Merck warns UK is ‘not internationally competitive’ as it scraps £1bn London research centre September 10, 2025 Merck has pulled out of a planned £1bn London drug research centre in the latest blow to the government’s growth agenda. The US pharma giant is to lay off 127 staff alongside abandoning the construction project, which had been set to open in King’s Cross in 2027. The firm warned the UK would lag behind [...]
Meet the new ministers driving Labour’s latest growth mission September 9, 2025 A £25bn fiscal black hole, fading housebuilding hopes and lacklustre productivity growth marked a troublesome end to the first year in office for the new occupants of Downing Street this summer. While the resignation of Angela Rayner – the popular Labour figure who had called for the Treasury to turn left and tax the wealthy – [...]
Cabinet reshuffle: Lucy Rigby replaces Emma Reynolds as City minister September 6, 2025 Former solicitor general Lucy Rigby has been made Economic Secretary to the Treasury, a role often called the City minister, in the latest development in Starmer’s reshuffle. Rigby replaces Emma Reynolds, a former City lobbyist who had held the role since last July but who has now become environment secretary. In a post on X, Rigby said she was [...]
Poppy Gustafsson resigns as investment minister September 5, 2025 UK investment minister Baroness Poppy Gustafsson is stepping down less than a year after the former boss of cyber security firm Darktrace was appointed to the role by Prime Minister Keir Starmer. Gustafsson is understood to be leaving to spend more time with her young family, with the announcement due in the next few days. [...]
London Stock Exchange boss: Fix underinvestment for growth September 5, 2025 The boss of the London Stock Exchange has urged the government to fix investment in capital markets to achieve economic growth. Dame Julia Hoggett, the chief executive of the London Stock Exchange, has backed the new ‘Tell Sid’-style campaign announced by Chancellor Rachel Reeves this year in a bid to get Brits investing. Hoggett told [...]
Jaguar Land Rover hit by cyber attack forcing production shutdown at UK plant September 2, 2025 Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) has been forced to halt production and retail operations after a cyber attack disrupted its global IT systems, with staff at its plant on Merseyside told not to report to work. The incident prompted the UK’s biggest carmaker to take its systems offline as a precaution. In a statement, JLR said [...]
Rachel Reeves’ matchmaker moment July 23, 2025 Finance bros and gals are often seen oozing confidence as they strut their stuff around the streets of the City of London, imagining they’re the main characters on hit show Industry. But it would be a mistake to assume these investor strategists, expert consultants and risk analysts are libertarian dreamers, swashbuckling Reagan fanatics and small-state [...]
These charts show the scale of the London Stock Exchange’s decline July 9, 2025 In May, one of the London Stock Exchange’s smallest constituents decided to leave. Brighton Pier, which had been listed on the exchange’s AIM market with a £5m market cap, delisted and jumped ship to private securities venue JP Jenkins. “It’s something that had been building up for quite a while for the past several years,” [...]
Astrazeneca chief ‘wants to shift London listing to US’ July 1, 2025 The boss of Britain’s most valuable company, Astrazeneca, has reportedly voiced his preference to move the firm’s stock market listing to the United States. Sir Pascal Soriot, who has been at the helm of the pharma juggernaut since 2012, is said to have spoken privately about his desire to abandon the UK listing in favour [...]
Stock markets shrinking: where could investors turn for growth? July 1, 2025 Darktrace, Skechers, Royal Mail – more and more companies are being taken private. But investors needn’t miss out. Investing in private companies is no longer off-limits – and you can invest from just £10,000. Global stock markets are shrinking. Last year alone, they saw a net decline of over $120 billion – three times the total [...]