Metro Bank shares tumble on reports it needs £600m to shore up balance sheet October 5, 2023 Metro Bank shares tumbled by more than 20 per cent this morning after reports that the challenger is in talks to raise hundreds of millions of pounds in an effort to shore up its balance sheet. Metro has reportedly hired bankers at Morgan Stanley and Moelis to raise £600m in extra financing, which includes £250m [...]
Student housing provider Unite names new chief executive October 5, 2023 Student housing provider Unite has announced that chief executive Richard Smith is stepping down after seven years leading the business. Smith, 49, will be replaced by Joe Lister, who has been chief financial officer since 2008. He will take the helm on 1 January. Smith’s tenure saw the company expand significantly, with 157 properties now [...]
Imperial Brands to deliver full-year guidance as it launches £1.1bn buy-back October 5, 2023 Imperial Brands, the tobacco giant behind Lambert & Butler, Winston and Gauloises, has said it is on track to deliver its full-year guidance thanks to high prices of cigarettes and demand for tobacco alternatives. The cigarette company, which also makes Golden Virginia tobacco, said that strong pricing led by the rising costs helped offset historic [...]
Sunak faces backlash from Johnson and Cameron over HS2 axing – as he’s reported to the police in Scotland October 5, 2023 Rishi Sunak has faced criticism from his predecessors in Number 10 for losing a “once-in-a-generation opportunity” by cancelling the northern leg of HS2. The Prime Minister defied senior Tories and business leaders to scrap HS2 from Birmingham to Manchester saying “the facts have changed” and the cost of the high-speed rail scheme had “more than [...]
Six high-street banks including Santander, Barclays, HSBC, NatWest and Lloyds given ‘red’ warning over eco policies October 5, 2023 Six of the UK’s biggest high-street banks have been placed in a “red” warning category by consumer champion Which? over their fossil fuel investments and commitments to tackling climate change. JP Morgan Chase, Santander, Barclays, HSBC, NatWest Group and Lloyds Banking Group were exposed for having too weak green credentials. Just three of the UK’s [...]
Just Stop Oil protesters disrupt West End performance of Les Miserables October 5, 2023 Just Stop Oil protesters disrupted a performance of Les Miserables at the Sondheim Theatre in London’s West End on Wednesday night. The protesters entered the stage during a performance of Do You Hear The People Sing? Just Stop Oil said that four protesters then locked themselves to the stage using flexible bicycle locks at around [...]
FCA exec: We’ve got to talk about London’s appetite for risk October 5, 2023 A senior figure at the City watchdog has said the UK needs a debate over its “appetite to risk” if London’s stock exchanges are to bounce back from a miserable twelve months. The capital has seen a dearth of IPOs over recent months, with plans in place to reform listing regimes and the research environment [...]
‘Betting on human nature’: Short seller Carson Block on fraud, death threats and why he’s sniffing around UK firms October 5, 2023 'Betting on human nature': Short seller Carson Block on fraud, threats and why he's sniffing around UK firms
Listings reforms alone won’t be enough – we need to talk about our risk appetite October 5, 2023 Reform of the London Stock Exchange is under way - but we'll need to see support from public and private sector to give our equity markets a boost, writes Clare Cole, Director of Market Oversight at the FCA
OPEC+ opt against further oil output cuts as prices drop on demand fears October 5, 2023 Oil prices have slide after OPEC+, opted against further changes to the group's hawkish output cuts this year.