‘Extraordinary denial of reality’: Ricardo shareholder pens open letter amid vote to oust chair May 28, 2025 One of the largest shareholders in transport and energy consultancy Ricardo has blasted the firm’s “blinkered perspective” and “extraordinary denial of reality” ahead of a vote to oust its chair. Science Group, which controls around a fifth of the share capital of the London-listed business, earlier this month called for a general meeting of shareholders [...]
FTSE 100 nears record high but Trump threat lingers May 27, 2025 The FTSE 100’s latest rally has put it inches away from sealing an all-time high but another tariff twist from the White House threatens the record. The UK’s flagship index was up one per cent to around 8,800p during midday trading on Tuesday as it reversed Friday’s losses made after Trump threatened the European Union [...]
Firms ‘staying private for longer’ as listing drought set to continue, Baillie Gifford says May 27, 2025 British businesses are set to stay “private for longer” as a drought in IPOs shows no sign of coming to an end, an investor at Baillie Gifford has warned. Pater Singlehurst, head of private company investments at the Edinburgh-based business, said investors would need to regain trust in companies looking to list before any signs [...]
Could Gordon Ramsay’s ramen deal be his latest kitchen nightmare? May 27, 2025 “Take a nice hefty fork of noodles,” Gordon Ramsay says, “and now we’re going to start building.” “Sprinkle my veg in and around: look at that, beautiful. And then add a touch more noodles.” Ramsay is in the middle of a YouTube tutorial on the Chef Woo channel, showing viewers how to make a chicken [...]
London vs New York: Who will win the fintech IPO war? May 24, 2025 A battle with New York awaits as Rachel Reeves sets her eyes on London fintech IPOs. The Chancellor has courted top fintech darlings in her attempt to boost listings on the London Stock Exchange (LSE) as a fleet of firms are flirting with floating in the near future. Monzo is reportedly consulting with investment bankers on [...]
‘Governance horror-show’: AVI hits out at takeover plan from Dan Loeb-backed Third Point May 21, 2025 A major shareholder of a London-listed business backed by New York hedge fund manager Dan Loeb has hit out at its planned takeover of a US insurer. AVI, which controls a 7.1 per cent share of Third Point Investors, described its takeover proposal as a “governance horror-show”. “Third Point Investors has for some time been [...]
Reeves’ risky borrowing policies prompt fresh tax hike fears May 20, 2025 Tax hike fears are gathering pace as rising borrowing costs are set to wipe out around half of Chancellor Rachel Reeves’ small £9.9bn headroom, a leading economics consultancy has warned. Reeves made around £14bn in spending cuts at her Spring Statement two months ago but left herself with one of the slimmest fiscal buffers on [...]
Interest rate cuts need to slow down to curb inflation, says Huw Pill May 20, 2025 Interest rate cuts are fuelling inflation and need to slow down, the Bank of England’s chief economist Huw Pill has warned ahead of the release of fresh data set to show a jump in price growth in April. The Bank‘s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) voted by a slim majority to cut interest rates to 4.25 [...]
Vodafone swings to loss after €4.5bn impairment blow May 20, 2025 Vodafone has swung to a loss after recording a €4.5bn (£3.8bn) impairment hit amid the continued poor performance of its German business. The telecoms giant posted a pre-tax loss of €1.4bn for the year to end March, compared to a profit of €1.6bn the previous year. Vodafone said the impairment charges “reflect management’s latest assessment [...]
Guinness maker Diageo to offset US tariffs with cost cuts May 19, 2025 London’s biggest drinks business, Diageo, has unveiled a $500m (£375m) cost-cutting programme as it struggles with the impact of US tariffs. Guinness and Johnnie Walker maker Diageo said it would make the cost savings over the course of three years, but did not confirm how many jobs would be impacted by the move. The firm [...]