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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Starling Bank snaps up UK fintech firm in small business push

August 19, 2025

Starling Bank has snapped up its UK fintech peer Ember in a bid to ramp up its services for small business customers. The London-based firm said as part of the takeover, Ember’s tax and bookkeeping software will be built into Starling’s app and online bank. The deal, which Starling did not disclose the price of, [...]
Monzo to follow Revolut and Klarna with launch of mobile service

August 19, 2025

Monzo has become the latest fintech darling to expand its lifestyle reach with the firm exploring the development of mobile phone services. The London-based firm is looking to offer a Monzo-branded service to its over 12 million in account holders. The service would follow rival Revolut issuing plans in April to enter the mobile market [...]
Close Brothers shares downgraded despite motor finance win

August 18, 2025

Analysts have slapped a downgrade on Close Brothers stock despite the bank’s motor finance win last month at the Supreme Court. The FTSE 250-listed bank’s stock rating was lowered to ‘Sector Perform’, down from previous ‘Outperform’ expectations. Close Brothers shares were down over four per cent in early trading to 494.80. It comes after the [...]
Standard Chartered shares struggle to rebound after US lawmaker triggered $3bn sell-off

August 18, 2025

Shares in Standard Chartered inched higher on Monday, but failed to fully recover from a dramatic sell-off at the end of last week that was triggered by a United States congresswoman. The bank’s stock nudged up by one percent as markets opened, reaching 1,319.50. But, this remained far below the 1,407 price point prior to [...]
Rachel Reeves to slash environmental protections to boost builders

August 18, 2025

Rachel Reeves is looking to take the axe to environmental protections blocking infrastructure projects in a bid to boost Labour’s building pledges. The Chancellor is considering reforms to prevent nature concerns from inhibiting new developments as she desperately looks to supercharge her growth agenda. Labour’s Planning and Infrastructure bill is in the committee stage at [...]
Landsec sells government office building to hotel giant

August 18, 2025

A Westminster building owned by property giant Landsec, which has played host to major government offices, has been sold to a group bidding to lead Heathrow Airport’s expansion plans. The sale of Queen Anne’s Mansions, located in SW1, by Landsec marks a major step in the property firm’s ambition to sell off £2bn of its [...]
Banks ombudsman fights for relevance amid Treasury crackdown

August 18, 2025

The Financial Ombudsman Service is battling against a litany of obstacles as the government looks to “fundamentally” change its regulatory makeup. The organisation was rocked earlier this year by a leadership crisis following the abrupt departure of chief executive Abby Thomas in February. A Treasury Committee report, published in July, revealed Thomas had been dismissed [...]
The five fintech segments to watch

August 18, 2025

Global fintech funding slumped to its worst half-year in five years in the first six months of 2025. Investment reached $44bn (£32.47bn), falling from $54.2bn the year prior, whilst the number of deals fell from 2,376 to 2,216. Weak investment in the three months to June 31 2025, hurt the headline figures, with just $18.7bn [...]
Market ‘overreaction’ damaged LSEG’s valuation, analyst says

August 15, 2025

The London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG) has faced a valuation battering after a market “overreaction” to woes in its desktop analytics division, one analyst has said. LSEG has lost £8bn in market valuation so far in the third quarter, as concerns spiked over its Workflows business, which provides software and desktop solutions for financial professionals. [...]
Thames Water’s cash crunch intensifies as bailout rumours swirl

August 15, 2025

Thames Water faces a race against time to avoid collapse even after securing a short-term cash injection. The UK’s largest water company is set to run out of money as soon as September 2026 should it fail to secure a financial lifeline in the form of a recapitalisation deal. The utility company said the second [...]

Poundland owners face grilling from MPs as discount retailer veers towards collapse

Ice Hockey World Championships sponsor threatens to pull out over Russia

Andy Burnham says stockpile beans and tuna: Here’s the wine to pair with that

By: Samuel Norman

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