City AM Awards 2026: Meet the Finalists Business The City AM Awards are back and this year our finalists are stronger than ever. Our judges now have the task of voting for an overall winner in each category, to be announced at the Guildhall on May 6. And the nominees are…. Personality of the Year Greg Jackson CBE The entrepreneur and CEO of [...]
Aviva’s profits surge following Direct Line acquisition Insurance Aviva’s acquisition of Direct Line in 2025 contributed £174m to operating profit for the FTSE 100 giant, as the group’s overall operating profit increased by 25 per cent to £2.2bn. The group informed shareholders that it achieved its 2026 financial targets one year early, specifically reaching its £2bn operating profit and £1.8bn Solvency II own [...]
FTSE 100 Live: Airline shares fall after Wizz Air profit warning; Primark new boss Markets Good morning and welcome back to the City AM liveblog. Global markets returned to a touch of stability on Wednesday as energy prices retreated as investors awaited the latest on the events in the Middle East. The FTSE 100 ended the day 0.8 per cent higher at 10,567.65p – still far below it’s level at [...]
There’s a new Magnificent 7, and it’s called the Fusty 5 February 24, 2026 The success of the ‘Magnificent 7’, a group of technology companies so called for their historic stock market performance and gargantuan scale, has to many been the defining market story of the past half-decade. The seven hyperscalers – which include Alphabet, Amazon and Nvidia – have carried the American stock market to a years-long streak [...]
Private market allocations reach record high as investors pump in £4.7 trillion January 28, 2026 Global private market allocations from institutional investors have reached record highs, with many planning to increase their allocations over the next few years. Private markets have risen to represent 12.5 per cent of overall portfolio allocations, accounting for $6.5 trillion (£4.7 trillion) of assets under management, according to the latest study from Aviva Investors. North [...]
Banking and insurance to drive financial M&As after 2025 frenzy January 7, 2026 Deals in the financial services sector are expected to be “robust” in the year to come, following a burst of activity from the banking and insurance sector in 2025. UK banks, insurers and asset managers publicly disclosed 337 deals last year. Whilst this dipped down from the record high of 378 in 2024, the value [...]
FTSE 100 Live: Income tax U-turn throws Budget into chaos November 14, 2025 Welcome back to the City AM markets liveblog. Government fiascos are the story of the week and each one is sending ripples across markets. Whilst earlier this week it was a Westminister briefing war with Downing Street appearing to turn on its own out of leadership threats, today it is the Treasury in the hot [...]
Aviva sign deal worth £4.5m per season for major stadium November 11, 2025 Insurance giant Aviva has extended its stadium sponsorship agreement for Dublin’s Aviva Stadium through until 2030 in a deal reportedly worth around £4.5m per season. The 51,000-capacity Lansdowne Road site has been sponsored by the London headquartered insurance firm since 2010 and the new deal – with the Irish rugby and football unions – is [...]
Aviva partners with ICE InsureTech for digital transformation October 13, 2025 Insurance giant Aviva has rolled out a digital insurance platform in partnership with ICE InsureTech, completing a transformation project in just 12 months. The overhaul saw Aviva go live in September 2025 with ICE’s Policy Admin System, a software-as-a-service (SaaS) platform aimed at streamlining operations and enabling fully digital insurance journeys. The system allows white-labelled, [...]
Aviva’s profit soars ahead of merger with Direct Line August 14, 2025 Aviva posted a profit jump for the first half of the year after strong growth across its wealth and insurance divisions. The company’s operating profit climbed 22 per cent to just north of £1bn – topping the £875m netted in the first half of 2024. This comes after Aviva completed its £3.7bn takeover of rival [...]