By: Samuel Norman

Senior City Reporter Samuel is a Senior City Reporter covering banking and fintech as well as stories on capital markets and economics. He also leads on City AM's morning liveblog from 7am everyday. He has previously written for the Daily Mail and The i Paper and worked for Sky News as an election stringer. He enjoys writing in-depth analysis of major blue-chip firms and start-ups and also industry trends. He can be contacted at samuel.norman@cityam.com and posts on LinkedIn and X at x.com/samnormanwrites.

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Britain’s start-ups reeling from economic pressure

May 27, 2025

Start-up businesses are feeling the sting of an uncertain economic landscape as fresh research shows new firms are employing fewer staff than ever before. The average number of staff for a new firm had slumped to 2.64, down from 3.5 in 2017 according to Cynergy Bank’s latest Business Births and Deaths Index. The research, which [...]
Company bosses hit pause on growth plans after tariff shock

May 27, 2025

Top UK business leaders have sounded the alarm on geopolitical tensions, warning that trade uncertainties are threatening their growth prospects. Nearly half of UK chief executives admitted to being “very or extremely concerned” about the impact of tariffs on their company’s operations and sales in the upcoming year. Concerns have led to company chiefs slamming [...]
UK fintechs Zopa and Clearscore smash cost of living campaign target

May 27, 2025

A cost-of-living campaign backed by Google Cloud and Hargreaves Lansdown and led by top UK fintech industry names Zopa and Clearscore has smashed its target. The Fintech Pledge, which included 57 fintech and tech firms, targeted 25 million actions to help UK consumers better their financial resilience. Zopa Bank revealed to City AM last month [...]
Global markets hold breath as Trump draws out EU trade talks

May 26, 2025

Donald Trump has global investor sentiment hanging on his every word once again, as European markets rallied on Monday after the President retreated on his latest tariff tirade against the European Union. Trump agreed to extend his trade talks deadline with the EU by over a month, which comes after he threatened to slap a [...]
Close Brothers slapped with a downgrade after rocky third-quarter

May 26, 2025

Close Brothers was handed a downgrade by Peel Hunt analysts on Friday after its third-quarter update did little to calm investor nerves. The bank said fees and expenses were still at an “elevated level” in the recent quarter as net expenses jumped to £13.9m. This was up from £11.6m in the same period last year. [...]
London vs New York: Who will win the fintech IPO war?

May 24, 2025

A battle with New York awaits as Rachel Reeves sets her eyes on London fintech IPOs. The Chancellor has courted top fintech darlings in her attempt to boost listings on the London Stock Exchange (LSE) as a fleet of firms are flirting with floating in the near future. Monzo is reportedly consulting with investment bankers on [...]
Investec rakes in £1bn profit after lending and deposit boost

May 22, 2025

Investec’s profit soared to more than £1bn in its latest financial year after increased lending and deposits bolstered its revenue. The FTSE 250 bank recorded a 7.8 per cent annual jump in operating profit to just over £1bn for the year to 31 March, 2025. This beat the bank’s own upgraded forecast in March, where [...]
Impax’s takings slump after global retreat on sustainability

May 22, 2025

Impax Asset Management recorded a slump in revenue in the first half of the year as a global retreat on green policies turned clients away from its sustainability offering. The firm cited a “challenging first half of financial year” with assets under management falling to £25.3bn. This was down from £37.2bn at the end of [...]
Motor finance: Is Close Brothers heading for a car crash?

May 22, 2025

Costs are mounting, loan books are shrinking, an existential motor finance ruling looms – is Close Brothers heading for disaster? It’s been a bruising 12 months for the lender, with its stock down over 25 per cent. Recent rallies have helped it claw back gains of over 65 per cent in the last six months [...]
HSBC UK to slash bonuses for staff not turning up to office

May 21, 2025

HSBC has told its UK-based retail workers that failing to show up to the office could see their bonuses slashed. Europe’s biggest bank informed staff in the retail and domestic commercial arm that if they are not following the firm’s three-day minimum requirement to work in office they could be paid less as a result. [...]

Sport expects true fan Andy Burnham to take a leaf out of John Major’s book

Sport expects true fan Andy Burnham to take a leaf out of John Major’s book

Jamie’s Italian is awful but don’t worry, there are some great new Mediterranean restaurants too

By: Samuel Norman

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