Neurodiversity, employment law and ‘reasonable adjustments’ – the new HR headache August 6, 2026 The death of the ‘one-size-fits-all’ policy in HR departments is a result of businesses being caught between a rock and a hard place when it comes to neurodiversity in the workplace, as corporations battle to support staff within the bounds of very complex employment laws – and very personal interpretations of them. Over recent years, [...]
‘Social value’ procurement rules are an absurd waste of time and money August 6, 2026 Procurement is not a sexy topic, but stay with me here. The public sector spends around £400bn a year buying goods and services from the private sector. You can imagine the scale: NHS equipment and Ministry of Defence gear, police cars and IT infrastructure, immigration processing centres, security guards, construction projects and fax machines. It’s [...]
‘Vibrant colours and sexy scents’: Steph McGovern-owned Gootopia back in profit August 6, 2026 A slime business owned by broadcaster Steph McGovern has turned back to profitability after a period of rapid expansion. London-based Gootopia, which hosts parties for children in which they play with multi-coloured slime, was founded in 2018 and has since grown from a single site to a dozen locations across the UK, including in Brixton, [...]
Investors ‘may be less than impressed’ by John Healey’s £9bn borrowing plans August 5, 2026 Investors may be “less than impressed” by John Healey’s plans to increase borrowing by £9bn a year to take stakes in assets such as infrastructure, analysts have warned. On Tuesday evening, it was reported that the new Chancellor and Treasury ministers were working on a proposal to deploy billions in the direction of infrastructure, housing [...]
Want to be as rich as retirees? Buy shares in them August 5, 2026 Firms selling to British retirees have rocketed in value this year – Simon Hunt asks why. The Nasdaq 100 is up around 14 per cent since the start of the year, at the time of writing, while the FTSE 350 is up 9 per cent. But one stock portfolio is doing better than both. I [...]
Glencore targets secondary listing in Australia as London loses mining shine August 5, 2026 Glencore will launch a secondary listing in Australia in the latest blow to London’s ailing stock market as miners continue to eye opportunities away from the UK. The mining and trading juggernaut, which is among the largest companies on the FTSE 100 boasting a market cap of £64.4bn, is pursuing the listing following its group’s [...]
IHT pension scramble shows ‘no sign of slowing down’, says Royal London boss August 5, 2026 The mass scramble among UK pension savers to avoid being pulled into the inheritance tax net shows “no sign of slowing down”, as the policy shakeup creeps closer. From April 2027, pensions will be included in the scope of inheritance tax (IHT), meaning unused funds and death benefits will count towards the value of a [...]
Nscale doubles London office space as UK staff grows sixfold August 5, 2026 Nscale has doubled its London office space as the AI hyperscaler cements its presence in the capital, City AM can reveal. The tech startup, which develops data centres for AI firms and is reportedly eyeing a $25bn valuation in an upcoming IPO, has leased out an extra floor in the Mayfair building that houses its [...]
Royal London hits assets record amid pension push August 5, 2026 Royal London recorded a new record high for assets under management, as the group was buoyed by resilient market activity and an influx of pension wealth. Assets under management (AUM) climbed to £212bn, up from £199bn at the end of the last financial year, driven by positive market movements and investors taking the “Iran war [...]
L&G cheers push into private credit as profit jumps August 5, 2026 Legal & General cheered a rise in profit amid a greater push into private credit by its asset management arm. The FTSE 100 firm toasted the “continued fundraising success” across its private markets investments as it vowed to increase investment over the next two years. Total private markets assets under management (AUM) jumped by more [...]