The Vox Markets Podcast · Vox Markets Podcast

2Ps on a Pod — Is M&A Activity in UK Small Caps Telling Us Something the Market Isn't?

·1 hr 33 min·5 clips

Trustpilot said PBT was up 172% for calendar 2025, from a low base.

1. The Vox Markets Podcast episode focuses on UK small caps, M&A activity, and whether the market is missing something in several listed names. 2. Paul Hiller hosts, and equity analyst Paul Scott comments on small-cap valuations, takeover situations, and trading updates. 3. The episode asks whether recent deal activity and sharp share-price moves in names like M&C Saatchi, System1, CAB Payments, Trustpilot, Close Brothers, Funding Circle, and Vistry point to a broader market disconnect. 4. Scott says he does not try to trade short-term market movements around the Middle East and instead looks at company-specific medium- to long-term factors. 5. On airlines, he points to oil and gas beneficiaries, Delta’s share reaction, and the idea that front-loaded bookings could support Jet2 and EasyJet. 6. On Allico, he argues that 1.7 times sales for a profitable SaaS business growing at 10% to 11% looks cheap enough for a strategic buyer. 7. Scott says Allico is entrenched in building-site workflows because it helps users see real-time information and create a digital twin of renovation progress. 8. He compares the current construction selloff with 2016 after the Brexit vote, when Allico’s share price fell about 50% but the business still performed well. 9. On CAB Payments, the hosts focus on Stonex topping Helios’s 85p bid with a 95p proposal while Helios already owns 45%. 10. Scott says he has rarely seen an over-the-top bid where an existing bidder effectively controls nearly half the shares. 11. For System1, they discuss a turnaround from a difficult period to a new statement of strong trading and record H2 revenue. 12. The hosts connect that improvement with John Kieran’s sale of his stake to Brave Bison and the stock’s appearance to be back in play. 13. On M&C Saatchi, they note the removal of the CEO, Vin Muria joining the board as a non-executive director, and ADVT plus Muria’s combined holdings. 14. Scott says M&C Saatchi trades on about eight times earnings after recent falls and may need a substantial business reset. 15. Trustpilot is presented as a case where the market reversed after a grizzly research attack and then rewarded strong reported numbers. 16. Scott cites 172% PBT growth for calendar 2025 and says the valuation is still demanding even with margin improvement ahead. 17. The discussion style is conversational and reactive, with Hiller pressing on ownership structures, balance sheets, and bid mechanics. 18. Scott repeatedly answers with direct valuation ranges, ownership percentages, and balance-sheet observations rather than broad themes. 19. Investors following UK small-cap value, special situations, and takeover speculation would get the most from this episode. 20. Investors wanting polished macro analysis or low-detail overviews would probably skip it.

As heard by us

A small-cap discussion that weighs sector noise against balance-sheet and company-level realities.

Paul Hiller and Paul Scott keep the focus on small caps, and the best moments come when they move past sector chatter and into the numbers. Balance sheets and land bank value do the real work here, and the reminder that healthy finances can still leave suppliers exposed gives…

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Why you'd press play

Small-cap chat, with the downside kept firmly in view.

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