‘Cost of business crisis’ as government drives up overheads by 70 per cent in a decade August 11, 2026 British companies are facing a “cost of business crisis” as a string of controversial government policies have pushed up an average firm’s expenses by 70 per cent in a decade, one of the country’s largest industry bodies has found. A typical-mid-sized firm is now paying roughly £827,000 more a year than they were in 2016 [...]
World Cup leads UK spending boost as confidence rebounds August 11, 2026 Consumer spending across the UK jumped in July as Brits’ splurged on a summer of sport and sunshine, fresh data from Barclays has shown. Card spending jumped two per cent to its highest level in 12 months following a surge in transactions at pubs, bars and clubs during England’s World Cup run. Overall hospitality and [...]
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 [...]
Top economists shun Burnham over wealth taxes August 10, 2026 Economic heavyweights who were reported to be advising Andy Burnham have opted not to join his government due to disagreements over potential wealth taxes, it has been reported. Lord Jim O’Neill, the former Goldman Sachs executive, is in ongoing talks with Burnham over a potential role, City AM reported last week. Fresh reports have suggested [...]
Burnham bounce: PM gets popularity boost – at Farage’s expense August 10, 2026 Andy Burnham scored a sharp boost in popularity ratings in July just as Nigel Farage’s ratings cratered, new polling has found. The latest City AM/Freshwater Strategy poll of UK voters has shown that Burnham’s approval ratings jumped by 12 points in July from a net score of zero, making him the most positively received figure [...]
Zilch, Clearscore among five UK scale-ups to get dedicated FCA support August 10, 2026 The UK’s financial watchdog is to offer extra regulatory support to five British scale-ups as it seeks to ease the burden on fast-growing firms. Zilch, Clearscore, Modulr, Teya and Urban Jungle have become the first companies regulated solely by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) to join its Scale-up Unit, which gives each firm a dedicated [...]
As it happened: Intel, Arm shares slide; Oil climbs higher August 10, 2026 Welcome back to the City AM liveblog. Oil is starting the new week higher and making its third consecutive session for gains after optimism for a peace deal between the US and Iran stalled over the weekend and uncertainty around the Strait of Hormuz persisted. Donald Trump has said the US is “low-keying it” with Iran, [...]
Burnham is wrong. Devolution will only grow Whitehall August 10, 2026 Despite promises to streamline, the Civil Service has only grown and grown. Burnham's devolution will make it worse, says Arthur Reynolds.
Improve technical education for women to plug engineer shortage August 10, 2026 Technical education, in particular for women and ethnic minorities, has a big role to play in addressing the skills shortage in engineering.
‘Good growth in every postcode’ is a woeful catchphrase August 10, 2026 Burnham and co's bid to 'back British' and generate 'good growth' everywhere is a bid to fool voters with their own money, writes Eliot Wilson.