London shareholder activism accounted for 57% of all European campaign activity in the first half of 2025, crossing the 50% threshold for the first time in years, according to data compiled by financial advisory firm Lazard. The figure marks a 46% rise on the prior year and is more than triple the levels recorded in Italy and Germany, the second and third most active markets on the continent.
Europe recorded 30 new activist campaigns in H1 2025, consistent with the historical five-year average but down 23% from the record levels seen in both H1 2023 and H1 2024, the Lazard H1 2025 Review of Shareholder Activism found. Globally, activists launched 150 new campaigns in the period, broadly in line with H1 2024’s record-breaking 153.
London Shareholder Activism and the Low-Valuation Thesis
Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell, said the comparatively low valuation multiples of London-listed companies relative to peers make the UK a natural hunting ground for value-focused investors.
‘Activists tend to be investors who seek out value and then try to ensure that a catalyst arrives to unlock that value, rather than simply waiting for it to happen. In this context, the UK could be fertile territory,’ Mould said.
He added that activists often prefer to work constructively behind the scenes before escalating publicly. ‘Activists often like to see themselves as suggestivists who offer constructive insights behind the scenes into how a firm may be better run and a share price galvanised. They only tend to get confrontational and run public campaigns if they feel they are being ignored or given unduly short shrift.’
Mould said any board that had not considered what an activist might demand ‘has nodded off on the job.’
Healthcare companies were the most frequently targeted sector in Europe during the period, according to Lazard data, with established activists dominating activity rather than first-time campaigners.
M&A Pressure and AI Strategy Drive Campaign Objectives
Almost half of European activist campaigns in H1 2025 pushed for a break-up or sale of the target company, the Lazard data showed. Calls for share buybacks accounted for around a third of campaigns.
Board composition demands made up 13% of campaigns, while strategy or operational challenges fell to just 4%, a sharp drop from the prior year.
Artificial intelligence emerged as a distinct pressure point. Lazard said: ‘As AI continues to reshape industries, activists have begun to exert pressure on companies to adopt and implement AI-focused strategies to unlock value for shareholders.’
Activists globally won 75 board seats in H1 2025, already matching the full-year 2024 total, according to Lazard’s H1 2025 report, putting the year on pace for a near-record outcome.
Campaigns were concentrated in the mid-cap segment: around two in five targeted companies valued between $5bn and $20bn, a cohort that represents only a fifth of the overall market. One in ten campaigns was directed at mega-caps, defined as companies worth $50bn or more, despite that group comprising just 5% of businesses.
Skadden’s Activist Investing in Europe 2025 report separately argued that boards must build strategic foresight, transparency and proactive shareholder engagement to protect their position as activism and political uncertainty across Europe increase.
With London-listed valuations still trading at a discount to US and European peers, and the full-year board-seat tally already matched at the halfway point, the pressure on UK boardrooms is unlikely to ease before the year is out. The London Stock Exchange will be watching whether second-half campaigns sustain the record pace set in the first.
