Paragon maintains pace as stamp duty changes slow mortgage lending July 29, 2025 Paragon has weathered a shakeup in stamp duty as analysts hailed the FTSE 250 bank’s “excellent momentum” in the first nine months of the financial year. The London-listed business recorded £1.1bn mortgage lending for the first three quarters, but estimated full-year volumes at the lower end of targets at £1.6bn. The firm said subdued activity [...]
NBA Europe: Basketball chiefs meeting investors in London July 29, 2025 NBA chiefs are in town this week to hold talks with potential investors in its planned European league and a potential London franchise, according to reports. Commissioner Adam Silver and deputy Mark Tatum are set to meet with private equity firms, investment banks, sovereign wealth funds, government officials and basketball clubs during a European roadshow, [...]
‘Publicity stunt’ claims against Shapps as Abramovich ally’s sanctions challenge fails at top court July 29, 2025 Eugene Shvidler claims the Supreme Court rejection of his UK sanctions appeal brings him back to the USSR 36 years after he left 'as a stateless refugee'
Uber rivals handed major VAT boost by Supreme Court July 29, 2025 Rival taxi operators to Uber will not have to pay 20 per cent VAT on their profits outside London following a landmark Supreme Court ruling. The court has decided that private-hire operators do not enter into a contract with passengers and therefore are except from the tax. The ruling comes after US giant Uber brought [...]
Travelex hires former William Hill CEO as new boss July 29, 2025 Foreign exchange company Travelex has hired a former chief executive of betting giant William Hill as its new boss. Philip Bowcock has been named to the role, effective immediately, and has succeeded Richard Wazacz who has served as CEO for the last three years. Bowcock led William Hill for over three years until September 2019, [...]
Mortgages rebound in lift for housing market July 29, 2025 Britons’ borrowing of mortgages and consumer credit rose at a faster pace in June, fresh Bank of England data has revealed, in signs that the recovery in the housing market is “well underway”. In monthly statistics released by the Bank to signal trends in the UK banking system, it was revealed that net borrowing of [...]
Metlen confirms £5.5bn London listing date July 29, 2025 Greek industrial giant Metlen Energy and Metals has confirmed it will list on the London Stock Exchange next week, in a much-needed boost to the UK’s listing-starved public markets. The mining and energy firm confirmed on Tuesday it had completed its voluntary Share Exchange Offer (SEO) with an acceptance rate of over 90 per cent, [...]
Barclays joins FTSE 100 peers in warning against bank tax hike July 29, 2025 Barclays has become the latest banking giant to send a firm warning to Rachel Reeves to avoid bank tax hike as the Chancellor scrambles to maintain her wafer-thin fiscal headroom. The FTSE 100 giant’s boss CS Venkatakrishnan, known as Venkat, said the government’s mission for growth would not align with slapping a tax increase on [...]
Auto Trader: Brits turn to older cars amid ‘economic uncertainty’ July 29, 2025 Brits are turning their backs on new cars choosing to buy more older models amid “ongoing economic uncertainty”, according to FTSE 100 giant Auto Trader. The Manchester-headquartered company said a “standout trend” of 2025 so far is the “growing appetite for affordable used cars”, particularly those aged between five and 10 years old. Auto Trader has [...]
Halfords: Departing CEO gets golden goodbye despite losses July 29, 2025 The departing chief executive of Halfords saw his pay more than double despite the company losing £30m in the year before he stepped down, it has been revealed. Graham Stapleton tool home a pay packet of £1.5m for the firm’s latest financial year, up from the £650,440 he received in the prior 12 months. Stapleton [...]