each area is seeing positive signs. There is now increasing interest among investors and companies needing funding.
In public markets, there are some early signs of renewed interest in UK quoted companies and some helpful measures from the government.
We have seen a wave of all cash takeovers of UK quoted companies by private equity (PE) and trade buyers at substantial premia, suggesting they think our market looks cheap. Examples include:
Other signs include:
Hardman continues to produce research that is valued for its independence, authority, credibility and the way in which our distribution and digital services translate our work into investor interest.
The world of tax-advantaged investing is benefitting from other budget measures that restrict the tax benefits of saving and investing elsewhere (e.g. the cap on salary sacrifice for pensions will be £2,000 per annum from April 2029). We have also seen an upturn in exits from companies from these schemes, enabling investors to recycle their cash.
Last year’s budget extended the Enterprise Investment Scheme (EIS) scheme to April 2035. This budget supports scaling up companies by increasing the limit they can raise each year, and the maximum gross assets they can have, to qualify for both EIS and Venture Capital Trust (VCT) schemes.
The bad news? VCT tax relief will reduce from 30% to 20% for Venture Capital Trusts.
Hardman & Co launched a series of podcasts explaining the basics of tax-advantaged investing, a new initiative in virtual forums for investors, whilst our EIS Navigator is the longest-established and most engaged podcast in the field. All this complements our class-leading research available to all investors free of charge.
In the realm of private companies we have seen some great initiatives and 2026 should be exciting. Two platforms already enable a range of investors to enable intermittent trading in private company shares, Asset Match and JP Jenkins. The Financial Conduct Authority announced a draft set of rules in the summer for these platforms under the mnemonic PISCES – Private Intermittent Securities and Capital Exchange System. This is a broad framework which creates a ‘sandbox’ to test and finalise the rules. The London Stock Exchange is launching its own Private Securities Market under the framework.
Hardman & Co hosted a panel at the recent Mello event for retail investors, with a full room of attendees and so many question that we ran out of time!
We are engaged with these platforms and working directly with a number of private companies.
Our consulting division has been exceptionally busy in 2025. It is clear that regulators are working hard to improve transparency around valuations and liquidity. The events of the Woodford Equity Income Fund in 2019 continue to cast a shadow.
Our team has undertaken a wide range of work. We have been commissioned to value potential acquisitions for public companies and provide advice in court cases. We are retained by Authorised Corporate Directors and depositaries to provide counsel on both quoted and unquoted securities. Our clients value us for the range of skillsets we bring to bear which is unlike any other competitor, the depth of our knowledge and the speed of delivery.
So, we at Hardman & Co, are looking forward to 2026 with excitement and we wish our wide network of investors, companies and advisors a great Christmas break. Make sure you come back fighting for 2026!
