Shareholder backlash pushes up low-ball London takeover bids August 11, 2026 Top shareholders of London-listed firms are pushing back on takeover bids this year amid concerns buyers are capitalising on low valuations to pick up companies on the cheap. Foreign buyers have targeted companies across the London Stock Exchange this year including FTSE 100 firms Schroders, Intertek and Beazley. Retail investment firm AJ Bell said it [...]
Boutique London advisory firm lands £8m funding amid M&A frenzy August 11, 2026 A boutique M&A advisory firm has landed £8m in fresh funding as it seeks to capitalise on a wave of takeover activity, City AM can reveal. London-based Lava Advisory Partners, which was founded in 2020, secured the debt finance from specialist SME lender Beechbrook Capital. The B Corp-certified firm said it would use the cash [...]
Cavendish taps top adviser to fend off foreign takeover interest August 10, 2026 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 [...]
As it happened: Intel, Arm shares slide; Oil climbs higher August 10, 2026 Welcome back to the City AM liveblog. Oil is starting the new week higher and making its third consecutive session for gains after optimism for a peace deal between the US and Iran stalled over the weekend and uncertainty around the Strait of Hormuz persisted. Donald Trump has said the US is “low-keying it” with Iran, [...]
Back to basics: Sainsbury’s gradual retreat from the British high street August 8, 2026 Sainsbury’s deal to sell its catalogue retailer Argos marks the latest step in the grocer’s years-long retreat from a high street conglomerate back to its core food business. The FTSE 100 supermarket giant holds a 15 per cent market share of grocery stores, second only to Tesco. But the firm once had a sprawling business [...]
As it happened: Stocks rise despite new tensions in Strait of Hormuz; Oil price climbs August 7, 2026 Welcome back to the City AM liveblog. New tensions in the Strait of Hormuz this morning are leaving markets on edge and handing a blow to earlier optimism around a peace deal between the US and Iran. Oil is moving higher, reversing some of the drawback from the beginning of this week, after an attack [...]
Admiral profit slides as boss eyes push into EV insurance August 6, 2026 Admiral suffered a drop in profit as the insurance giant was weighed down by lower earned premiums in its UK car business. The group’s profit before tax fell by 18 per cent to £429.2m in the first half of the year, while turnover remained flat at £3.11bn. Milena Mondini, group chief executive, told City AM [...]
Manchester billionaire tables £583m offer for property developer Harworth August 6, 2026 Billionaire-owned Peel Group has tabled a £583m offer for Harworth as the property developer is poised to become the latest firm to exit the London Stock Exchange. The offer of 172.5p per share represents a premium of 20.1 per cent compared to Harworth’s closing share price yesterday and a 36.9 per cent premium above the [...]
As it happened: Stocks fall into red as oil fluctuates over Middle East developments August 6, 2026 Welcome back to the City AM liveblog. Oil prices have fluctuated around the $80 mark over the last 24 hours following mixed developments coming out of the Middle East. Brent crude – the international benchmark for oil prices – was heading towards $79 per barrel on Thursday morning, holding up a near 10 per cent [...]
Starling plans to ‘come out swinging’ in diversification bid August 6, 2026 Bernadette Smith has a spring in her step as she sits down in Starling’s headquarters to discuss her new role. The fintech’s new banking boss is buzzing with energy that she wants to pass onto customers and investors. “I want everyone to be talking about us,” she says, envisaging how she will measure success in [...]