By: Maria Ward-Brennan

Senior Reporter Maria Ward-Brennan is a senior reporter focused on law and professional services. Contact her via email on maria.ward-brennan@cityam.com or X (Twitter) @MariaW_B

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Exclusive: Lloyd’s of London quietly shelves Blueprint Two to rethink strategy

February 6, 2026

After years of delays, Lloyd’s of London’s ambitious strategy to digitalise the marketplace has been shelved, as new management under Patrick Tiernan seeks to rethink the approach. Blueprint Two, launched seven years ago, was a programme pitched as delivering a “profound” change in the London specialist and reinsurance market through digitalisation. Lloyd’s, together with the [...]
FTSE 100 Live: Starmer unease rattles markets; Big tech sell-off

February 6, 2026

Good morning and welcome back to the City AM liveblog. Speculation over Keir Starmer’s future has unleashed a fresh round of market unease as investors dumped the pound, UK equities and long-dated government bonds amid rising political uncertainty. The gulf in price between the UK’s short- and long-term debt – known as the yield curve – reached [...]
Bank of England Live: Interest rates held in narrow 5-4 call

February 5, 2026

Good morning and welcome to the City AM liveblog. The Bank of England’s monetary committee has decided to hold rates in its first meet of the year. Markets – and City AM‘s own Shadow MPC – had placed their bets on a hold as the Bank continues its gradual chop to the base rate. In [...]
Ageing workforce puts London’s specialty insurance sector at risk

February 5, 2026

London’s specialty (re)insurance market employs around 61,000 people, but despite this, the sector is facing a ‘critical’ talent shortage. According to data from the trade body, the London Market Group (LMG), that headcount is up 3 per cent since 2022, but the sector is expected to require around 82,200 by the end of 2034. The [...]
Anthropic’s new tool raises bar for legal AI startups

February 5, 2026

A dramatic shift is underway in the legal tech landscape as AI advancements disrupt traditional industry leaders. This comes as the traditional research and analytics software businesses saw billions wiped out from their market share this week after Anthropic announced its new AI. San Francisco-based AI giant Anthropic, the firm behind chatbot Claude, revealed on [...]
‘Investors are nervous’ – will Google and OpenAI follow Anthropic with legal tools?

February 4, 2026

Anthropic’s release of a legal plugin was “inevitable,” says the CEO of legal AI firm Wexler, who adds that investors’ surprising reaction may be due to nerves and a desire to find a reason to sell. Tech giant Anthropic unveiled a new tool aimed directly at in-house lawyers on Tuesday, but the move rattled investors, [...]
Zurich to acquire Beazley in landmark £8bn specialty insurance merger

February 4, 2026

Following two previous rejections last month, Lloyd’s of London underwriter Beazley has confirmed in a joint statement on Wednesday morning that it has reached an agreement in principle with Zurich. The offer proposed by Zurich has a total value of 1,335 pence per share. This is composed of a 1,310p cash payment from Zurich and [...]
FTSE 100 Live: Beazley seals $15bn Zurich deal, Santander in $12bn takeover

February 4, 2026

Good morning and welcome back to the City AM liveblog. Shares in Europe’s biggest data, publishing and legal software groups slumped on Tuesday after AI giant Anthropic unveiled a new tool aimed directly at in-house lawyers. The move rattled investors who had long viewed the sector as an AI winner. In London, Relx fell close [...]
Political uncertainty leaves British businesses only planning year-to-year

February 4, 2026

Businesses are seeing political change and regulatory uncertainty as a barrier to long-term workforce planning, making it harder for leaders to implement effective workforce strategies. Nearly 80 per cent of employers find themselves unable to look beyond a 12-month horizon, according to a survey of nearly 700 employers by law firm Lewis Silkin. Lucy Lewis, [...]
AI-driven workforce fuels private equity surge in sports

February 3, 2026

The influx of businesses investing in AI is a key factor driving the surge in private equity (PE) within the leisure and sports sector, as sports is the new luxury. Cleary Gottlieb partner Tihir Sarkar explained to City AM, “With day-to-day activities being taken over by AI, there’s going to be a lot more time for participation [...]

Banks push for tech giants to share scam ad costs

Exclusive: ‘Punchy’ £2.5m crowdfund to value Kane-backed Reflo at £25m

Ford Mustang Sutton CS800DH review: Taming a wild horse

By: Maria Ward-Brennan

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