Steven Bartlett: Dragons’ Den star signs the ‘biggest deal of my life’ May 27, 2025 Dragons’ Den star Steven Bartlett has said he’s “signed the biggest deal of my life” after becoming a co-owner of a US technology company. The entrepreneur has agreed a “major, double digit equity investment deal” in LA-based Stan Store. The business is led by chief executive John Hu who set up the firm in 2021. [...]
KFC to create over 7,000 UK jobs and open 500 restaurants in £1.5bn move May 27, 2025 KFC has revealed a £1.5bn plan to create more than 7,000 jobs in the UK and Ireland over the next five years and open a further 500 restaurants by 2035. The fast-food giant said £466m will go towards opening new locations focusing on building flagship sites and drive-thrus in “key locations” such as Ireland and [...]
Firms ‘staying private for longer’ as listing drought set to continue, Baillie Gifford says May 27, 2025 British businesses are set to stay “private for longer” as a drought in IPOs shows no sign of coming to an end, an investor at Baillie Gifford has warned. Pater Singlehurst, head of private company investments at the Edinburgh-based business, said investors would need to regain trust in companies looking to list before any signs [...]
Monsoon and Accessorize owner enters the red as sales slip May 27, 2025 The owner of Monsoon and Accessorize slumped into the red as its sales were slashed during its latest financial year, it has been revealed. Adena Brands, which is owned by Peter Simon, has reported a pre-tax loss of £7.5m for the 12 months to 31 August, 2024. The loss comes after the group posted a [...]
Football Regulator: Industry experts call out governance of sport May 27, 2025 Over 400 points have been docked from clubs in the English Football League since the Premier League launched in 1992, insight shared with City AM reveals. It points to an English top flight that has pulled away from the rest of the promotion-relegation pyramid ahead of the introduction of an Independent Football Regulator. Insight provided [...]
North Sea windfall tax causing ‘irreversible damage’ says oil giant May 27, 2025 The boss of Enquest has slammed the windfall tax on oil and gas firms as doing “irreversible damage” to the industry and “driving job losses across the sector”. Amjad Bseisu, Enquest’s chief executive, called for the North Sea tax to be scrapped in an operations update on Tuesday after claiming it makes the UK a [...]
UK nightlife economy under pressure as venues struggle May 27, 2025 The UK’s nightlife industry, once a powerful driver of urban business, faces mounting pressures as shifting consumer habits, economic headwinds and regulatory challenges tighten the squeeze on late-night operators. Phil Urban, chief executive of one of the UK’s largest pub and bar chains, Mitchells & Butlers, has warned that the late-night segment is “the toughest [...]
UK-EU deal triggers strategic AI partnership May 27, 2025 A new initiative has been launched to enhance AI collaboration across Europe, building on the recent agreement between the UK and the EU. This partnership invites leading UK public research organisations to apply to become the UK’s gateway to Europe’s most advanced super-computing facilities, which are crucial for accelerating AI breakthroughs. Strengthening ties through AI [...]
The death of deep thinking: What generative AI is doing to your future team May 27, 2025 AI is reshaping education at a structural level, but the implications are beginning to show beyond lecture halls. Tools like ChatGPT become embedded in academic routines, students are increasingly outsourcing the work of ideation, synthesis and long-form writing to machines. What used to be learned slowly, through the hard graft of writing and revising, is [...]
‘The most calls I’ve ever had’ – Why Japanese bonds have suffered surging yields May 27, 2025 The Japanese bond market has suffered one of its worst weeks in years. An auction on Japan’s 20-year government bond saw its bid-to-cover ratio, a measure of demand, sink to levels last seen in 2012, while the auction’s tail, the gap between average and lowest-accepted prices, widened to the longest since 1987, in another sign [...]