Poundland hits out at ‘speculation’ after union criticises owner Retail Poundland has hit out at the “speculation” engulfing the company’s sale after a retail workers’ union dubbed its US owner an “absolute disgrace”. Usdaw, the union representing shop workers, said earlier this week that it has “deep concerns” about US investment firm Gordon Brothers’s sale of the business. Bally Auluk, Usdaw’s national officer, claimed Poundland’s [...]
London Stock Exchange faces ‘material depopulation’ Markets The London Stock Exchange is facing “material depopulation” following a boom in the M&A landscape dominated by overseas buyers, a top investment bank has warned. Some 42 bids for London-listed firms are currently ongoing with a total market capitalisation of £74bn, according to a new note from Peel Hunt. The figure is more than double [...]
Stages of tax grief: Is it time for bankers to bargain? Banking Banks are in the firing line at the Budget and in a meeting with bosses on Tuesday chancellor John Healey played coy on any increased rates. In this week’s column Samuel Norman looks at what trade-off could be made. Also on the cards, fresh data shows fintechs are lurching ahead of the incumbents on customer [...]
Informa snaps up Clarion Events in £2.2bn deal with Blackstone October 6, 2026 Digital services giant Informa has snapped up the world’s largest privately owned event and exhibition organiser in a multi-billion pound deal with private equity firm Blackstone. The FTSE 100 group revealed on Tuesday it had acquired London-headquartered Clarion Events for £2.2bn from Blackstone. The deal brings over 100 business-to-business live event brands under the Informa [...]
Government intervenes as BT inks deal to rescue embattled Talktalk October 5, 2026 Broadband giant BT has agreed to snap up embattled telecommunications firm Talktalk in a move that has prompted the government to weigh in. The FTSE 100 group said on Monday it had acquired Talktalk and its wholesale arm PlatformX Communications (PXC) out of administration on a debt-free basis. The deal, for an undisclosed sum, is [...]
Accel-KKR swoops on AIM construction software firm for £208m September 10, 2026 Private equity giant Accel-KKR has struck a deal to buy an AIM-listed construction software company in the latest of a wave of takeovers on the London Stock Exchange this year. The group has snapped up Eleco for £207.6m in a deal backed by the company’s board. Shareholders are in line for a 235p per share [...]
Value of UK deals rockets as buyers pounce on FTSE 100 firms September 9, 2026 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 [...]
Can OSB’s new boss cut through the noise? September 2, 2026 A FTSE 250 bank has a new boss and plenty of challenges to confront . In this week’s column, Samuel Norman looks at what could be next for OSB. Enrique Labiano confronted a tricky inheritance when he got his feet under the desk on his first day at the helm of OSB on Tuesday. The [...]
Trio of firms poised to quit London Stock Exchange as exodus gathers pace September 1, 2026 The scale of the exodus from the London Stock Exchange has been laid bare on the first trading day back from the summer break after three listed companies simultaneously unveiled plans to exit the market. FTSE 250 members Bodycote and Gamma Communications, as well as energy firm Capricorn, each laid out fresh offers to be [...]
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 [...]