UK fintech holds European crown but UAE threat looms September 11, 2025 UK fintech maintained a heavy level of activity in the first half of 2025 but faced new threats from growing financial hubs. Over 70 significant acquisitions of smaller rivals or complementary businesses were reported in the UK and Europe over the half. This represented a 50 per cent bump on acquisitions compared to the previous [...]
Eurosummer lives on as retail investors flock to the continent September 10, 2025 Turbulence created by US tariffs is continuing to be a boon for European investment, with retail investors flocking to the continent, writes Susannah Streeter.
Why does London have no good public spaces? August 20, 2025 London deserves its own great public square – one worthy of postcards, of celebrations, of idle evenings spent in good company, writes John Oxley.
Lammy and Vance host national security advisers ahead of Trump-Putin summit August 9, 2025 The Foreign Secretary will host a meeting of allied national security advisers on Saturday as Donald Trump pushes for a peace deal in Ukraine. Downing Street announced that the meeting at David Lammy’s official country retreat, Chevening, would bring together advisers from the US, Europe and Ukraine to “discuss progress towards securing a just and [...]
European markets rally as Trump and EU ink trade deal July 28, 2025 Markets across Europe opened in the green on Monday morning after President Donald Trump sealed a trade deal with the EU after months of discussion. The Cac 40 in Paris was up over one per cent and Germany’s DAX and Amsterdam’s AEX nearly one per cent. In London, the FTSE 100 jumped over 0.4 per [...]
HSBC sells UK life insurance arm in latest European retreat July 3, 2025 Banking juggernaut HSBC has marked its latest retreat on European operations after selling its UK life protection arm to insurance firm Chesnara. HSBC have offloaded the division for £260m, which Chesnara will fund through a combination of external resources, credit facility and a equity raise. The move comes amid Georges Elhedery‘s sweeping changes at the [...]
Eurostar to launch direct services from London to Frankfurt and Geneva June 10, 2025 Eurostar has announced plans to launch direct services from London to Germany and Switzerland for the first time. The cross-channel operator is looking to purchase 50 new trains at a cost of £1.7bn to service the routes, which are expected to run from the “early 2030s”. Journey times are expected to last around five hours [...]
London suffering from UK economic malaise, NatWest data suggests June 9, 2025 Businesses in London saw output decline for the second consecutive month in NatWest’s growth tracker – yet there is some optimism that the capital’s economy could resurge. Firms widely reported Chancellor Reeves’ tax hikes and a rise in energy bills, which kicked into effect in what has been dubbed ‘Awful April’, contributed to a decline [...]
UK dominates European investment appeal despite drop in activity June 9, 2025 The UK has continued to storm ahead of its European rivals as the region’s most attractive destination for financial services investment, despite a sharp drop in activity. The UK recorded 73 foreign direct investment (FDI) projects in 2024, a steep 32 per cent drop from 108 the previous year, according to EY’s latest Attractiveness Survey for [...]
ECB cuts interest rates as UK ‘hesitation’ risks dealmaking strength June 5, 2025 Interest rates in the eurozone have been cut, taking the deposit facility rate to two per cent as fresh data suggested inflation came in just under the European Central Bank (ECB)’s two per cent target rate in May. The cut means the ECB’s rate now stands at two per cent, a halving of rates set two [...]