AJ Bell: Revenue jumps as customer numbers surge Investing Investment platform giant AJ Bell has reported a record financial performance after the group attracted thousands of new customers. Group revenue rose by 18 per cent over its financial year to the end of September to £317.8m, up from £269.4m the 12 months before. Profit before tax increased by 22 per cent to £137.8m, up [...]
Buyer of WH Smith in late stage talks to snap up leading footwear chain Business The investment firm which bought WH Smith is in advanced talks to takeover a privately owned footwear retailer as it looks to snaps up more UK high street staples. Modella Capital is in late stage talks to buy Wynsors World of Shoes, which trades from approximately 50 standalone shops across the the north of the [...]
Reeves plans stamp duty holiday in Budget to boost London listings Business Chancellor Rachel Reeves is expected to announce a stamp duty holiday for new listings on the London Stock Exchange in Wednesday’s Budget as the government ramps up efforts to revive the index. The move will wipe out the 0.5 per cent stamp duty tax investors are forced to pay upon buying shares that are newly [...]
Wealthy individuals at risk of tax raid due to lack of knowledge November 21, 2025 Wealthy Brits are at risk of being slapped with higher taxes in the upcoming Autumn Budget as they fail to understand how to use their tax allowances. The Treasury is scrambling to fill an estimated £20bn fiscal black hole in next week’s Budget and, with a wide spread of tax rises being discussed, many individuals [...]
Interactive Investor abandons retail campaign in fresh blow to Rachel Reeves November 19, 2025 Chancellor Rachel Reeves’ plans to increase investment in the UK stock market has been hit with a fresh blow, as Britain’s second largest retail investment platform pulls out of the government backed marketing campaign. Interactive Investor, which is owned by London listed investment manager Aberdeen, has become the latest well known name to abandon the [...]
Lloyds to acquire London fintech in bid to grow digital offerings November 19, 2025 Lloyds Banking Group is acquiring London based fintech Curve, as it looks to boost its digital offerings and compete against popular challenger banks. Curve, which was founded in 2015, operates as a digital payment wallet which combines all debit and credit cards alongside alternative payment sources, such as cryptocurrency, onto a single platform. The platform [...]
How did South Korea clinch the top spot in global markets? November 13, 2025 Stock markets across the globe have shrugged off months of geopolitical and economic turmoil with all major indexes rallying since the start of the year. The FTSE has risen 19.8 per cent since January, hitting record highs,while the Nasdaq has jumped 21.7 per cent buoyed by the AI boom, and Japan’s Nikkei 255 reaped the [...]
Brokers and building societies butt heads over cash ISA cut November 6, 2025 Top brokers and building societies have locked horns over whether the Chancellor should follow through with rumoured plans to slash the cash ISA limit. London-based trading platform IG is pushing for Chancellor Rachel Reeves to act on rumours to slash the cash ISA allowance to £10,000, after analysis found it could provide a £7.2bn boost [...]
Tech stocks rally after Tuesday’s sell off November 5, 2025 US stock markets rebounded on Wednesday as investor nerves cooled after billion-dollar short positions disclosed in leading AI companies sent tech stocks in a tailspin on Tuesday. Star fund manager Michael Burry, of The Big Short fame, disclosed a $1.1bn (£843m) wager on Palantir and Nvidia shares falling on Tuesday, after drawing attention to similarities between [...]
Do you need to contribute more to your pension? November 5, 2025 The introduction of auto enrolment has drastically changed the retirement outcomes for millions of Brits, increasing private sector employees’ pension contributions. The move, which came into force in 2012, allowed savers who joined the workforce too late to benefit from the gold plated, inflation protected defined benefit schemes to secure a consistent pension stream, without [...]