‘One of the hardest investing years in living memory’: Abrdn swings to pre-tax loss as investors pull £10.3bn from funds February 28, 2023 Abrdn swung to a pre-tax loss last year as investors pulled £10.3bn from its funds in what its chief called “one of the hardest investing years in living memory”. In its full year results today, the FTSE 100 asset manager posted a pre-tax loss of £615m, down from a profit of £1.1bn a year prior, [...]
FTSE bosses braced for wave of takeovers as foreign firms hunt for bargains February 27, 2023 Bosses at the UK’s top firms are braced for a wave of takeovers this year as foreign buyers continue to swoop on cheap London-listed companies amid a rebound in dealmaking, new research has found. Nearly ninety per cent of FTSE 250 directors said they believed UK firms were vulnerable to foreign takeovers this year, with [...]
Government criticism of FCA’s consumer duty slammed by former watchdog official February 27, 2023 The City minister’s damning comments on planned consumer protection rules are a case of the government criticising the Financial Conduct Authority “for doing exactly what [it] has told it to do”, a former top regulator has said. City minister Andrew Griffith was reported to be scathing of the FCA’s planned consumer duty, which is set [...]
Monzo and Wise founders back £8.8m Robin AI robot lawyer project February 27, 2023 A City computing company has raised $10.5m (£8.8m) from backers including top execs from Magic Circle law firm Clifford Chance to develop an artificial intelligence (AI) driven, robot lawyer. The founders of fintech firms Monzo and Wise have also thrown their weight behind London’s Robin AI, which is seeking to disrupt the legal sector with [...]
Bunzl snaps up German and Canadian firms as profits jump to £634m February 27, 2023 Outsourcing specialist Bunzl revealed it had snapped up two businesses in Germany and Canada today as it reported a jump in pre-tax profits for the full year. The London-listed firm said this morning it had acquired acquire Arbeitsschutz-Express, a German online workwear and PPE seller in Germany, as well as Capital Paper, a distributor of [...]
Top Home REIT shareholder Liontrust slams ‘serious shortcomings’ as it mulls next move February 26, 2023 Top Home REIT investor Liontrust has slammed “serious shortcomings” at the beleaguered social housing firm and said it is mulling “propositions” with other major shareholders to try and steady the ship.
Exclusive: Klarna rolls out UK late fees and ‘customer recovery programme’ in bid to curb defaults February 24, 2023 Buy-now pay-later giant Klarna will begin penalising customers for late payments in the UK next month in a bid to curb loan defaults, as shoppers pour onto the platform amid a cost of living squeeze, City A.M. can exclusively reveal. The Swedish bank and payments firm, which has been on a major cost cutting and [...]
Hargreaves Lansdown chief on spats with the founder, his time at the top and the power of retail investors February 23, 2023 At times of turbulence, retail investors are entirely rational creatures. At least, that’s the view of Chris Hill, the outgoing boss of Britain’s largest retail investment and savings platform, Hargreaves Lansdown. Hill – who has been at the helm of the retail giant since 2016 and is preparing to step down in November – was [...]
Amigo struggling to raise £45m survival cash as it swings to hefty loss February 23, 2023 Beleaguered lending shop Amigo said it was yet to secure the £45m funding it needed for survival today as it swung to a hefty loss in the nine months to the end of December. The controversial Bournemouth-based firm has been struggling to restart lending again in full after being punished by regulators for dishing out [...]
Top UK investment body slams FCA for moving too fast on greenwashing rules February 22, 2023 A top investment body has slammed the UK’s financial services regulator for moving too fast on environmental, social and governance (ESG) rules today, claiming it risked “dislocating” a major section of the sector. Officials at the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) announced plans in October to clampdown on the labelling of ESG financial products in a [...]
