Wayve raises $1.2bn as self-driving firm gears up for robotaxi launch February 25, 2026 British self-driving car company Wayve has raised $1.2bn (£950m), ticking its valuation up to $8.6bn and marking one of the largest capital raises for a UK AI startup. The funding round was led by Eclipse, Balderton and Softbank Vision Fund 2, with new backing from investors like Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan, Baillie Gifford, the British [...]
Reeves urged to cut bank tax as UK competitiveness lags February 25, 2026 Rachel Reeves is facing renewed calls to cut tax on the banking sector after new bombshell research laid bare the competitive disadvantage UK lenders are battling against. The Chancellor spared banks from a highly-anticipated fresh tax raid in the Autumn Budget but a new report – penned by the Association for Financial Markets (AFME) and [...]
Third of London homes cheaper to buy than to rent as prices fall February 25, 2026 More than a third of London homes are now cheaper to buy than to rent as house prices in the capital shrunk in the last year. The proportion of London houses which are cheaper to buy with a mortgage has doubled since last year, from 18 to 36 per cent, while still lower than the [...]
High net-worth confidence slashed by tax changes February 25, 2026 Wealthy Brits’ faith in the UK economy has eroded dramatically in the past six months, as a perfect storm of tax rises, sluggish growth and stubbornly high interest rates continues to eat away at sentiment among affluent households. According to a a regular study of wealthy UK residents, high-net-worth individuals’ overall confidence in the economy [...]
Meta strikes AMD chip deal as AI spend continues to boom February 24, 2026 Meta has agreed a multiyear deal to buy up to six gigawatts of AI computing power from AMD, in an agreement valued at more than $100bn (£74.5bn) that could see the social media group take a stake of up to 10 per cent in the US chip giant. The companies said on Tuesday that Meta [...]
Pro Climbing League leans into urban boom ahead of sold-out London launch February 24, 2026 When the first batch of tickets for the London launch event of the Pro Climbing League went on sale last month they sold out in five minutes. Not quite Oasis or Taylor Swift levels of devotion, but for a minority sport with little history as a spectator event, impressive nonetheless. On Saturday night at Magazine [...]
Deloitte big winner at Winter Olympics as sponsor sees engagement surge February 24, 2026 Big Four accounting firm Deloitte was one of the best performing sponsors at the Milano Cortina Winter Olympics based on online engagement. The London-headquartered giant was joined by TCL Technology and Omega SA as the best engaged firms, according to UK engagement. According to research from adtech firm Quantcast, Deloitte enjoyed a 15 per cent [...]
Allica Bank joins fintech unicorn club after £100m injection February 24, 2026 Small business lender Allica Bank will join the illustrious club of British fintech unicorns after securing a fresh funding round. The challenger bank is said to have netted $155m (£111m) in a Series D fundraise, which will take the firm’s valuation to $1.2bn and over the billion pound mark to declare unicorn status. The round [...]
Bank of England chief: Interest rate cut is an ‘open question’ February 24, 2026 The governor of the Bank of England has said that an interest rate cut in March was an “open question” as policymakers suggested the jobs market would remain weak over the coming months. Appearing before the Treasury Select Committee on Tuesday, Andrew Bailey said he had not seen enough evidence to back an interest rate [...]
Big Four consulting giants pivot to ‘high-growth verticals’ amid AI disruption February 24, 2026 Following news of Deloitte’s latest expansion, experts predict a wave of restructuring and a “high-growth vertical” focus across the Big Four giants. On Monday, Deloitte revealed its plans to launch a Europe, Middle East, and Africa (EMEA) firm, aiming to build a regional powerhouse that keeps pace with rapid technological change. The new firm will [...]