Barclays' 30-something head of EMEA M&A is off to a good start

Stephen Pick, the circa-38 year-old head of EMEA M&A at Barclays, has reason to celebrate as we reach the end of the first half of 2025. Less than one year into the role, Pick's team has increased Barclays' market share in the critical UK market. 

Get Morning Coffee ☕ in your inbox. Sign up here.

Data from the London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG) shows Barclays' share of the UK M&A advisory market rising from 17% in the first half of 2024 to 32% in the first half of 2025. Barclays ranked 3rd for UK M&A as a result, up from 5th last year. Morgan Stanley and Citi were displaced. 

For the moment, then, it looks like Barclay's choice of Pick as its EMEA head is vindicated. As we noted in January, Pick was a relatively unlikely choice as the EMEA divisional head having joined from Credit Suisse last August, where he was only promoted to managing director (MD) in 2020. Insiders said Pick was a rising star at Credit Suisse and was close to Cathal Deasy, the former Credit Suisse banker who now runs Barclays' investment bank. Deasy is thought to have personally picked him.

Barclays' UK success this year reflects its participation in deals across the energy, industrials, real estate and financial sectors. It advised, for example, on Constellation Energy's acquisition of Calpine and on Primary Health Properties' acquisition of Assura. Pick, who worked for Deutsche Bank before Credit Suisse, is an energy banker by trade.

Barclays is focused on growing revenues in M&A and elsewhere as it seeks to reduced its cost income ratio. It recently cut 200 jobs and engaged McKinsey & Co. to advise on automation opportunities.

Winning M&A deals isn't simply about the quality of advice, though. Barclays recently advised UK listed vehicle Rosebank Industries on its $1.9bn acquisition of ECI, a deal facilitated by $900m of new debt facilities. 

LSEG data reflects the challenges in the UK market this year. In 2024, M&A started slowly and picked up. In 2025, the opposite has happened. 

Have a confidential story, tip, or comment you’d like to share? Contact: +44 7537 182250 (SMS, Whatsapp or voicemail). Telegram: @SarahButcher. Signal: sarahbutcher.22  Click here to fill in our anonymous form, or email editortips@efinancialcareers.com. Signal also available.

Bear with us if you leave a comment at the bottom of this article: all our comments are moderated by human beings. Sometimes these humans might be asleep, or away from their desks, so it may take a while for your comment to appear. Eventually it will – unless it’s offensive or libellous (in which case it won’t.)