NatWest nears £2.5bn Evelyn Partners takeover Banking NatWest Group is closing in on a £2.5bn takeover of Evelyn Partners, in what would be its biggest corporate acquisition since the bank’s taxpayer bailout in 2008. NatWest Group is in advanced talks to buy the wealth manager from its private equity owners, Sky News reported on Saturday, after seeing off competition from Barclays in recent days. An announcement [...]
How London fell back in love with the office Opinion With workplace leasing enjoying a major post-pandemic bounceback, it's clear that, once again, the office is seen as critical to success.
Numbers can make experience count in Centenary Vase Sport SUNDAY is a day of reckoning for several Four-Year-Old Classic Series hopefuls who line-up on an 11-race card at Sha Tin. The feature race on the programme, The Group Three Centenary Vase Handicap (8.05am) over nine furlongs, includes leading BMW Hong Kong Derby hope NUMBERS, who has already caught the eye since arriving from Australia [...]
Water to Flow to smooth Sha Tin success under Atzeni February 6, 2026 THIS could be a case of ‘last chance saloon’ for the David Eustace-trained and highly regarded Dazzling Fit, who takes his chance in the Yau Oi Handicap (9.50am) over nine furlongs. The son of Ribchester was on many pundits’ list of serious BMW Hong Kong Derby contenders before the season started. Unfortunately, he’s mostly failed [...]
Inside Hackney’s bizarre planning decision on Shoreditch Works February 6, 2026 In the wake of ‘unprecedented’ scenes at Hackney Council’s planning committee, Nicholas Boys Smith asks ‘what next’ for London’s best new development On 4th February one of the country’s best and most popular urban regeneration schemes came into kinetic contact with the Alice Though the Looking-Glass world of Hackney’s planning department and passed into a [...]
Leicester City’s points deduction shows the tail doesn’t always wag the dog February 6, 2026 The Premier League’s victory over Leicester City shows that clubs can’t lose money with impunity, but is it one battle in a much bigger war, writes Aaryaman Banerji. Every ruling tells a story. And so it is that English football has become something of an anthology. This week’s verdict by a three-man independent commission, finding that Leicester City had breached EFL Profit and [...]
Boss of Mandelson’s Global Counsel quits amid Epstein file fallout February 6, 2026 The chief executive and co-founder of Peter Mandelson’s lobbying firm Global Counsel has quit with immediate effect after revelations about his and his company’s connection with Jeffrey Epstein caused clients to sever or reconsider ties to the firm. Benjamin Wegg-Prosser has stepped down with immediate effect, the group’s board said in a statement, which also [...]
Majority of landlords to hike rent due to Reeves’ tax raid February 6, 2026 The majority of landlords increasing rents blamed Rachel Reeves’ new tax on property income from April next year, a survey has shown. According to the National Residential Landlords Association (NRLA), two thirds of landlords (65 per cent) raising prices over the next year cited the government’s plans to charge a two percentage point tax rate [...]
China ties force co-founder exit at UK AI startup Fractile February 5, 2026 Co-founder of British AI chip startup Fractile left the company after concerns were raised internally about his links to China amid growing scrutiny of national security risks across the UK’s strategic tech sector. Yuhang Song, Fractile’s former chief technology officer, departed the business in May 2024 following questions over his academic background and earlier ties [...]
Premier League Predictions: Arsenal, Chelsea and Manchester United march on, but Liverpool is beaten February 5, 2026 Arsenal’s grip on the Premier League leadership tightened last weekend, and there is a growing sense that this could finally be the Gunners’ year. Week 25 could have significant ramifications in the title race with the closest challengers, Manchester City and Aston Villa, facing difficult away games. Here, we analyse all of the weekend fixtures [...]