Morgan Stanley and Houlihan Lokey were the top mergers and acquisitions (M&A) financial advisers in the construction sector during the first quarter (Q1) of 2026 by value and volume, respectively, according to the latest financial advisers league table by GlobalData, a leading intelligence and productivity platform.

An analysis of GlobalData’s Financial Deals Database reveals that Morgan Stanley achieved its leading position in terms of value by advising on $23.7 billion worth of deals. Meanwhile, Houlihan Lokey led in terms of volume by advising on a total of nine deals.

Aurojyoti Bose, Lead Analyst at GlobalData, comments: “Morgan Stanley was the clear winner by value in Q1 2026, outpacing its peers by a significant margin. It was the only adviser to surpass $20 billion in total deal value during the quarter. It is noteworthy that Morgan Stanley registered 48.6% growth in the total value of deals it advised on in Q1 2026 compared to Q1 2025. Of the six deals advised by Morgan Stanley in Q1 2026, five were billion-dollar deals*, including a mega deal valued more than $10 billion, which helped it to register the jump in terms of value.

“Meanwhile, there was also an improvement in the total number of deals advised by Houlihan Lokey in Q1 2026 compared to Q1 2025. Its ranking by volume also improved from the sixth position in Q1 2025 to the top position in Q1 2026.”

An analysis of GlobalData’s Deals Database reveals that Eastdil Secured and Goldman Sachs jointly occupied the second position in terms of value with each of them advising on $13.9 billion worth of deals, followed by Wells Fargo with $12.8 billion, and UBS with $6.3 billion.

Meanwhile, AEC Advisors occupied the second position in terms of volume with seven deals, followed by Morgan Stanley with six deals, Generational Group with six deals, and Robert W. Baird & Co. with four deals.

*Deals valued more than or equal to $1 billion