The narrative last year was a bit grim, in all honesty. And that’s a big problem for the UK.
My personal mantra is simple: what you speak and believe will become your reality. So witnessing the amount of crying on social media last year got a bit painful.
When I look at the broader picture in the UK, the underlying numbers from 2025 weren’t too bad at all.
Yes, unemployment data was grim and will probably continue to get worse. This will be driven by a few things: the adoption of AI, the cost of low-skilled labour these days, and the fact that there are a lot of businesses that simply won’t be able to continue trading.
But if you get away from social media, avoid a lot of the right-leaning media, and actually take a look at the hard data - and your own personal situation - you may come away with a more positive feeling going into 2026.
If you do want to focus on the negatives, feel free. But I promise you, it won’t take you very far.
At P10, we had a solid year. A few key numbers:
Why am I sharing this? Because it’s important that we walk the walk for our accountancy clients. We work with them every day to help deliver growth, and I believe it matters that they know we’re on the same journey.
One of the biggest things we measure in our business is the growth of the businesses we look after. Why? Because if our clients are growing, it means we’re playing a positive role in their journey. It’s very difficult to grow without the correct finance functions in place.
Last year, our portfolio of businesses delivered 31% year-on-year growth. That’s a massive credit to our clients and the work they’re putting in within what has been a difficult market.
There was a lot of big news in the financial markets in 2025, particularly around M&A activity. A few notable transactions stood out:
The standout story within CRE in 2025 has to be the return of the office.
We’ve believed for some time there has been a significant opportunity in office space, but 2025 marked the return of institutional backing for this asset class. We expect that to continue into 2026.
We’re currently seeing a huge appetite from lenders to get capital out the door. As interest rates fall and profits on deposits start to decline, lenders open up criteria, increase leverage, and become far more favourable on margins.
We acted as debt advisor on the acquisition of a 95,000 sq ft office building in Reading, delivered by Jack Grey.
This was an impressive deal structured by our client, backed by a personalised borrowing solution delivered by one of our banking partners.
The asset management strategy targets upgrades across the building, increased occupancy, and a 33% uplift in rent roll. If delivered successfully, this could increase the asset value by 283% within the three-year fixed period, assuming a conservative 8% yield.
2025 wasn’t perfect - but it wasn’t the disaster it was often made out to be either.
If you strip away the noise and focus on the data, there are clear signs of stability returning and opportunity opening up across capital, property and professional services. As liquidity improves and confidence builds, the businesses that are best structured - financially and operationally - will be the ones best placed to take advantage.
At P10, our focus remains the same: helping clients make well-informed decisions, structure deals properly, and grow in a sustainable way, whatever the market conditions.
If you’d like to discuss any of the themes above - whether that’s capital structuring, CRE opportunities, or what 2026 might look like for your business - I’m always happy to have a conversation.