Public activist campaigns in Europe have continued to tick up in recent years, with a total of 78 activist campaigns launched in the first five months of the year, according to Alvarez & Marsal’s recent A&M Activist Alert Outlook.
This represents an 11% increase from the same period in 2025. Campaign activity generally increased across the Nordics and Italy, while in Germany activity declined, due to industrial disruption and competition from China.
However, the UK remained the main country for activist investors in Europe, representing 42% of total campaigns in the first five months of the year. Deal value in the UK market has “soared” by 205%, according to the report.
However, the nature of activist demands has shifted, with an increased focus on M&A compared to 2025 (8% of campaigns then compared to 20% now).
Paul Kinrade, senior adviser at A&M, said: “The most notable change this year has been what activists are asking for.
“Investors are increasingly asking whether every business unit or portfolio asset justifies the capital committed to it and whether management teams are taking the actions needed to unlock value and maximise returns.”
See also: Migo 2.0: Rise of the activists
That said, activism has started to shift behind closed doors, the report noted.
André Medeiros, managing director at A&M, said: “The image many people have of activism is still shaped by public campaigns and messy boardroom battles.” However, he argued this was no longer the preference for activists.
“Many activists are choosing to engage privately with management teams and boards, focusing increasingly on capital allocation, and making that capital work harder.”
The report analysed over 1,500 European-listed companies, 413 of which had recognised activist investors but had not faced public campaigns. Over the next two years, those companies delivered 7% higher shareholder returns than peers, while also completing 21% fewer acquisitions.
“While public campaigns remain an important part of the activist toolkit, particularly where investors believe boards are unwilling to engage, private discussions are increasingly becoming the preferred route,” the report noted.
Looking forward to 2027, the report expected the UK to remain a primary focus for activists in Europe, as strong shareholder rights, depressed valuations and take-private and M&A activity continued to attract investor interest.
On top of this, the report expected Europe to continue to attract more activist interest. It has become increasingly attractive to activists in recent years, rising from 11% of all campaigns in the first five months of 2024, to 12% and 15% in the same periods of 2025 and 2026.
The report also noted that it expected AI to become a bigger theme, as investors continue to scrutinise whether investment in the new technology is leading to tangible improvements in margins and profits.
Malcolm McKenzie, chair of corporate transformation services, Europe, at the firm, said: “Investors are increasingly focused on whether companies demonstrate strong equity stories featuring disciplined capital allocation and credible AI-enabled transformation.
“In this AI world, those that deliver results and returns instead of hype and hope will be best placed to stay ahead of activist scrutiny.”
See also: ‘The outcome has unfolded exactly as anticipated’: Saba takes control of IEM
