Everton Friedkin Group owners inject £38m, reportedly to pay Burnley July 31, 2026 Everton owners The Friedkin Group have injected £38m into the club, reportedly to cover compensation owed to Burnley. The club was deemed to owe Burnley close to £40m after a landmark ruling earlier this year but the Premier League Independent Disciplinary Commission after the Clarets successfully argued that the Toffees’ breach of Profitability and Sustainability [...]
Fifa refuses to back down on World Cup sell-off in face of European boycott July 31, 2026 Fifa has refused to abandon its plans to sell off stakes in a new $20bn commercial vehicle despite all Uefa nations vowing to boycott future World Cups if it proceeds. All 55 European nations in Uefa, including England’s Football Association, yesterday voted to support a boycott of all Fifa tournaments in protest at the divisive [...]
BP quits North Sea after tax grab July 31, 2026 BP will sell its North Sea oil division after the government’s tax raid on domestic oil, in a move that will leave the British energy giant without any petrochemicals production in its home market for the first time in decades. The London-listed oil giant told investors it planned to market its assets in the region [...]
House prices slump as Iran war and interest rates hit demand July 31, 2026 House prices slumped in July after the Iran war and higher interest rates squeezed demand and triggered a slowdown in sales. Annual house price growth slowed to 1.8 last month, down from 2.2 per cent the prior month. Month on month, average house prices remained broadly flat, rising by just £58 to reach £277,542, up [...]
Sainsbury’s to sell Argos in £120m cut-price deal July 31, 2026 Sainsbury’s has said it will sell long-struggling catalogue retailer Argos for £120m, a fraction of the £1.4bn it bought it for a decade ago. The supermarket giant has struck a deal with Swift Partners – a new company led by On the Beach chairman Richard Pennycook and former Morrisons boss Trevor Strain. Their takeover will [...]
ITV hands shareholders £100m returns after £1.6bn Sky deal July 31, 2026 ITV has announced a £100m share buyback as part of its commitment to return £950m to investors following its blockbuster £1.6bn Sky deal. The broadcaster said the “milestone” merger will “unlock significant value for shareholders,” as it posted a two per cent jump in revenue across the last six months. Earlier this month, ITV agreed [...]
Natwest hikes targets again after jump in profit July 31, 2026 Natwest has upgraded its income targets for a second quarter running as the bank posted better than expected profit and dished out a bumper dividend to investors. The blue-chip lender reported a 20 per cent jump in pre-tax profit in the first six months of 2026 to £4.3bn, up from £3.6bn the year prior and [...]
As it happened: Stocks reach new record as investors shrug off Iran war fears July 31, 2026 Welcome back to the City AM liveblog. It’s Friday morning and the FTSE 100 has opened into the green, following two consecutive days of record gains for the blue-chip index. London’s blue-chip index was up as high as 0.7 per cent in early trading to 10,971.88p, “The FTSE 100 tested new record highs on Friday morning as [...]
Fifa want to sell the family silver but should World Rugby do the same? July 31, 2026 Selling stakes in commercial entities is like selling the family silver. So should World Rugby copy Fifa? Selling stakes in commercial entities – much like Fifa announced it wanted to do with the World Cup – is like selling the family silver. Global tournaments are pillars of sports with revenues and reach that soar during [...]
Burnham accused of imposing ‘top–down’ devolution July 30, 2026 Andy Burnham’s devolution agenda has been slammed over its “top down” approach after the Prime Minister unveiled new plans to share income tax revenue with local leaders. Burnham, himself a former Manchester mayor, said regional leaders in England will begin receiving a “greater share of locally generated revenues” next spring as part of his push [...]