Former City minister Bim Afolami joins QCA with ‘unfinished business’ Markets Former City minister minister Bim Afolami has joined the Quoted Companies Alliance board, in a ‘coup’ for the trade body that supports smaller and medium-sized listed companies. The former Tory MP and minister responsible for the Square Mile will sit on the QCA’s board, as it works to champion Britain’s small and medium-sized publicly traded [...]
Entain shares drop as chief of Ladbrokes owner dramatically quits Markets Ladbrokes’ owner Entain’s shares nosedived this morning after its chief executive quit following just five months in the job. The global sports betting giant said Gavin Isaacs had left the job “by mutual agreement” and with immediate effect. Reporting to markets this morning, Entain said its non-executive chair, Stella David, will take over the role until [...]
Bellway: Housebuilder in recovery as share price ‘at odds’ with performance Property Housebuilder Bellway reported strong growth in home completions over the last six months, which analysts have said could be a sign the wider homebuilding sector is set for a recovery. The company reported an 11.9 per cent uptick in housing completions in the six months ended 31 January, with more than 4,500 properties completed with [...]
Filtronic shares soar as defence firm pens fresh deal with Elon Musk’s SpaceX February 10, 2025 British defence and telecoms firm Filtronic has penned a further multi-million-pound deal with SpaceX, the aerospace behemoth owned by Elon Musk. The company won a contract with SpaceX, worth almost £17m for the financial years 2025 and 2026, according to the firm, which made the announcement to markets this morning. Filtronic, which designs and makes products [...]
Rachel Reeves to meet bank bosses as growth agenda stalls February 10, 2025 Chancellor Rachel Reeves is set to meet top bank bosses this week in the latest attempt to kickstart her growth agenda. The embattled Labour chancellor has reportedly called in top executives at Barclays, Lloyds Banking Group, NatWest and Nationwide, according to Sky News’ Mark Kleinman. This comes as the government’s growth strategy continues to falter. [...]
Elon Musk is wrong – we must never ‘move beyond’ the Holocaust January 27, 2025 Elon Musk addressed an AfD rally on the eve of Holocaust Memorial Day and said there was too much focus on Germany’s past. The rise of populism combined with the consolidation of the power of big tech should worry us all, says Jack Mendel This year’s Holocaust Memorial Day falls in the immediate aftermath of [...]
Diageo shares surge amid Guinness sale rumour January 24, 2025 Diageo’s shares spiked to the top of the FTSE 100 today amid a rumour the company is looking to spin off or sell its most famous brand, Guinness, for up to £8bn. The transaction was first reported in a piece by Bloomberg, which said Diageo may be looking to review its portfolio to kickstart growth. [...]
VAT on private school fees to hammer ‘crisis-hit’ special needs provision January 23, 2025 Rachel Reeves’s controversial Budget decision to impose VAT on private school fees will hit the most vulnerable special educational needs students hardest, an expert has warned. The Chancellor confirmed at the Autumn Budget that fees are set to be taxed 20 per cent, which the government claims will benefit the Treasury to the tune of [...]
Mining behemoths Rio Tinto and Glencore reportedly considered merger January 17, 2025 Mining giants Rio Tinto and Glencore reportedly discussed a merger last year. The two companies held discussions as late as October last year, but they didn’t progress further, as first reported by the Financial Times. A merger in full or in part of Glencore, with a market cap of £46.47bn and Rio Tinto, with £164.99bn, [...]
Ineos boss Sir Jim Ratcliffe: UK chemical manufacturing ‘having the life squeezed out of it’ January 13, 2025 Ineos boss Sir Jim Ratcliffe has warned British chemicals manufacturing is having the “life squeezed out of it” by the government, and is on the verge of extinction. The business titan slammed the de-industrialising of Britain, which started in the 1970s and 1980s, and criticised the government for a lack of energy strategy and high [...]
