Allica Bank makes major acquisition as it eyes £1bn SME lending goal October 22, 2025 Allica Bank is set to announce a fresh acquisition as the firm looks to beef up its lending capacity for small businesses, City AM can reveal. The digital bank has snapped up London-based fintech Kriya, which specialises in embedded finance and business loans. The takeover, set to be announced on Wednesday, marks Allica’s third acquisition [...]
Fintech industry takes aim at ‘logic-defying’ banking watchdog October 20, 2025 The industry body for UK fintech will today take aim at the banking watchdog in a scathing report that will blast “logic-defying” regulation. A fresh report from Innovate Finance, seen by City AM, will accuse the Prudential Regulation Authority’s (PRA) of “excessive” requirements that create an “uneven playing field for UK challenger banks, placing heavy [...]
Whittard of Chelsea brews up bumper funding deal with OakNorth September 16, 2025 Whittard of Chelsea has secured a bumper funding deal worth £12m with digital bank OakNorth “to support its continued growth and expansion”. The Oxfordshire-headquartered company said it is now “well-positioned” to build on its UK base and expand further into international markets such as China and the US. The funding news comes after Whittard of [...]
Mark Kleinman: City would sour on Reeves after bank tax September 11, 2025 Mark Kleinman is Sky News’ City Editor and the man who gets the Square Mile talking in his weekly City AM column. This week he tackles what a bank tax would do to Reeves’ hard-earned City cache, a top pick for the new HSBC chair, and Oaknorth’s potential move abroad Will she or won’t she? The question of [...]
High street banks’ SME lending comeback inches forward September 11, 2025 High street banks’ return to small- and medium-sized enterprises (SME) inched onwards in the second quarter. The big banks have turned back to the area as the government clamps down on smaller firms’ difficulty accessing finance. Top bosses were summoned earlier this year for talks with ministers covering how to improve lending to SMEs. In [...]
Pisces rival claims LSE venue won’t give firms enough trading volume September 10, 2025 The London Stock Exchange’s plan to let private companies trade shares just twice a year on a new private stock market will not offer firms or investors enough trading volume, according to the boss of a rival platform that hopes to launch next month. Mike McCudden, chief executive of private shares platform JP Jenkins, told [...]
Challenger banks face ‘profitability trap’ at growth crossroads September 8, 2025 The UK banking sector faces a profitability roadblock that will give the industry’s challengers an “existential” turning point. Fresh data from KPMG suggests the industry’s average return on equity will fall to eight per cent come 2027 down from 13 per cent four years prior. This is set to spark an £11bn reduction in pre-tax [...]
Formula 1’s popular F1 Arcade signs first franchise deal after $130m raise September 3, 2025 Formula 1’s popular F1 Arcade product has this morning announced its first franchise agreement, with the viewing and gaming hub set to hit the Iberian Peninsula. F1 Arcade’s flagship location is at One New Change in St Paul’s, but the Formula 1 affiliated experiential hospitality offering also has sites in Birmingham, as well as Boston, [...]
London Stock Exchange gets go-ahead to run Pisces private stock market August 26, 2025 The Financial Conduct Authority has given the London Stock Exchange the green light to operate a new Pisces private stock market, clearing the path for the market’s launch later this year. The City watchdog confirmed on Tuesday that London’s flagship stock exchange had become the first operator to receive approval to run Pisces – a [...]
Starling Bank snaps up UK fintech firm in small business push August 19, 2025 Starling Bank has snapped up its UK fintech peer Ember in a bid to ramp up its services for small business customers. The London-based firm said as part of the takeover, Ember’s tax and bookkeeping software will be built into Starling’s app and online bank. The deal, which Starling did not disclose the price of, [...]