H1 2026 LME update — equity handovers eclipse coercive uptiers

9fin logged 25 completed LMEs in the first half of 2026, marginally ahead of the 24 recorded in H1 2025. But while volume has held steady, the toolkit has shifted: equity handovers and consensual amend-and-extends now dominate, while the coercive uptier structures that defined 2025 have all but vanished.

This analysis breaks down every closed deal in the H1 2026 cohort by LME category, sector, and outcome, alongside a like-for-like comparison against H1 2025.