“The bigger players have sufficient ‘clout’ to dictate to the market what is acceptable and perhaps more important, what is unacceptable. Throughout 2014 we have seen the transfer or sale of assets to create bigger corporations; this is likely to continue into next year. Investment institutions are increasingly becoming more sceptical about lending money for speculative ventures to small companies with few assets, particularly in an industry with a poor track record. This is where the larger companies have the real advantage in attracting finance, although recent history has told us even the large conglomerates can fail spectacularly. In these circumstances the impact can often be far greater and the fallout wider. I am sure that we will witness more M&A activity in 2015.”