Nationwide posts bumper year after stamp duty rush May 29, 2025 Nationwide Building Society bolstered its takings in the 12 months to March 31 2025, after a rush to beat the stamp duty deadline led to a surge in first-time buyers. The firm said it served more first-time buyers than any other lender in the UK, with 120,000 purchasing their first home. This was a significant leap from [...]
Thames Water slapped with historic £123m fine from Ofwat May 28, 2025 Thames Water will receive a historic £123m fine from the water regulator over rule breaches tied to its wastewater operations and dividend payouts. Ofwat confirmed a final decision on Tuesday following two of its “biggest and most complex” investigations into the beleaguered utility’s operations. Thames Water and its shareholders will pay a £104.5m penalty for [...]
FTSE 100 nears record high but Trump threat lingers May 27, 2025 The FTSE 100’s latest rally has put it inches away from sealing an all-time high but another tariff twist from the White House threatens the record. The UK’s flagship index was up one per cent to around 8,800p during midday trading on Tuesday as it reversed Friday’s losses made after Trump threatened the European Union [...]
North Sea windfall tax causing ‘irreversible damage’ says oil giant May 27, 2025 The boss of Enquest has slammed the windfall tax on oil and gas firms as doing “irreversible damage” to the industry and “driving job losses across the sector”. Amjad Bseisu, Enquest’s chief executive, called for the North Sea tax to be scrapped in an operations update on Tuesday after claiming it makes the UK a [...]
London vs New York: Who will win the fintech IPO war? May 24, 2025 A battle with New York awaits as Rachel Reeves sets her eyes on London fintech IPOs. The Chancellor has courted top fintech darlings in her attempt to boost listings on the London Stock Exchange (LSE) as a fleet of firms are flirting with floating in the near future. Monzo is reportedly consulting with investment bankers on [...]
Senior: FTSE 250 aerospace and defence group bags new contracts May 20, 2025 Senior shares edged up on Tuesday after it unveiled £168m worth of new contracts that will stretch into the 2030s. Shares in the FTSE 250 firm have soared nearly 40 per cent over the last month despite the threat of Donald Trump’s tariffs on the wider aerospace industry. The stock edged up nearly two per [...]
Volatility boosts IG Group after Freetrade deal completes May 12, 2025 IG Group has upgraded its profit guidance for the financial year after increased trading from high market volatility around global trade uncertainty boosted its revenue. “Elevated volatility across a range of asset classes, particularly in April, has resulted in higher levels of client trading activity than expected in typical market conditions,” the firm said in [...]
Travis Perkins: New CEO named after torrid year and FTSE 250 shares slump May 9, 2025 The man chosen to lead an almighty rebuilding project at construction supplies giant Travis Perkins has been named. Gavin Slark has been picked as the Northamptonshire-headquartered company’s new chief executive and is set to take up his role no later than 1 January, 2026. Slark has held the same position at SIG since 2023 and [...]
Metro Bank shares soar as lender’s turnaround gathers pace May 8, 2025 Metro Bank said there was a “significant increase” in quarter one profit against the second half of 2024 during a trading update on Thursday. Shares in the bank jumped nearly four per cent during early trading. The London-based firm said it was “confident” it would meet full-year targets after a “structurally higher” net interest margin, [...]
FTSE 100’s record run ends as pharma stocks slide on new Trump appointment May 7, 2025 The FTSE 100’s record run came to an end on Wednesday as pharma stocks slumped on the back of a controversial US regulatory appointment. The blue-chip index spent the entire session in the red and closed off 0.4 per cent. Drugmakers GSK and Astrazeneca were among the top fallers, at nearly five per cent and [...]