Schroders: congressional gridlock may prove costly this time City Talk This year’s US midterms look set to produce a divided government in Washington. Investors have historically viewed congressional gridlock as market-friendly, but that assumption may no longer hold, says George Brown Midterm elections are often a painful reckoning for the party in power, with current polling suggesting the Republicans are unlikely to escape that fate. [...]
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 [...]
Fresh stock market raid sparks clarion call for action Markets The London Stock Exchange risks being gutted of even more blue-chip firms this year without urgent action from ministers and officials, a group of top advisers has said, after three more listed companies accepted bids from foreign buyers. The cohort warned that “complacency is not a viable option” following news that FTSE 250 firms Bodycote [...]
Venture heavyweights denounce government’s £1bn scale-up fund plans August 28, 2026 The government’s flagship £1bn scale-up fund will miss out on top deals and chalk up poor performance for its pensioner investors should ministers select a traditional firm to manage it over a specialist venture capital shop, a group of the UK’s top early-stage investors has warned. The industry heavyweights, who between them are early backers [...]
The London Stock Exchange is shrinking – but Julia Hoggett is still an optimist August 11, 2026 The London Stock Exchange’s two flagship indexes are trading near all-time highs. But beneath the surface, it has been another testing year for the capital’s bourse. Boss Dame Julia Hoggett tells Ali Lyon what she is doing to disprove the doomsters. In the cavernous foyer of London’s historic stock exchange, a giant cube is flashing [...]
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 [...]
Schroders profits surge as assets hit record £868bn July 30, 2026 Schroders said its profit nearly doubled in the first half of the year as assets under management hit a record high of £868bn. The FTSE 100 money manager, which is in the process of being acquired by US funds group Nuveen, said assets under management (AUM) jumped 12 per cent to £867.8bn, up from £776.6bn [...]
As it happened: FTSE 100 hits new high after interest rates held July 30, 2026 Welcome back to the City AM liveblog. The Bank of England has held interest rates at 3.75 per cent in a 6-3 split. The City had pencilled in a hawkish hold from the Monetary Policy Committee after inflationary pressures were renewed on the latest round of strikes in the Middle East. Megan Greene, Catherine Mann and [...]
Finsbury lines up Games Workshop splurge using merger windfall July 15, 2026 Nick Train’s Finsbury Income and Growth fund is preparing to launch a spending spree on Games Workshop shares after pocketing a windfall from a string of acquisitions in its portfolio. The FTSE 250 investment trust – which can trace its roots back over a century – unveiled plans to use both debt and returns from [...]
Takeovers aren’t the reason the London Stock Exchange is shrinking July 8, 2026 Takeovers like Schroders and Tate & Lyle grab the headlines but the far bigger problem for London is that there aren’t enough good companies arriving to replace them, says Henrik Persson There is a familiar account of London’s stock market malaise. UK listed companies are cheap and deeper-pocketed overseas buyers have noticed. Each new approach [...]