Hornby: Mike Ashley-backed toymaker announces plans to go private March 13, 2025 Hornby, the international models and collectibles group advised by Mike Ashley, has announced plans to go private as it looks to sidestep regulatory hurdles and cut costs. The firm told markets Thursday it intends to strike its shares off London’s AIM stock exchange, citing regulatory burdens, limited liquidity and the high cost of maintaining a [...]
John Lewis scraps staff bonus again despite tripling profit March 13, 2025 The John Lewis Partnership has scrapped its staff bonus for the third year in a row despite a near-tripling in profit. The company, which owns both John Lewis and Waitrose, told markets this morning that profit before tax increased from £42m to £126m over the 52 weeks to 25 January. Overall sales rose three per [...]
Founder of whisky investment firm Hackstons tied to notorious ‘Wolf of Wall Street’ wine scam March 13, 2025 A high-flying salesman who made millions during his time at a business that was subsequently exposed as a notorious wine scam is now running a West End whisky investment firm having changed his name, City AM can reveal. Alphie Valentine, 41, is the co-founder and director of Hackstons, whose flagship store opened in Knightsbridge in [...]
Will Starmer’s chainsaw be Black & Decker or Fisher Price? March 13, 2025 On Monday I used this column to ask who, if anyone, will have the courage to take a chainsaw to the British state. It’s an inelegant metaphor, but an effective one as Argentina’s Javier Milei and Elon Musk in the US revel in the process of hacking away at state infrastructure. Milei won his election [...]
Mark Kleinman: FCA chief Rathi not at the exit door after all March 13, 2025 Mark Kleinman is Sky News’ City Editor and the man who gets the Square Mile talking in his weekly City AM column. Today, he looks at the FCA chief, big Boots to fill and a high street icon FCA chief Rathi not at the exit door after all Embattled, besieged, under-fire: a few short weeks ago, there seemed no [...]
Keir Starmer to pledge red tape rollback in bid to ‘reshape the state’ March 12, 2025 Sir Keir Starmer is expected to pledge to slash red tape for businesses in a bid to “reshape the state” of the UK amid what he will call a new “era of instability”. The Prime Minister is set to make an announcement on Thursday about his plans to reform the British state, cut regulation, and [...]
England Rugby to switch to Murray-backed Castore after Six Nations March 12, 2025 England’s rugby teams will replace Umbro with Andy Murray-backed British sportswear brand Castore after this year’s Six Nations. The new kit deal is due to start in May and follows months of talks between the Rugby Football Union and Castore, which was founded by former City workers. It means that England men’s team will debut [...]
Wembley considered for Usyk undisputed heavyweight fight with Dubois March 12, 2025 Wembley Stadium could host the undisputed heavyweight boxing world title fight between Oleksandr Usyk and Daniel Dubois. Ukrainian Usyk became the first undisputed heavyweight world champion since Lennox Lewis last May when he beat Tyson Fury in Riyadh but relinquished one of his belts when he couldn’t face Dubois due to a rematch clause with [...]
Tariffs: Starmer ‘disappointed’ by Trump move and ‘all options on table’ March 12, 2025 The Prime Minister has said he is “disappointed” by US President Donald Trump’s move to bring in 25 per cent tariffs on steel and aluminium imports, including from the UK. Sir Keir Starmer has indicated the UK would keep open the option of retaliatory measures, emphasising that “we will keep all options on the table”. [...]
What can small businesses expect from Reeves this spring? March 12, 2025 Small businesses (SMEs) are preparing for slumped growth ahead of this year’s Spring Statement, with increasing concerns over upcoming National Insurance (NI) hikes and business rate relief cuts due to come in in April. Business leaders remain wary of tax increases and spending cuts that could further squeeze SME margins, despite a lower interest rate [...]