With the pound having hit its lowest price against the dollar for three decades on Monday, a descent far enough could set off a shopping spree in the M&A space. For now though, lawyers say that deal activity remains frozen.

Paused

Doug Getter, head of Dechert corporate practice in Europe, told Bloomberg that clients have paused large transactions in the UK and M&A activity is likely to remain stagnant while they wait for the UK and the EU to iron out Brexit details.

Could lure new buyers

But a falling pound could lure new buyers into the British market. Jeremy Parr, an Allen & Overy partner in London, commented that even if conditions remain volatile, should exchange rate movements or market drops be sufficiently dramatic, ‘opportunistic moves will come from those with a strategic view and an aggressive outlook.’

Cheaper living costs

The fallout of a troubled pound will be more personal for lawyers. For those like Getter who work for US firms in London, and get paid in US dollars, a cheaper pound means lower costs of living. But for lawyers working for UK firms, who live abroad and get paid in pounds, life just got more expensive.

For lawyers in London, Getter added that a cheaper pound is a nice hedge against slowing M&A activity, but hardly a good trade off. ‘We’d rather be in an environment where business is booming,’ he said.