‘Reason to be optimistic’: Hospitality bosses say World Cup a lifeline for pubs June 9, 2026 Pub bosses are hoping for a much-needed boost from the World Cup this summer, as the hospitality industry warns of a crushing tax and cost burden. Leading pub chains Greene King and JD Wetherspoon have told City AM they are hoping for a “useful boost” to counteract the “layering of costs” they have faced in [...]
‘Course correction’: UK economy to contract as ‘energy shock catches up’ June 9, 2026 The UK economy is expected to contract despite a boost at the start of the year, with economists warning that the war in Iran’s energy price shock will now show up in fresh data. Economists believe that the UK economy declined by 0.1 per cent in April. Official figures will be published on Friday. The [...]
Government to invest £3m in five new cricket domes June 9, 2026 The Government is investing £3m into the construction of five new cricket domes as plans to increase participation in the sport ramp up. The state contribution will help communities in Birmingham, Derby, Newcastle, Bolton and Nottingham after an initial three domes were opened in the West Midlands, Bradford and Lancashire. A further £1.5m was committed [...]
Lloyds taps $160bn fintech giant to boost small business tech June 9, 2026 Lloyds Bank has sealed a partnership with a $160bn (£119bn) fintech giant to ramp up its payments tech for small-business clients. The blue-chip banking giant has agreed a tie-up with Stripe that will see Lloyds leverage the fintech’s payment infrastructure to provide a suite of tools for its small-business customers. The new offering, named Lloyds Accept, [...]
Fifa charging World Cup fans £59 for ‘shoutouts’ in new money-making scheme June 9, 2026 Fifa is charging football fans £59 to have their name announced before matches at the 2026 World Cup, which starts this week. For $79 (£59), supporters can buy a “Super Shoutout” to have their name read out and appear on the stadium scoreboard before any fixture at the World Cup. It is the latest money-making [...]
Britain to offer visa refunds to woo tech scale-ups June 9, 2026 The government will reimburse visa fees for high-growth firms hiring overseas talent as ministers step up efforts to turn Britain’s most promising scale-ups into global tech champions. Business secretary Peter Kyle is set to unveil a package of measures aimed at helping fast-growing companies “start, scale and stay” in the UK, including a new concierge-style [...]
‘Novel and extreme’: Analysts calls out SpaceX governance days before IPO June 9, 2026 Analysts and major institutional investors have expressed alarm over the corporate governance of SpaceX as its Wall Street debut creeps closer. The concerns from institutional investors, in particular public pension funds, over corporate governance at Elon Musk’s space tech company “run deep”, with firms in New York and California deeming the structure “novel and extreme”. [...]
Molten Ventures shares surge as it offloads Revolut stake June 9, 2026 Shares in Molten Ventures surged on Tuesday morning after the startup investor confirmed it had sold down its stake in Revolut. The FTSE 250 firm said it made £63m from the share sale, adding that it still had a stake in the company worth more than £100m following the disposal. Molten was an early investor [...]
Palantir to sue Khan over blocked Met police contract June 9, 2026 Palantir is set to sue Sadiq Khan after the London Mayor blocked a £50m contract with the Metropolitan Police, claiming the tech giant does not reflect the City’s values. In May, Khan vetoed the deal in which Palantir would have supported Scotland Yard with AI technology, over concerns about the Met’s procurement process, claiming they had failed [...]
Banks ‘not ready’ for motor finance scheme, says City watchdog June 9, 2026 The City watchdog has warned that motor finance lenders are “not as ready as we would expect” for the introduction of its long-awaited redress scheme. Nikhil Rathi, chief executive of the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), has written to the Treasury Committee following inquiries around the legal challenges to its car mis-selling scheme. The regulator published [...]