Pressure on Reeves after more sluggish growth – but it’s not all doom and gloom January 16, 2025 Rachel Reeves’ handling of the UK economy is likely to come under further scrutiny after the publication of another set of lacklustre GDP figures. The UK was the fastest growing economy in the G7 in the first half of last year. It is now on track to be stagnant in the second half, having grown [...]
Private equity firms under pressure to kickstart UK dealmaking January 14, 2025 Private equity fund managers are coming under mounting pressure from their investors to begin striking deals after a sluggish two years hampered by political turmoil and lofty interest rates, advisers have said. While deal value ticked up through 2024, backers of top private equity funds are taking a “sterner” tone with fund managers after a [...]
Rising wages hit British strawberry growers January 13, 2025 The British berry growing industry has warned its future is under threat despite its value rising to £2bn for the first time. According to industry body British Berry Growers, rising energy costs and wage increases will continue to create ‘challenging circumstances’ for fruit farmers in 2025. The latest warning comes after the British Berry Growers [...]
Big Four giant PwC names new Northern boss January 9, 2025 Big Four giant PwC has named its new Northern boss to succeed the incumbent who is retiring. Emma Suchland has been appointed as the firm’s new regional market lead for the North. She will take over from Armoghan Mohammed, who held the title of regional chair, who is to retire. Suchland joined the accountancy giant [...]
Financial M&A surges as banks and insurers hunt for scale January 8, 2025 A wave of banking and insurance tie-ups pushed the volume of UK financial services dealmaking to its highest level in more than a decade last year, new figures show. After a slowdown in 2023, mergers and acquisitions (M&A) activity in the UK’s financial services industry rebounded last year with a 26 per cent year-on-year increase [...]
Lloyd’s of London insurer snubs the City with New York IPO plans January 6, 2025 A Lloyd’s of London insurer has dealt a fresh blow to the City by snubbing the London Stock Exchange in favour of New York for its planned IPO, piling fresh pressure on the capital’s bourse after it shrank at the fastest pace on record last year. Aspen Insurance, an underwriting firm which operates out of [...]
Manufacturing downturn deepens as firms brace for national insurance rise January 2, 2025 Activity in the UK’s manufacturing sector fell to its lowest level in nearly a year, a new survey shows, as businesses brace for the impact of the government’s first Budget. According to S&P’s manufacturing purchasing managers’ index (PMI), factory output, new orders and employment, all fell at accelerated rates in December. This pushed the overall [...]
Car insurers set to return to profit following record losses December 16, 2024 A report from accountancy giant EY estimates car insurers paid out 93p in claims and expenses for every £1 made in premiums in 2024.
Canary Wharf takes £610m loan from investment giant Apollo December 10, 2024 Canary Wharf has borrowed £610m from American investment giant Apollo in a refinancing deal that will allow it to repay bonds due over the next two years. The company, which was acquired Brookfield Property Partners and the Qatar Investment Authority in 2015, said the loan was secured against the majority of its 1.2m square feet [...]
Hunton Andrews Kurth raids EY for team of nearly two dozen lawyers December 10, 2024 Nearly a dozen lawyers have joined the City office of US law firm Hunton Andrews Kurth from Ernst & Young legal services arm, EY Law