Metro Bank shares soar after takeover interest from Shawbrook owner June 16, 2025 Shares in Metro bank boomed as markets opened on Monday after reports the high street lender had been approached for a takeover. The FTSE 250 bank’s stock was up nine per cent to 122.00p during early trading. On Friday, shares closed at 112.2p, giving it a market capitalisation north of £750m. This follows private equity [...]
Motorway CEO: How I built my $1bn empire after a huge failure June 16, 2025 The co-founder and chief executive of used car marketplace Motorway has opened up about how he helped to build a $1bn empire from scratch following the biggest failure of his career. On an up-coming episode of City AM’s Boardroom Uncovered show, Tom Leathes also revealed how he and his fellow founders landed on the car [...]
Bitcoin owner Smarter Web Company raises £30m after stock rockets June 16, 2025 The Smarter Web Company has raised £29.3m in a new share offer as the Aquis-listed tech firm cashes in on continued investor enthusiasm for the stock. The Guildford-based business said it had raised £1.5m via a subscription and £27.8m via an accelerated bookbuild with institutional investors, with an offer price of 180p. The Smarter Web [...]
Israel-Iran conflict to dominate G7 meeting as Starmer calls for restraint June 16, 2025 The escalating conflict between Israel and Iran is likely to be high on the agenda as world leaders gather in Canada on Monday. Sir Keir Starmer said that the G7 meeting in Alberta would provide an opportunity for allies to make the case for de-escalation in the “fast moving” situation in the Middle East, with President Trump [...]
Peel Hunt: City broker makes a loss amid economic headwinds June 16, 2025 Investment bank Peel Hunt faced the pinch of economic and market struggles in its latest financial year as cost-cutting measures took a chunk out of the firm’s bottom line. The City broker made a loss before tax of £3.5m, which the firm said was due to restructuring costs. But the company recorded a profit of [...]
High street banks ramp up SME lending to highest since 2022 June 16, 2025 High street banks are scaling up their lending to small businesses, with the first quarter of 2022 hitting the highest amount since 2022. Lenders issued £4.6bn worth of loans in the first three months of the year marking a 14 per cent year-on-year jump. The rise was driven by a surge of lending to agriculture, [...]
Grenade: We invented ‘good’ protein bars June 16, 2025 It is difficult to walk around a supermarket without being screamed at by a collection of very similar labels on very different aisles: High-protein yogurt! Protein powder bread! All natural high-protein ketchup! As the final social-media-endorsed macronutrient standing, protein’s stock has soared from a good-to-have to a must-buy in the last decade. Somewhat inexplicably, Marks [...]
UK government advises against all travel to Israel amid Iran conflict June 15, 2025 Britons are being told not to travel to Israel amid the ongoing conflict with Iran. The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office updated travel advice on Sunday to advise “against all travel to Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories”. David Lammy has said that the safety of British nationals “remains our top priority”. Israel and Iran [...]
Macquarie nears deal for slice of London City, Birmingham and Bristol Airport June 15, 2025 Macquarie is close to a multibillion pound deal for stakes in London City, Birmingham and Bristol Airport. The Australian infrastructure investor is this weekend finalising terms with the Canadian pension fund Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan (OTPP), according to the Sunday Times. OTPP owns 25 per cent stake of London City, 27 per cent of Birmingham [...]
Metro Bank receives private equity-backed takeover interest June 14, 2025 High street lender Metro Bank has been approached for a takeover which could take it off the London Stock Exchange, Sky News has reported. Bosses at Metro Bank have reportedly been approached in the last two weeks by private equity firm Pollen Street about an offer to take it private. The takeover would follow a [...]