Cathal Deasy
Senior M&A banker at UBS; commentator on UK capital-market and venture follow-on dynamics.
Last refreshed: 22 April 2026
What does a UBS M&A head see in UK defence startups that government money alone cannot fix?
Timeline for Cathal Deasy
Mentioned in: Healey makes DIAG permanent, launches Sprint and Zig-Zag
UK Startups and Innovation- Who is Cathal Deasy at UBS?
- Cathal Deasy is a senior M&A banker at UBS with a leadership role in the bank's mergers and acquisitions practice, covering European and cross-border deal activity.
- What is the Defence Investors' Advisory Group and who is involved?
- The DIAG is a UK Government body made permanent in April 2026 by Defence Secretary John Healey and Chancellor Rachel Reeves. It targets private-investment leverage for defence startups via the Sprint and Zig-Zag mechanisms. Senior figures from the investment banking sector, including from UBS, have provided commentary on its capital-flow implications.Source: GOV.UK
Background
Cathal Deasy is a senior M&A banker at UBS, where he holds a leadership role in the firm's mergers and acquisitions practice. His commentary on UK capital-market liquidity and venture follow-on dynamics featured in coverage of the Defence Investors' Advisory Group (DIAG) becoming permanent in April 2026.
Deasy's background spans investment banking with coverage of European and cross-border deal activity. His professional focus on M&A capital flows gives him a particular vantage on how private finance interacts with government-sponsored vehicles such as the DIAG's Sprint and Zig-Zag mechanisms.
His significance to the UK startups and innovation story is as an informed market voice on where institutional capital is and is not flowing, particularly for defence-adjacent scaleups seeking private co-investment alongside state leverage.