UK fintech holds European crown but UAE threat looms September 11, 2025 UK fintech maintained a heavy level of activity in the first half of 2025 but faced new threats from growing financial hubs. Over 70 significant acquisitions of smaller rivals or complementary businesses were reported in the UK and Europe over the half. This represented a 50 per cent bump on acquisitions compared to the previous [...]
Merck warns UK is ‘not internationally competitive’ as it scraps £1bn London research centre September 10, 2025 Merck has pulled out of a planned £1bn London drug research centre in the latest blow to the government’s growth agenda. The US pharma giant is to lay off 127 staff alongside abandoning the construction project, which had been set to open in King’s Cross in 2027. The firm warned the UK would lag behind [...]
Defence stocks rise as Europe’s tensions with Russia escalate September 10, 2025 European defence stocks rallied on Wednesday after the shock arrival of Russian drones across the border with Poland sent tensions in the region to fresh highs. Shares in FTSE 100 giant BAE Systems closed up 2.1 per cent to 1,830p by the end of the day’s trading in London, while Italy’s Leonardo rose 2.4 per [...]
Overseas games: Uefa and Fifa between rock and hard place as decision looms September 10, 2025 Where US sport leads, Europe usually follows. It’s not a hard and fast rule, but the success of North America’s top leagues in growing – and monetising – the popularity of the NFL and NBA means executives on this side of the pond are only too keen to borrow their playbooks. Which brings us to [...]
Enhanced Games: Brit Ben Proud joins so-called Doping Olympics September 10, 2025 British Olympian Ben Proud could have his UK Sport funding cut after choosing to join the Enhanced Games. The rebel competition, known by many as the Doping Olympics, will allow the Paris 2024 silver medal winner to take any measure of performance enhancing substances in pursuit of victory. The controversial competition has filed a $800m [...]
Tube strikes: Union leader says £72,000 salary is not enough September 10, 2025 RMT chief Eddie Dempsey has claimed that tube drivers on £72,000 a year were not making enough to buy a home in London, reflecting the union boss’ militant position on ongoing tube strikes. The union boss told Times Radio he made “no apologies” for the ongoing strike as he said the salary, which is around [...]
Revealed: How much profit Amazon makes in the UK September 10, 2025 Amazon’s UK profit has been revealed – with the total estimated to be well above the £500m mark. Unusually, Jeff Bezos’ empire doesn’t file a single set of group accounts for its UK activities, instead choosing to report each company’s results separately with no parent entity in this country. The picture is also further complicated [...]
Nandy warns Kogan indecision having real-world consequences September 10, 2025 Culture secretary Lisa Nandy has warned that the limbo over David Kogan’s appointment as head of the Independent Football Regulator is “obviously having real-world consequences”. Media rights expert Kogan was named the preferred candidate for the newly created role of chair of the IFR, after the Football Governance Bill passed through parliament this year. But [...]
Pisces rival claims LSE venue won’t give firms enough trading volume September 10, 2025 The London Stock Exchange’s plan to let private companies trade shares just twice a year on a new private stock market will not offer firms or investors enough trading volume, according to the boss of a rival platform that hopes to launch next month. Mike McCudden, chief executive of private shares platform JP Jenkins, told [...]
Renters and landlords ‘in the dark’ on new law, Labour warned September 10, 2025 The UK’s landlord lobby group has warned that renters and landlords ‘desperately’ need more clarity on the rollout of the government’s Renters Rights Bill. The bill, which was debated in the House of Commons on Monday, is expected to receive Royal Assent in late 2025 and to become law in early 2026. It is one of [...]