By: Samuel Norman

Senior City Reporter Samuel is a Senior City Reporter covering all the top financial institutions from retail banks to fintechs as well as stories on capital markets and economics. He has broken stories on some of the biggest names in the City and regularly writes in-depth analysis pieces on companies and industry trends. Samuel also leads on City AM's morning liveblog from 7am everyday. He writes a weekly column found in print and online on Wednesdays. He can be contacted at samuel.norman@cityam.com and posts on LinkedIn and X at x.com/samnormanwrites.

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Rolls-Royce offloads UK pension fund in £4.3bn deal with PIC

August 10, 2025

Rolls-Royce has sealed a £4.3bn deal with insurance specialist Pension Insurance Corporation (PIC) to offload its UK pension scheme as the engineering giant presses ahead with simplifying its balance sheet. The deal, which was announced on Sunday, covers the remaining pension obligations of 36,000 members — including 15,000 current pensioners and 21,000 deferred members — [...]
New Princes: Food giant gears up for £700m City listing

August 10, 2025

International food operations giant New Princes is gearing up for a blockbuster listing on the London Stock Exchange – a move City officials hope will spark a wave of new flotations. The Italian-owned business – which makes Princes Tuna and produces Flora and Branston products – is approaching investors regarding the backing of an IPO [...]
Motor finance: Lords sound alarm on FCA’s redress scheme

August 8, 2025

The House of Lords’ Financial Services Regulation Committee has sounded the alarm on “market uncertainty” around the UK financial watchdog’s upcoming motor finance redress scheme. In a letter addressed to the Financial Conduct Authority’s chief executive Nikhil Rathi, the committee “considers it of importance” to receive further insight into the forthcoming scheme. The City watchdog [...]
Five top paying savings accounts – earn up to 7.5 per cent

August 8, 2025

Savings accounts are staging a fiery comeback as UK providers battle to attract customers. With the cost-of-living still rumbling on and interest rates beginning to shift, there’s prime opportunities to put money to work. A number of top accounts have upped rates in recent months – some over seven per cent – helping in a [...]
Flutter: Paddy Power owner books record quarter

August 8, 2025

Online betting giant Flutter hiked its full-year profit guidance for 2025 after a record quarter driven by business in the US. The world’s largest online sports betting operator recorded a 16 per cent rise in revenue to $4.2bn (£3.12bn) in the three months to June 30. Meanwhile, earnings jumped 25 per cent to $919m. FanDuel [...]
KKR pushes for Assura to ditch PHP deal amid bidding war

August 8, 2025

The bidding war between private equity giant KKR and retail investor Primary Health Properties (PHP) has heated up after KKR pushed for Assura to ditch an already recommended takeover offer from the latter. KKR’s investment vehicle Bidco – which is also by fellow US private equity Stonepeak – said on Friday it has held discussions [...]
FOS complaints tumbled ahead of motor finance ruling

August 7, 2025

Complaints to the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) fell to their lowest in more than a year ahead of the motor finance ruling. The FOS received 68,000 new cases in April to June, down from 74,600 complaints in the same period of 2024. Motor finance complaints remained the highest grievance but dropped to 21,500 cases from [...]
Revolut drafts in EY amid banking licence push

August 7, 2025

Revolut has tapped accountancy giant EY to replace BDO as its auditor as the firm pushes to secure its UK banking licence. The UK fintech juggernaut said EY will act as the firm’s auditor for the financial year ending December 2026 after a formal bidding process. This comes as Revolut expects to launch as a [...]
Shawbrook expands loan book ahead of mooted London float

August 7, 2025

Specialist lender Shawbrook expanded its loan book in the first half of the year helping profit soar. The bank – which is owned by private equity firm Pollen Street Capital – recorded a 35 per cent jump in profit before tax to £168.6m as its loan book grew 14 per cent to £17bn. Deposits were [...]
Vanquis swings to profit with recovery ‘on track’

August 7, 2025

Bradford-based lender Vanquis swung back into profitability for the first half of the year following on from a bruising period in the last 12 months. The bank recorded a profit before tax of £6.2m, compared to a £91.9m loss for the second half of 2024. Net interest income remained stable with one per cent growth [...]

Virgin Atlantic ends British Airways grip on Team GB partnership

Virgin Atlantic ends British Airways grip on Team GB partnership

Electra/Persona at the National Theatre review: A dull mash-up of Sophocles and Bergman

By: Samuel Norman

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