E1: Thibaut Courtois joins ex-Chelsea teammate Didier Drogba as team owner April 2, 2026 Real Madrid and Belgium goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois has become a co-owner of Sierra Racing Club, one of the newest teams in the E1 electric powerboating series. Courtois has acquired a stake in the Turkish-backed team, which joined the PIF-backed E1 this year, through his investment vehicle Nxtplay Capital. He joins a host of sports stars [...]
Thames Water could dodge fines under controversial new Ofwat deal April 2, 2026 Ofwat is preparing a controversial new deal with the UK’s largest water company which would allow the beleaguered utility firm to avoid any new fines over the next four years in exchange for a commitment to invest new cash in the business. The sector regulator is planning to accept “undertakings” in place of financial penalties [...]
Jim Ratcliffe backs Tory pledge to slash net zero tax April 2, 2026 Sir Jim Ratcliffe has joined a number of manufacturing bosses in support of a Tory pledge to axe carbon taxes levied through a trading scheme critical to the government’s net zero efforts. In a joint release between the Conservatives plus the Ineos chief and other industry bosses, the Kemi Badenoch’s party said it would save [...]
Lloyds shares slump amid questions over motor finance legal battle April 2, 2026 Lloyds shares slumped this morning even as the banking giant declared it would not have to top up its provisions following the confirmation of a motor finance redress scheme. The group – which owns the UK’s largest car finance lender Black Horse – said it had “undertaken an assessment of the implications and impact” of [...]
Speedy Hire shares tumble as firm sounds alarm on ‘worsening conditions’ April 2, 2026 Speedy Hire shares tumbled on Thursday after the tools and equipment hire services company slashed its profit expectations and warned “conditions have worsened” in the market. The London-listed firm said it now expects pre-tax earnings of £90m in 2026, down from £97m the previous year. “Market conditions have worsened…with uncertainty around the UK Budget in [...]
Oil soars as Trump vows to hit Iran ‘extremely hard’ April 2, 2026 The price of oil has spiked by over 7 per cent following Donald Trump’s vow to keep hitting Iran ‘extremely hard’ over the next few weeks, in an address to the nation. After a 17-minute speech on Wednesday evening, which failed to reassure global markets, Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, jumped 5 per cent [...]
Middlesex CCC needs saving from oblivion so ECB must take bold action April 2, 2026 As the English cricket season begins again, the demise of Middlesex should be ringing alarms bells at fat cats Surrey and the ECB, writes Ed Warner. Of course the forecast is for biting winds across the country this weekend. What did you expect? The English cricket season starts tomorrow. Expect confected hoopla about The Hundred, [...]
FTSE 100 Live: Dow Jones joins City in red; Oil soars on Iran war fears April 2, 2026 Good morning and welcome back to the City AM liveblog. After a dose of optimism hit markets on Wednesday, that looks to all be eradicated come this morning. In a 19-minute long address to the nation, Donald Trump vowed to “finish the job” in Iran and warned the country would be hit “extremely hard” in [...]
‘Ambulance chasers’ in the crosshairs as claims industry faces scrutiny April 2, 2026 As London’s legal scene gets more litigious, creeping closer to the American ‘sue everything’ culture, so-called ambulance chasing claims firms are starting to appear in the headlines – for the wrong reasons. The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA)’s chief executive, Nikhil Rathi, has been critical of claims management companies (CMC) or similarly specialised law firms throughout [...]
Once again Starmer addresses the nation – with nothing to say April 2, 2026 The Prime Minister held a press conference yesterday to update us all on the Iran war and to confirm that we’re still not in it. That’s Keir Starmer’s most valued line these days; that this isn’t our war and we’re not involved. However, despite our declared neutrality, Starmer had to concede that “the impact of [...]