On this day: ‘I can hear you… and the people who knocked these buildings down will hear all of us soon’
Accel-KKR swoops on AIM construction software firm for £208m Merger/Acquisition 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 [...]
Abolish stamp duty on shares to reverse London’s IPO slump, say top fintechs Fintech The group that represents the UK’s fastest growing fintech companies has called for the government to scrap stamp duty on shares to boost London’s flagging initial public offering market. Innovate Finance – which counts Revolut, Monzo and Zilch among its members – has called for the Treasury to ditch the 0.5 per cent levy on [...]
Spire Healthcare overhauls board amid £1bn private takeover Business The chief executive and chair of Spire Healthcare have stepped away amid a £1bn takeover of the London-listed private hospital group. Veteran boss Justin Ash has said he will retire from the group as it “enters a new phase with strong foundations” under its new ownership by a consortium of investors. Spire’s board have agreed [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
Easyjet extends window for another Castlelake bid August 3, 2026 Easyjet has extended the window for another takeover bid from asset manager Castlelake after its offer was usurped by investment giant Apollo last month. The budget airline said on Monday that it was still set to recommend the Apollo deal to shareholders, which values its stock at £7.15 per share, but would extend Castlelake’s deadline [...]
Next and Frasers go head to head for control of Harvey Nichols July 28, 2026 Retail giants Next and Frasers are set to go head to head for control of ailing department store Harvey Nichols when the Hong Kong-owned firm takes bids from British suitors later on Tuesday. The Knightsbridge-headquartered department store chain was put up for sale last month by its owner, Hong Kong billionaire Sir Dickson Poon, and [...]
FTSE 100 firm agrees £5.7bn takeover in latest private equity swoop July 27, 2026 FTSE 100 energy group DCC has agreed to a £5.75bn takeover by a group of private equity firms in another blow to the London Stock Exchange after a flurry of takeovers this year. US private equity firm KKR and Energy Capital Partners, a subsidiary of London-listed Bridgepoint, said this morning they would pay a total [...]
‘Sh*tloads to come’: London takeover spree set to accelerate June 29, 2026 At a gathering of some of London’s top bankers in the City of London last week, the mood was one of uncertainty. On the one hand, London’s dealmakers are not in want of work. In the past two weeks alone Easyjet has opened the door to an approach from American private equity firm Castlelake, Ramsdens [...]
HSBC bags £135m from former Silicon Valley Bank as job cuts push up restructuring bill June 24, 2026 The rescued UK wing of Silicon Valley Bank has paid another bumper dividend to HSBC as it racked up costs amid a sweeping restructure. HSBC Innovation Banking – the branding bestowed on the collapsed Silicon Valley Bank UK (SVBUK) – was taken over by Europe’s largest lender in March 2023 as ministers, regulators and banking [...]