Revolut US licence win ‘strengthens pre-IPO story’ Fintech Revolut’s conditional approval for a US banking licence has been hailed as a “consequential” step in the fintech’s march towards a long-awaited public debut. The digital bank landed approval from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) for its American national bank charter last week, clearing a major hurdle to launch its operations [...]
Investors fret as UK fintech chief bows out Fintech Lisa Jacobs has overseen a tumultuous time at the helm of London-listed fintech Funding Circle. After she announced plans for her exit, Samuel Norman takes a look at Jacobs’ tenure in this week’s column. As she announced plans to bow out from fintech firm Funding Circle on Tuesday, Lisa Jacobs was desperate to play down [...]
Value of UK deals rockets as buyers pounce on FTSE 100 firms Merger/Acquisition The value of UK merger and acquisitions more than doubled in the first half of 2026 as foreign buyers capitalised on sluggish valuations to pick off some of Britain’s most valuable companies. Takeovers worth some £124bn were struck in the first six months of the year, up 107 per cent year-on-year from £60bn in the [...]
Ladbrokes-owner and Aston Martin on chopping block in FTSE reshuffle August 31, 2026 Ladbrokes-owner Entain and Aston Martin are among a handful of firms facing the chopping block in the looming quarterly reshuffle of the London market indices. Entain is slated to tumble out of the FTSE 100 after a bruising period, made worse by the increase of taxes on bookies. The betting business “has battled with high [...]
As it happened: FTSE 100 drops as Antofagasta prompts miner sell-off; oil prices cool August 13, 2026 Welcome back to City AM liveblog. The FTSE 100 dropped on Thursday morning, as the mining sector dragged on the blue-chip index. Antofagasta has fallen furthest, by nearly five per cent, after investors pounced on a production shortfall and cut to full-year guidance disclosed in its update this morning. This spook has weighed on the [...]
Airtel and Sumup set to kick off London’s fintech IPO test August 12, 2026 Airtel and Sumup are set to hand a potential $20bn boost to the London Stock Exchange with long-awaited IPOs that could help pave the way for a host of fintech firms to come to market. Telecommunications giant Airtel is planning to list its mobile money business in London before the end of the year, its [...]
As it happened: FTSE 100 falls as Iran and US clash over Strait of Hormuz; Oil stockpiles ‘rapidly depleting’ August 12, 2026 Welcome back to City AM liveblog. Oil prices broke above $89 per barrel on Wednesday morning, notching the sixth consecutive sessions amid mixed signals around a potential deal between the US and Iran. The regime in Iran has said that the United States must end the war before they loosen their grip on the Strait of [...]
The European fintech American dream is being called into question August 12, 2026 A double US banking application blow has called into question the fintech dream of landing on Wall Street. In this week’s column, Samuel Norman takes a look at the expansion roadmap for Europe’s top fintechs as well as the latest response to the booming profits in UK banks half-year reports. Denied, denied, withdrawn. That is [...]
Plus500 splashes cash on investors after US expansion bears fruit August 10, 2026 Plus500 has kicked off another round of bumper returns to shareholders after delivering its highest customer income in five years following expansion into the US market. The FTSE 250 fintech recorded revenue of $462.9m for the first half of the year, up 12 per cent year-on-year. Meanwhile customer income, which measures revenue generated directly from [...]
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 [...]