Barclays’ co-head of M&A in Europe is taking a two-year secondment from the lender to head up the UK's deal watchdog, the Takeover Panel.

Omar Faruqui will join the Takeover Panel, which oversees the UK's code for M&A deals, as director general in May, it said in a 27 February statement. He will take the role from Ian Hart, chair of UK investment banking at UBS, who has been in place since 2021.