Meta surges on bold AI spend – but tariff risks loom May 1, 2025 Meta platforms delivered strong first quarter earnings after market close on Wednesday, with revenue and profit surpassing Wall Street expectations thanks to continued growth in advertising and an aggressive push into AI. But the firm’s exposure to global trade tensions and regulatory headwinds in its European market present a complicated picture for investors evaluating the [...]
Puma to move UK head office from London to Manchester May 1, 2025 Puma is to relocate its UK head office from London to Manchester after signing up to take space in a new £87m building. The global sportswear brand is to take 20,000 sq ft at 3 Circle Square in the city centre, which is due to open this summer. The head office will become home to [...]
London’s AI surge at risk from skills crunch, Amazon warns April 30, 2025 London businesses are embracing artificial intelligence (AI) faster and more comprehensively than the rest of the UK, but the capital’s acute digital skills shortage risks limiting the broader economic gains from this progress. New research from Amazon Web Services (AWS) revealed exclusively to City AM that 67 per cent of London-based businesses have now adopted [...]
Supply, skills and sustainability: futureproofing procurement for the UK April 30, 2025 UK procurement professionals face a range of challenges in the next few years, from global political and economic uncertainty to recruitment and making the most of technology. Procurement in the UK is changing. The wider environment, with political uncertainty coupled with economic volatility, makes for a challenging landscape. Procurement is increasingly tasked with striking the [...]
FTSE 100 continues longest winning streak since 2017 April 30, 2025 The FTSE 100 is on track for another strong day after 12 days of positive performance, marking its best winning streak since 2017 amid a calming of investor nerves over an erratic US tariff policy. London’s main index has had a positive performance every day since 10 April, and is currently up 0.12 per cent [...]
Can AI replace the boardroom? April 30, 2025 AI is quietly taking over strategic decisions and that’s a mistake. If strategy is going to stay human, then it has to stay messy, says Paul Armstrong Automation used to mean invoices, scheduling and sorting PDFs. Now it means suggesting layoffs, flagging underperforming units, reshaping go-to-market strategy, and proposing M&A targets. AI isn’t just in [...]
Meta launches ChatGPT rival app ahead of key earnings April 29, 2025 Meta platforms debuted its standalone AI app on Tuesday, marking its most direct move yet against OpenAI’s ChatGPT – and doing so just 24 hours ahead of its first earnings report of the year. The app, built on Meta’s llama models, features on AI assistant, image generation, and a ‘discover’ feed to showcase user prompts, [...]
Channel 4’s investment arm gives £3m backing to UK fintech Sprive April 29, 2025 Channel 4 has entered the fintech realm after its investment arm participated in a funding round that topped £5.5m. Channel 4 Ventures injected £3m into mortgage overpayment app Sprive, in a fundraiser led by venture capital firm Ascension. The funding aims to assist the early-stage consumer fintech’s in fulfilling its mission to help millions repay [...]
AI use rising in legal services, but public trust remains low April 29, 2025 While AI’s potential to reduce costs and improve efficiency is making waves within the industry, both public and legal professionals remain cautious about fully embracing the technology, especially for legally complex issues. A recent survey by Robin AI found that only 10 per cent of people fully trust law firms, with only 30 pert cent [...]
The UK isn’t celebrating risk takers and wealth creators – Castore boss April 29, 2025 The UK is at risk of “taking too many steps down a road of not wanting to celebrate risk takers and wealth creators”, according to the co-CEO of sports apparel brand, Castore. Tom Beahon, who shares the top job with his brother Phil, added “there’s not a lot of incentive for anyone to take risks [...]