Businesses are Reform-curious on eve of Birmingham conference September 4, 2025 Nigel Farage’s poll-topping party has attracted more businesses than ever to its annual conference this week. But, writes Ali Lyon, some corporations and industry bodies are still steering clear of the party, citing its unpredictability and the conference’s unorthodox format. With his party boasting a consistent poll lead, and a general election just weeks away, [...]
From CND to evangelist: Julia Pyke has nuclear ambitions for Sizewell C August 22, 2025 Julia Pyke has fended off judicial reviews and staunch local opposition, and waded through Britain’s unwieldy Treasury ‘Green Book’ process to get Sizewell C commissioned by the government. Now, she tells Ali Lyon, there’s just the small issue of building what will be the UK’s joint-largest power plant. It was in 1980s Lichfield – the [...]
Advertisers have a new audience to sell to: AI models August 12, 2025 For generations, advertisers have obsessed over how best to win the hearts and minds of consumers. But with people increasingly turning to their large language model of choice for product recommendations, the industry has a new audience to get its head around: artificial intelligence, writes Ali Lyon. David Ogilvy had four golden rules to help [...]
Tom Hayes on life as a free man: ‘I was in a very dark place’ August 7, 2025 Tom Hayes became one of the most infamous names in the Square Mile after he was convicted to 14 years in prison for rigging the Libor interest rate in 2015. It took a decade for him to clear his name. Ali Lyon meets the former banker to hear about life in prison, and what comes [...]
Costly departures: Why an exit tax looks more likely than a wealth tax July 22, 2025 Tax experts have been queuing up to warn that a blanket tax on wealth is both unlikely and unfeasible. But as ministers insist the government will avoid tax hikes targeting average earners, could it turn to an exit tax to plug the gap? As reams of impressed tourists shuffled their way through the opulent surroundings [...]
John Caudwell: Bezos gives billionaires a bad name July 8, 2025 If you ever want to feel like you don’t quite do enough with your time, speak to John Caudwell. We are approaching the culmination of a wide-ranging interview, and the billionaire founder of Phones 4u – and a man hoping to build London’s most expensive housing development ever – runs through his terrifyingly busy schedule [...]
Exclusive: Nikhil Rathi’s FCA is ready to go on the offensive June 10, 2025 Nikhil Rathi’s first five-year term at the helm of the FCA was dominated by difficult situations – most beyond his control, some firmly in it. But after being reappointed by Rachel Reeves in April, and with the added pressure of a new growth mandate from government, he outlines to Ali Lyon what he hopes his [...]
Panel sessions and punk music: SXSW comes to London May 24, 2025 In the first week of June, the world’s largest tech, business and arts festival, SXSW, will make its European debut in Shoreditch. Ali Lyon asks its its chief executive, Max Alexander, why London, and why now? Of the many aspirations Max Alexander has for next month’s inaugural South by Southwest London, there is one which [...]
Non-doms: South Africa’s richest woman is fighting to stay in the UK November 18, 2024 When it comes to leaving countries in a hurry, Magda Wierzycka has plenty of experience. At just 12 years old, the South African entrepreneur and her parents fled their native Poland under the the cover of night, becoming refugees after its communist government declared martial law. Ending up in South Africa – via an Austrian [...]