By Jess Jones Britain’s competition watchdog has thwarted more deals than its European counterpart over the past five years, as antitrust screening tempers the pace of mergers and acquisitions (M&A). Average UK deal mortality rate over the five year period from 2019 to 2023 was 57 per cent, while in the EU it stood at 41 per cent, according to new data from law firm Linklaters, shared with City A.M. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has blocked more tie ups than the European Commission (EC) every year bar one in the past half a decade. Linklaters’ analysis focused on Phase 2 investig…