Spectris agrees to £3.8bn takeover but KKR threatens bidding war June 23, 2025 Industrial group Spectris has agreed to a £3.8bn takeover by US private equity Advent but a bidding war could be brewing as KKR mulls a rival offer. The FTSE 250 firm has been valued at £37.73 per share in the deal. Shares jumped 13.5 per cent as markets opened on Monday to around 3,726. Private [...]
AIM turns 30: Delistings, doubt and a dose of optimism June 19, 2025 AIM turns 30 today, but birthday celebrations are bound to be overshadowed by swathes of bleak data on the market’s performance. London’s junior stock market has had a woeful period, with projections indicating the index will shrink by a fifth as a result of delisting plans. The number of companies listed on the City’s Alternative [...]
AIM boss: Inheritance tax sums don’t add up June 19, 2025 As AIM celebrates its 30th anniversary the market’s boss is eying a crucial birthday present from the Treasury: tax clarity. AIM shareholders were thrust into the tax spotlight last month after a leaked memo revealed Angela Rayner proposed Chancellor Rachel Reeves slap a series of taxes savers. Scrapping the inheritance tax exemption for AIM shares [...]
Metro Bank receives private equity-backed takeover interest June 14, 2025 High street lender Metro Bank has been approached for a takeover which could take it off the London Stock Exchange, Sky News has reported. Bosses at Metro Bank have reportedly been approached in the last two weeks by private equity firm Pollen Street about an offer to take it private. The takeover would follow a [...]
Bargain Britain: UK firms under siege by foreign takeovers June 12, 2025 The London Stock Exchange has suffered a bruising week as private equity firms and foreign giants continue to snap up British bargains. Markets were hit with a double blow on Wednesday after Canadian consultancy giant acquired engineering firm Ricardo and KKR returned with a final bid for GP Landlord Assura. Assura has recommended a cash [...]
Private equity giant KKR returns with final bid for Assura June 11, 2025 UK healthcare property firm Assura has received its “best and final offer” from KKR, which is set to trigger another delisting blow for the London Stock Exchange. Assura has recommended a cash offer from Sana Bidco, a vehicle owned by KKR and Stonepeak, which values the firm at 52.1p per share. Shares in Assura closed [...]
Peel Hunt boss renews calls for tax cuts to rescue ailing public markets June 11, 2025 The boss of City broker Peel Hunt has called for a raft of fresh tax cuts for London’s stock market to help stem the flood of delistings and end the dearth of flotations. CEO Steven Fine called for stamp duty on share trades to be abolished in a bid to help “shift this doomloop of [...]
Week in Business: Warning lights in the City as another firm quits London for New York June 5, 2025 The trend has been clear for some time and the evidence points to a story of decline for the UK's capital markets.
Schroders steps back from City lobbying taskforce June 4, 2025 Schroders has stepped back from a City taskforce lobbying to drive growth in the UK’s capital markets, despite its close ties with the asset manager’s former CEO Peter Harrison. The Capital Markets Industry Taskforce (CMIT), which was established in 2022, is chaired by London Stock Exchange Group CEO Julia Hoggett, and counts Harrison as one [...]
Treasury meets Monzo and Revolut bosses amid plea for London listings May 13, 2025 The Treasury courted top UK fintech names including Monzo and Revolut on Tuesday in hopes of convincing the country’s most valuable unicorns into listing on the London Stock Exchange. Emma Reynolds, economic secretary to the Treasury, met with bosses from Monzo, Revolut, Clearscore and Oaknorth. Chief executive of the London Stock Exchange Dame Julia Hoggett [...]