KKR pushes for Assura to ditch PHP deal amid bidding war August 8, 2025 The bidding war between private equity giant KKR and retail investor Primary Health Properties (PHP) has heated up after KKR pushed for Assura to ditch an already recommended takeover offer from the latter. KKR’s investment vehicle Bidco – which is also by fellow US private equity Stonepeak – said on Friday it has held discussions [...]
One bad apple: The rise of partner vetting at law firms August 7, 2025 In a highly competitive market, law firms are ramping up their vetting process for new partners to avoid issues down the line
Motor finance: Lloyds shares jump after ruling August 4, 2025 Shares in Lloyds Banking Group and Close Brothers jumped in early deals this morning after the Supreme Court’s landmark motor finance ruling last week. Lloyds shares jumped 5.5 per cent in early deals to 80p – a five-year high. Shares in Close Brothers jumped 22 per cent. Analysts at Jefferies had said Lloyds shares would [...]
Klarna to revive New York IPO attempt as soon as September July 31, 2025 Swedish fintech Klarna is gearing up for a second swing at a public listing in New York after original plans were derailed by the market meltdown following President Donald Trump’s tariff onslaught. The buy now, pay later (BNPL) giant is aiming to launch on the US stock market in September or October if market conditions [...]
Big tech hits back as CMA flags ‘harmful” cloud dominance by Microsoft and AWS July 31, 2025 Big Tech companies have pushed back against a damning report from the UK’s competition watchdog, which warned that Microsoft and Amazon’s dominance in the £10.5bn cloud computing market is stifling competition and harming UK businesses. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) on Thursday published the final findings of its 21-month cloud investigation, concluding that Microsoft [...]
Drax hikes dividend despite profit dip amid power station update July 31, 2025 Drax has told investors it was close to agreeing a controversial contract with the government for its wood pellet power station after hiking its dividend despite revealing falling profit. The London-listed group said the energy transition was “creating significant value opportunities aligned with the UK’s energy needs” in an interim update in which it revealed [...]
Klarna receives regulatory approval to take on Monzo and Revolut July 30, 2025 Swedish fintech Klarna has received an electronic money institution licence from the Financial Conduct Authority, setting the firm up to compete with UK firms Monzo and Revolut. The licence will allow Klarna to offer its 11 million UK customers savings accounts and also pave the way for a debit card launch. Abby Vickers, Klarna’s head [...]
Taylor Wimpey: Construction jumps but cladding costs wipe out profit July 30, 2025 Housebuilder Taylor Wimpey posted a double-digit rise in housing completions, but a £222.2m hit from fixing combustible cladding pushed the company to a half-year loss. Shares fell nearly five per cent in early morning trades. The number of houses built in the first half of 2025 totalled 5,264, up from 4,728 last year, the company [...]
Octopus heat pump ad claim row boils over July 30, 2025 A war of words has erupted between energy providers after an Octopus Energy advert was banned for claiming that households could have a heat pump installed for as little as £500. The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) upheld a complaint against the Greg Jackson-run energy giant, ruling that not enough customers were eligible for the £500 [...]
Here’s how to make sure Great British Railways stays on track July 29, 2025 If Labour must steam ahead with its plan to renationalise the railways, there’s a few things it must do to make it a success, says Emma Revell One of the least surprising and most ideologically consistent aspects of Labour’s first year in office has been the impetus behind Great British Railways. The new body, which [...]