Gold tops euro to become central banks’ second favourite reserve asset June 11, 2025 Central banks now hold more gold than euros in the face of global trade tensions and volatile markets, according to a report produced by the European Central Bank (ECB), making it the world’s second largest reserve asset after the US dollar. Purchases of gold were twice as high in 2024 as the average seen over [...]
Private equity giant KKR returns with final bid for Assura June 11, 2025 UK healthcare property firm Assura has received its “best and final offer” from KKR, which is set to trigger another delisting blow for the London Stock Exchange. Assura has recommended a cash offer from Sana Bidco, a vehicle owned by KKR and Stonepeak, which values the firm at 52.1p per share. Shares in Assura closed [...]
Canadian giant swoops for London-listed Ricardo June 11, 2025 London-listed engineering firm Ricardo has agreed to a £281m acquisition deal by Canadian consultancy giant WSP in the latest foreign takeover blow to the London Stock Exchange. Ricardo has accepted the 430p per share offer, a 28 per cent increase on the firm’s closing price on June 10 of 326p. It is a 69 per [...]
Peel Hunt boss renews calls for tax cuts to rescue ailing public markets June 11, 2025 The boss of City broker Peel Hunt has called for a raft of fresh tax cuts for London’s stock market to help stem the flood of delistings and end the dearth of flotations. CEO Steven Fine called for stamp duty on share trades to be abolished in a bid to help “shift this doomloop of [...]
Rolls-Royce shares are champion of FTSE 100, analysts say June 11, 2025 Rolls-Royce shares have become one of the London Stock Exchange’s crown jewels after showing no sign of slowing down its rapid rise. The stock has climbed over 53 per cent since the beginning of the year and nearly doubled from its standing 12 months ago. The firm’s latest rally came on Tuesday after it was [...]
FCA lays out Pisces rules with trading to begin later this year June 10, 2025 The UK’s financial regulator has published its rulebook for the new Pisces market framework, laying the ground for trading to commence later this year. The new type of platform, which facilitates the trading of shares in private companies, promises to address a long-standing liquidity gap for growth companies and early investors, offering a potential bridge [...]
FTSE 100 narrowly misses record high after housebuilders rally June 10, 2025 The FTSE 100 closed just short of a record high on Tuesday after fresh economic data fuelled hopes of further interest rate cuts from the Bank of England. The UK’s flagship market inched up 0.24 per cent to 8853.08p after a rally from homebuilders. This narrowly missed March’s record close of 8,871.31p. Builders Persimmon and [...]
Lord Ashcroft bought shares in Mitie on day it made offer for firm he founded June 10, 2025 Lord Ashcroft bought shares in Mitie on the same day it unveiled £370m takeover talks for a business he co-founded, City AM can reveal. The peer and Tory grandee spent £1m acquiring 714,600 shares in the facilities management company on Thursday 5 June, company filings show, the day the firm confirmed it was in talks [...]
Bargain basement Britain: Tech takeovers continue with three billion-pound swoops in a day June 9, 2025 The frenzy of UK tech takeovers showed no signs of slowing down on Monday after three separate billion-pound M&A moves were made within hours of each other as US tech giants continued their hunt for British bargains. First to announce a move on Monday was London-listed semiconductor firm Alphawave, which confirmed it had reached an [...]
Alphawave reaches deal on Qualcomm takeover June 9, 2025 Alphawave is poised to become the latest tech firm to quit the London Stock Exchange after reaching a $2.4bn (£2.8bn) deal to be acquired by Qualcomm. The British semiconductor business said its board would now recommend to shareholders the terms of the acquisition after weeks of talks, which began in April. The cash offer of [...]