Coca-Cola HBC in £2bn Africa takeover October 21, 2025 London-listed bottling business Coca-Cola HBC is to acquire Coca-Cola Beverages Africa in a $3.4bn (£1.9bn) deal. The cash-and-shares deal, which will be part-funded by a new bridge debt facility, will see a transfer of the ownership of the African bottling business after 85 years of ownership by the South African Gutsche family. The move will [...]
FTSE 100 Live: Public borrowing jumps, Coca Cola £2bn takeover October 21, 2025 Good morning from the City AM liveblog team. The London listings revival is gathering pace as prize draw operator Winvia today confirmed plans for an initial public offering (IPO) in the capital. The Omaze rival is set to list on London’s junior AIM market, seeking to raise around £40m from the sale of new shares [...]
Secure Trust Bank, Bank of Ireland up motor finance provisions October 20, 2025 Secure Trust Bank and the Bank of Ireland have added themselves to a growing list of businesses upping their provisions ahead of a flurry of claims expected in connection with the motor finance scandal. Following the publication of the UK finance watchdog’s review into the saga, Secure Trust Bank said it had more than tripled [...]
B&M shares tumble as CFO quits after huge accounting blunder October 20, 2025 Shares in B&M have tumbled as the firm’s finance officer has quit following an accounting blunder that led to the company overstating its profits. The FTSE 250 retailer said it had failed to recognise as much as £7m in overseas freight costs, which disappeared from its forecasts “following an operating system update.” As a result, [...]
Prize draw operator Winvia plots London float October 20, 2025 The London listings revival is gathering pace as prize draw operator Winvia today confirmed plans for an initial public offering (IPO) in the capital. The Omaze rival is set to list on London’s junior AIM market, seeking to raise around £40m from the sale of new shares at an expected valuation of around £200m. Winvia [...]
FTSE 100 Live: Fresh London IPOs, L&G in £2bn plan October 20, 2025 Good morning from the City AM liveblog team. Markets have opened, and here are some of the movements so far on the London Stock Exchange: As Rachel Reeves does her maths ahead of the 26 November Budget, she will hope that Labour’s policies have delivered enough growth to limit the number of tax hikes needed [...]
Sadiq Khan to blame for slump in London housing starts, think tank says October 17, 2025 Sadiq Khan is to blame for a dearth in housebuilding in London, a leading think tank has warned, as new construction projects slumped to their lowest level seen in years. A perfect storm of challenging macroeconomic conditions, needlessly stringent regulation and a sluggish planning process has helped push construction rates down to just 4,170 housing [...]
London shopping centre to be demolished for major development October 17, 2025 A huge redevelopment proposal for Lewisham shopping centre was given the green light last night, paving the way for hundreds of new homes to be built. Lewisham Council officials voted to approve plans to redevelop the 1970s complex, in a move that will see it turned into 1,700 new homes, 660 student beds and 445 [...]
FTSE 100 Live: BBVA Sabadell bid falls through, tax rises in focus October 17, 2025 Good morning from the City AM liveblog team. Rachel Reeves isn’t going to introduce a Wealth Tax, but she is going to tax the wealthy. She isn’t going to impose austerity, but she is going to get spending under control. Confused? Speculation over the contents of next month’s Budget has reached fever pitch, and it’s [...]
British chipmaker Ensilica becomes latest victim of Jaguar Land Rover cyberattack October 16, 2025 British chipmaker Ensilica is thought to have become the latest supplier to Jaguar Land Rover to take a hit from the carmaker’s cyberattack, as the firm cut its supply expectations for the forthcoming year. The Oxford-based business saw its shares tumble on Thursday after it revised down its revenue expectations to £28-30m for the year [...]
