On the Beach shares tumble as it tears up guidance amid bookings slowdown March 12, 2026 On the Beach has torn up its guidance for the forthcoming year after warning that tensions in the Middle East have sparked a sharp slowdown in bookings. The online travel agent previously forecast pre-tax profit of between £39m and £43m. “Whilst the group has limited exposure to destinations in the Middle East, it has experienced [...]
Shawbrook shares dive after profit jump on bullish AI plans March 12, 2026 Shawbrook Bank reported a jump in profit for the last year in its first set of first set of financial results since its landmark IPO in October. The London-listed bank reported a pre-tax profit of £340.5m, up from £293.8m the year prior as costs tumbled and the group’s loan book swelled. Still, the firm’s shares [...]
FTSE 100 Live: Stocks drop as oil returns to near $100 after tankers attacked March 12, 2026 Good morning and welcome back to the City AM liveblog. The price of oil shot back above triple digits this morning, rising as much as nine per cent in Asian trading following the news two tankers were struck in the Gulf. An Iraqi news agency broke the news that 38 crew members have been rescued [...]
Closed shop? Not for long: How new laws are opening doors for trade unions March 12, 2026 The first wave of the Employment Rights Act hit the statute books last month, signalling a potential end to the decades-long decline of UK trade unions, but businesses are already feeling the turbulence, triggering a surge of work for City employment lawyers. The Employment Rights Act has caused turmoil in businesses, not just because of [...]
Global energy body to release 400m oil barrels in emergency boost March 11, 2026 The global energy body has announced it will release a record 400 million barrels from emergency oil reserves in a bid to contain spiking prices. The International Energy Agency’s (IEA) executive director Faith Birol said on Wednesday the market “challenges we are facing are unprecedented in scale”. “IEA member countries have responded with an emergency [...]
Robert Walters ditches dividend after swinging to loss March 11, 2026 Robert Walters has ditched its final dividend after the recruitment firm’s bottom line took a major hit amid a cautious global sentiment around hiring. Revenue at the London-listed firm fell 12 per cent to £781.1m over the 2025 financial year – a drop from £892.1m. The group reported an operating loss of £14.9m, reversing a [...]
FTSE 100 Live: Iran war ‘certainly not good’ for UK economy, says Rachel Reeves March 11, 2026 Welcome back to the City AM liveblog for continued coverage of a frenzied week in global markets. The Chancellor has told the Treasury select committee that the ongoing fallout from the Middle east is “certainly not good for the British economy”. Following the “most intense” day of fighting in the region – and just a [...]
Barclays and Aquis launch ‘IPO academy’ in bid to revive small-cap listings March 11, 2026 Aquis has teamed up with Barclays to launch an “IPO academy” in a bid to turn around the dwindling number of small-cap listings in the UK, City AM can reveal. The academy, which is the only programme of its kind run by an exchange in the UK, is intended as an investment in entrepreneurs and [...]
Qplay’s JP Jenkins debut marks lacklustre launch for Pisces March 10, 2026 Roll the dice. Make your move. Prove you’re the smartest. But hurry – the clock’s ticking. That is the opening of a video ad for Outsmarted, a board game owned by Qplay, which is set to be the first company to list on London’s new Pisces private market. It might have also described the fierce [...]
World’s top oil producer warns ‘catastrophic consequences’ after Iran threats March 10, 2026 The world’s top oil producer has warned of “catastrophic consequences” for the commodity’s global market after Iran threatened to block key shipping routes. Saudi Aramco – the state-owned national oil company of Saudi Arabia which controls over 270 billion barrels of reserves – has sounded the alarm that the Iran’s blocking of the Strait of [...]