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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Playtech’s legal spat with rival deepens after publication of secret report

September 9, 2026

Playtech’s long-running legal feud with rival Evolution has deepened after the gambling software firm claimed a previously-hidden report proved its competitor was “problematic” and made money in banned markets. The London-listed firm has been in fierce spat with Evolution since 2020 when Playtech hired an intelligence firm to investigate its Swedish rival. But new proceedings [...]
As it happened: FTSE 100 dives as oil prices surge past $100 in blow to inflation

September 9, 2026

Welcome back to City AM’s FTSE 100 liveblog. The UK’s blue-chip index fell on Wednesday as oil prices reared up yet again, reaching six-week highs. Speaking late on Tuesday, Andrew Bailey caused fresh speculation that the Bank of England could hike interest rates when he said that risks to inflation remain “on the upside”. The [...]
Revolut US licence win ‘strengthens pre-IPO story’

September 9, 2026

Revolut’s conditional approval for a US banking licence has been hailed as a “consequential” step in the fintech’s march towards a long-awaited public debut. The digital bank landed approval from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) for its American national bank charter last week, clearing a major hurdle to launch its operations [...]
Investors fret as UK fintech chief bows out

September 9, 2026

Lisa Jacobs has overseen a tumultuous time at the helm of London-listed fintech Funding Circle. After she announced plans for her exit, Samuel Norman takes a look at Jacobs’ tenure in this week’s column. As she announced plans to bow out from fintech firm Funding Circle on Tuesday, Lisa Jacobs was desperate to play down [...]
Value of UK deals rockets as buyers pounce on FTSE 100 firms

September 9, 2026

The value of UK merger and acquisitions more than doubled in the first half of 2026 as foreign buyers capitalised on sluggish valuations to pick off some of Britain’s most valuable companies. Takeovers worth some £124bn were struck in the first six months of the year, up 107 per cent year-on-year from £60bn in the [...]
Five lenders hike mortgage prices as interest rate threat looms

September 8, 2026

Five lenders hiked the price on their mortgage deals to kick off the week as the threat of the Bank of England increasing interest rates looms over the UK economy. Barclays has raised its rates on a fleet of products by nearly 0.2 per cent, with its two-year fixed rate rising to 5.53 per cent [...]
Investors dump UK stocks as Budget rumours compound caution

September 8, 2026

UK equity funds have been hit with another month of outflows after investors dumped stocks in favour of cash and bonds. Investors withdrew a net £601m from UK stock funds during August, driving a broader £315m net outflow across global equity strategies. The retreat marks the fourth consecutive month of net selling globally and the [...]
Funding Circle boss bows out as fintech lifts profit forecast

September 8, 2026

The boss of small business lender Funding Circle has laid out plans for her departure as the fintech lifted its profit forecast for the year ahead. Lisa Jacobs, who has led the firm since 2022, will step down as chief executive by “no later than September 2027,” the firm said on Tuesday. The fintech chief [...]
As it happened: FTSE 100 waivers; oil nears $100 on new Hormuz sanctions

September 8, 2026

Welcome back to City AM’s FTSE 100 liveblog. The UK’s blue-chip index slipped on Tuesday morning, as investors weighed fresh tensions in the Middle East which boosted London’s oil majors but dragged on other members. Oil prices continued to march upwards. Brent crude – the international benchmark for oil prices – gained another 1.5 per [...]
UK at risk of £290bn finance industry ‘being governed overseas’

September 8, 2026

The UK is at risk of its booming financial services industry being governed overseas after lagging behind international rivals in digital asset innovation, a new report has warned. Banking industry body UK Finance has issued a rallying call to policymakers to move at pace in developing the infrastructure to power tokenisation, or see the country [...]

OpenAI delays IPO as Altman says safety comes first

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Lotus, Porsche and Corvette: the best sports cars to buy in 2026

By: Samuel Norman

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