The London Stock Exchange is shrinking – but Julia Hoggett is still an optimist Markets The London Stock Exchange’s two flagship indexes are trading near all-time highs. But beneath the surface, it has been another testing year for the capital’s bourse. Boss Dame Julia Hoggett tells Ali Lyon what she is doing to disprove the doomsters. In the cavernous foyer of London’s historic stock exchange, a giant cube is flashing [...]
Cavendish taps top adviser to fend off foreign takeover interest Advisory Cavendish has drafted in advisers from a top corporate consultancy to help it fend off low-ball takeover bids amid a wave of consolidation in Britain’s financial services sector. Top brass at the boutique investment bank enlisted the help of specialists at Teneo last year, City AM can reveal, who conducted a valuation exercise to “support [...]
FTSE 100 Beazley profit plunges as war roils insurance market Insurance FTSE 100 insurer Beazley said war and rising global risks were hitting the insurance market as it revealed that its profit more than halved in the first half of 2026. The insurer reported a pre-tax profit of $237.7m (£176.6m) for the first half of 2026, a 53 per cent fall from the $502.5m reported in [...]
Private equity firms eye valuation gap as City falls to takeovers July 20, 2026 The London Stock Exchange has seen a sharp uptick in takeover premiums this year as a deals spree from led by private equity firms and foreign buyers accelerates. The average price paid by acquirers relative to companies’ share prices has hit 45 per cent, according to data from AJ Bell. Foreign buyers account for 86 [...]
‘Sh*tloads to come’: London takeover spree set to accelerate June 29, 2026 At a gathering of some of London’s top bankers in the City of London last week, the mood was one of uncertainty. On the one hand, London’s dealmakers are not in want of work. In the past two weeks alone Easyjet has opened the door to an approach from American private equity firm Castlelake, Ramsdens [...]
City chiefs issue rallying cry to counter ‘disinformation’ about London’s decline June 3, 2026 A group of influential City chiefs have thrown their weight behind an industry-wide campaign to tackle “disinformation about London” and promote the capital as an innovative hub for global investment. All four of the financial sector’s largest industry bodies have signed up to Team UK, a new initiative spearheaded by the Lady Mayor of London, [...]
Former Lloyd’s DEI leader left Beazley over non-financial misconduct allegations June 2, 2026 A former chief risk officer at cyber insurance giant Beazley left the FTSE 100 business following allegations of non-financial misconduct. City AM understands that Rob Anarfi, who had been at Beazley since 2012, left the FTSE 100 business early last year following allegations of non-financial misconduct. Anarfi was also chair of the Lloyd’s of London [...]
City sounds alarm on £40bn foreign M&A offensive targeting ‘cheap’ UK firms May 15, 2026 A group of City grandees has sounded the alarm on the wave of foreign firms picking off rivals from London’s stock market, after a flurry of unsolicited offers took the combined value of UK companies poised to leave Britain’s ailing bourse to £43bn. Some 22 listed companies have already accepted or received bids that would [...]
Bank of England Live: Interest rates held as hawks warn of ‘highly uncertain’ energy prices April 30, 2026 Welcome back to the City AM liveblog. The Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee has today decided to hold interest rates at 3.75 per cent in a hawkish display. In last month’s decision, the Bank held rates in a unanimous decision. Afterwards, short-term gilt yields, which reflect government borrowing costs, sharply rose as traders priced [...]
Profit slides as Beazley eyes Bermuda amid Zurich £8bn takeover March 4, 2026 One of the UK’s biggest listed insurance firms suffered a slide in profit as the company prepares to be acquired by Swiss giant Zurich. FTSE 100 insurer Beazley posted pre-tax profit of $1.14bn (£870m) for the year to end December 2025, a fall of around a fifth compared to the previous year amid a softening [...]