City regulator: Concentration poses risk to markets October 8, 2024 The boss of the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) said “herding behaviour” and “market concentration” were posing new risks to the financial markets today as he warned investors to brace for volatility in the long term. Speaking at the regulator’s market conference in Westminster, Nikhil Rathi said excessive daily swings had become a bigger concern to [...]
S&U fires barbs at regulator after motor finance probe dents profit October 8, 2024 Specialist lender S&U fired another salvo at the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) today as it blamed regulatory pressure for the “uninspiring performance” of its motor finance business in the first six months of the year. Pretax profit across the London-listed firm slumped by nearly half to £12.8m for the six months to 31 July, down [...]
Don’t turn the City into the ‘best regulated graveyard’, pension funds told October 7, 2024 A group of pension funds has been warned against turning the City into the “best regulated graveyard” today after they called for the boss of the London Stock Exchange to stop lobbying for reform of financial services rules. In the latest of a series of letters to the London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG), a coalition [...]
Leading with insight: Geradin Partners corners trend in competition law October 7, 2024 When trying to "shake things up" in the competition legal market, who better than someone who spent over seven years as a legal director for the regulator
Win a dream house for £10? How Omaze found controversial success in the UK October 7, 2024 Luxury house prize draw Omaze has found booming success in the UK, but not everyone's happy about it. Anna Moloney examines why.
Barratt Redrow merger given greenlight by competition watchdog October 4, 2024 The competition watchdog has given its final clearance for the merger of housebuilders Barratt and Redrow. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) launched an investigation into the proposed £2.5bn deal in June after it was first announced in February. The deal was completed in August without regulatory approval after the CMA suggested there were reasonable grounds to believe [...]
SSP Group: Upper Crust owner reports ‘significant increase’ in profitability October 3, 2024 The travel food specialist behind Upper Crust SSP Group has reported a boost in revenue, with UK sales supported by demand for air travel and easing rail disruptions. Revenue grew by 17 per cent for the year to 30 September, with full-year operating profit expected to be £210 to £220m, up around 30 per cent [...]
Vodafone and Three hit back at regulator’s concerns in merger battle September 30, 2024 Vodafone and Three have pushed back against the regulator’s concerns over their proposed £15bn merger, insisting that “outstanding issues can be resolved,” following the latest findings from the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA). In a response published today, the telecom firms said they “remain confident” in the deal, which would combine two of the UK’s [...]
The Notebook: City bosses need to get honest about corporate culture September 30, 2024 Corporate culture remains riddled with problems. It's time for an honest conversation, writes Lucy McNulty, editor of Following the Rules, in today's Notebook.
Clearbank eyes flurry of new products amid ‘huge demand’ for fintech September 30, 2024 ClearBank is eyeing up a string of new business lines after hitting profitability and taking its first steps towards international expansion.