William Blair expands European footprint as M&A business picks up

US-based middle-market investment bank William Blair & Co. LLC is building out its presence across Europe as it anticipates an increase in M&A advisory business.

William Blair's European investment banking business underwent a restructuring this year aimed at expanding local operations and capitalizing on emerging opportunities. Stewart Licudi was appointed head of European investment banking in January after serving 19 years at various management roles across the group, most recently heading its London office.

"[2025] has been a year where we opted for some strategic growth, across geographies, sectors as well as products ... We saw some senior management departures, but we've also been hiring," Licudi told S&P Global Market Intelligence in an interview.

The bank recently made an as-yet unnamed senior hire in its Frankfurt office, who will be the first manager to focus on the services sector in Germany, Licudi said. This follows the appointment of UK-based M&A strategist Chris Bates as director in its consumer products and services advisory business in London, and the recruitment of its first full-time employee in the Nordic region, Daniel Nilsson, who joined as a managing director in the group's sponsor coverage business.

"We've always had a good business in the Nordics, but we believe that by having somebody there on the ground, we can elevate our performance," Licudi said.

The bank is also opening a new office in Madrid, where it has one senior coverage banker, Alvaro Hernandez, a managing director in the financial sponsors group. The bank aims to make at least two more hires in Madrid by the end of the year.

It is also hiring senior technology sector bankers for its London and Frankfurt offices, and is seeking to add staff in other areas where it sees opportunities for growth, Licudi said.

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Banking on a recovery

Despite the uncertainty caused by geopolitical shifts in Europe and the new US administration's policy changes, 2025 has been "a very active year" in terms of European M&A business for William Blair, according to Licudi.

"Although, like everybody, we have seen some deals [put on hold], especially anything that might be affected by tariffs ... we've also seen a lot of deals being done," said Licudi.

European M&A activity has been recovering in recent months, driven by more active private equity (PE) firms and several big-ticket deals coming to market across sectors, Market Intelligence data shows.

While M&A activity is expected to grow further in 2026, there is not going to be "a sudden opening of the flood gates," Licudi noted.

"I'm not sure it's going to be quite as dramatic as maybe people had hoped for. I don't think there was this sudden deluge of great deals that came out in September, but there is definitely an appetite from private equity, both as sellers and buyers," Licudi said.

PE firms' portfolios are "pretty full," increasing the need to get funds back to investors, so good quality businesses will get to market, Licudi added.

"We've seen an uptick in pitch activity in the last few weeks, which would suggest that more people have a mindset to make exits in 2026. [Based on the] backlog that we've already signed for next year, we're in a pretty healthy place," the executive noted. While the market is not "quite back to normal" yet, there are definitely opportunities, he said.

In terms of sector trends, software and business services continue to be areas of strength, while healthcare IT and services has been a focus for PE firms, Licudi said.