By: Ali Lyon

chief reporter Ali Lyon is the chief reporter at City AM, responsible for covering the full gamut of business, finance and wealth news. He has been at City AM full-time since July 2024. Get in touch with tips via email: ali.lyon@cityam.com. Follow Ali on X: @alilyon_94

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Water bills set for hefty hike as Ofwat judgement looms

December 18, 2024

The water regulator Ofwat is set to allow bills to rise by at least 21 per cent in the next five years, as part of its long-awaited decision on the financial future of the scandal-hit industry on Thursday. Ofwat will reveal its final determination for how much water firms are allowed to hike their bills [...]
Budget sparks 13 per cent jump in business insolvencies

December 17, 2024

The number of business insolvencies in England and Wales rose 13 per cent in November, as the impact of the Budget continues to hit firms hard. Experts have also warned that things are not going to get better, with April’s looming Employers’ National Insurance increase leaving firms in a “perilous position”. Nearly 2,000 firms went [...]
Rolls-Royce chair and Octopus founder named among industrial strategy panel

December 17, 2024

Octopus founder Greg Jackson, Rolls-Royce chair Dame Anita Frew and former Tory business secretary Greg Clark are among the heavyweight names appointed to a new Industrial Strategy Advisory Council, launched by the government on Tuesday to help stimulate growth. The panel, which also includes private sector top dogs like Prudential chair Baroness Shriti Vadera and [...]
Revolut investors cash in with $1bn share sale

December 16, 2024

Backers of Revolut have offloaded just shy of $1bn worth of stock in the neobank in just four months, after it extended its secondary share sale for the second time earlier this month. The investors, which largely comprise staff, venture capital backers and crowdfunding round participants, have looked to cash in on parts of their [...]
Omnicom and IPG staff fret for their future after $13bn mega merger

December 12, 2024

Omnicom and IPG sent shockwaves through the advertising sector when they announced a $13bn merger on Monday. Ali Lyon looks at what the deal means for the firms’ agencies, staff and the ad industry as a whole. Advertising, according to Mad Men’s Don Draper, is based on one thing: happiness. Happiness, the protagonist of the [...]
Thames Water chief defends bonuses after firm posts £190m loss

December 10, 2024

Thames Water’s chief executive has been forced to defend senior executives receiving £770,000 worth of bonuses after the beleaguered water company swung to a loss of £190m and a 40 per cent rise in pollution incidents in its first-half results. Chris Weston said the company had to offer staff “competitive packages” if it was to [...]
Omnicom scoops up media giant IPG in $13bn deal

December 9, 2024

US advertising giant Omnicom Group has bought rival media holding company Interpublic Group in a $13.25bn (£10.4bn) deal that has uprooted the media industry and will make Omnicom the world’s largest advertising agency. The tie-up between the third and fourth largest media holding giants, both of which employ tens of thousands of staff in the [...]
CBI downgrades forecast for UK economy after Budget

December 6, 2024

The UK economy is set for slower than expected and “unimpressive” growth in 2025 thanks partly to punitive measures introduced in October’s Budget, a leading business group has predicted. The Confederation of British Industry (CBI) now expects Britain’s economy to grow by just 1.5 per cent next year, it said in its latest economic forecast, [...]
UK economy to ‘grow twice as fast’ as Europe in 2025

December 5, 2024

The UK economy is set to grow twice as fast as its European counterparts next year thanks to the flurry of spending measures announced in October’s Budget, a top bank has forecast. Britain’s gross domestic product (GDP) will increase by 1.4 per cent next year, analysts at ING said in the bank’s annual economic outlook, [...]
Budget to dent prime property market

December 5, 2024

Measures introduced in the October Budget will weigh on the UK’s prime property market next year, with the value of prime central London (PCL) homes in line for a four per cent hit, a forecast has shown. Fresh analysis by Savills said that changes to the stamp duty charged on second homes, VAT on school [...]

London Stock Exchange faces ‘material depopulation’

Rocket Padel raises £7m ahead of West London and East Croydon club openings

London’s new front door for growth opens in the Square Mile.

By: Ali Lyon

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