Google’s 100-year bond ‘plays into’ AI bubble fears February 12, 2026 A rare 100-year bond issued by the owner of Google will compound fears that tech firms’ historic debt-fuelled capital expenditure is evidence of an AI bubble. But, this is a shot in the arm for the UK’s stuttering credit market, analyst have said. Alphabet raised £1bn of an astronomical $32bn (£23.4bn) borrowing spree via a [...]
Whisky Business: How to build a whisky hotel in Edinburgh February 12, 2026 Whisky Business: City AM’s monthly look at the world of whisky. In the hyper-competitive landscape of Edinburgh’s five-star hospitality sector, buying 100 bottles of Scotch whisky and calling a hotel a ‘whisky hotel’ no longer cuts it. Investors and guests alike are increasingly seeking a “sense of place” where customers can enjoy a whisky experience. [...]
Greggs deals help Gerald Ronson’s forecourt business post £100m profit February 11, 2026 The petrol forecourt empire owned by City veteran Gerald Ronson has turned a profit just shy of £100m after an expansion in the firm’s partnership with Greggs. GMR Capital, the parent company behind forecourt firm Rontec, posted pre-tax profit of £98.4m for the year to end September 2025, a jump of 6 per cent compared [...]
UK wealth managers endure share price plummet amid AI tool fears February 11, 2026 Shares in some of the UK’s largest wealth managers tumbled on Wednesday, as investors grew concerned about the potential competitive pressure from a new AI-led investment tool. Britain’s biggest wealth group, St James’s Place, suffered a 12.7 per cent drop, trading at 1,265 pence, after US-based wealth management platform Altruist launched a tool to help [...]
PM Starmer asked to back £500m Alexandra Palace darts injection February 11, 2026 Prime Minister Keir Starmer has been called upon to contribute to a £500m, one-off private-public cash injection to keep darts at Alexandra Palace. The north London venue first hosted the World Darts Championship in 2007 but a move away from the venue has been touted by tournament organisers Matchroom, with the sport exploding in popularity [...]
Real Madrid decision sounds death knell for European Super League February 11, 2026 Real Madrid have become the final club to abandon the ailing European Super League project in a move that effectively kills off any prospect of a breakaway football competition in the foreseeable future. It follows talks between Real Madrid, governing body Uefa and influential umbrella group European Football Clubs leading to an “agreement of principles”, [...]
Lloyds to close 95 more bank branches across UK February 11, 2026 Lloyds Banking Group is set to make a further full to its branch network with 95 sites face the shutter. The FTSE 100 banking giant announced the fresh closures on Wednesday, which will affect Lloyds, Halifax and Bank of Scotland sites. The closures will take place between May 2026 and March 2027. Lloyds will take [...]
Landlords ‘underestimated’ scale of business rates overhaul February 11, 2026 The architect of Labour’s business rates overhaul has blamed the political backlash to the controversial policy on landlords and industry chiefs not fully understanding that a pandemic-related subsidy was coming to an end. Treasury minister Dan Tomlinson told MPs that business owners were taken off-guard by the scale of their tax rise because they weren’t [...]
British Gas boss: Electricity bills to top Ukraine war heights February 11, 2026 Electricity bills will be higher in 2030 than in the wake of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the boss of British Gas has warned, as the government pushes through major upgrades to the UK’s grid infrastructure. Chris O’Shea, chief executive of British Gas-owner Centrica, said the UK was playing catch-up after years of underinvestment, and [...]
Tiktok parent Bytedance joins race to build in-house AI chips February 11, 2026 China’s Bytedance is stepping up its own silicon push with plans to produce at least 100,000 AI chips this year. The move comes as tech giants scramble to cut their reliance on market leader Nvidia, and lock in scarce computing power. The Tiktok creator is reportedly in talks with Samsung Electronics to manufacture the processor, [...]