Welcome to the shape-shifting world of big tech taxes April 29, 2025 Axing the Digital Services Tax may be the price Britain pays for a trade deal with the US, but that doesn’t mean we’ve seen the back of tech taxes, says Tim Sarson Just a few days ago, Rachel Reeves was strolling in, to paraphrase Flanders and Swan, the geopolitical zoo that is Washington DC, attempting [...]
HSBC and Barclays shareholders eye returns as tariffs cloud banks’ reports April 28, 2025 The FTSE 100’s ‘Big Five’ banks are gearing up for first-quarter results season – and shareholders will be eyeing how lenders set the tone for the year ahead. HSBC will kick off reports on Tuesday, followed by Barclays on Wednesday and Lloyds on Thursday. Natwest and Standard Chartered will round off the results week on [...]
Inside the rapid rise of UK fintech April 27, 2025 There’s a rocket strapped to UK fintech, and it’s only speeding up. On 28 April, UK fintech week kicks off, with industry body Innovate Finance hosting its 11th global summit. This follows another record year for the industry, where businesses saw profits balloon and customer bases swell. Allica Bank – a London-based fintech – was [...]
Exclusive: KMPG renews search for UK’s top tech scale-ups April 24, 2025 Professional services giant KMPG has launched its annual competition to identify and support the UK’s most innovative scale-ups, as the sector navigates a challenging investment landscape. Now in its 12th year, the competition has served as a launchpad for a diverse range of startups – from healthtech pioneers to AI disruptors. Previous finalists include notable [...]
Finance bosses bet on London amid US market jitters April 21, 2025 Financial services leaders have banked on London’s growth potential, according to a fresh survey from KPMG, as sentiment sours over the prospects for US financial markets. Over half of the UK’s finance bosses believed the negativity of London’s health as a financial hub was overplayed. KPMG’s latest UK Financial Services Sentiment Survey, which quizzes over [...]
Clearbank, Allica, Atom: The fast-growing future of UK fintech April 19, 2025 Fintech has planted its flag firmly in the Square Mile. Industry giants Monzo and Starling have become household names, helping London to established itself as a leading global fintech hub. KPMG’s bi-annual fintech report showed UK fintech investment was at £7.9bn last year. And now young firms are growing faster than ever, promising to send a [...]
ECB cuts interest rates as Trump’s tariffs bring ‘exceptional uncertainty’ April 17, 2025 The European Central Bank (ECB) cut interest rates by a quarter point in what was the first decision from a major central bank since President Donald Trump announced sweeping tariffs in a historic speech earlier this month. The all-out global trade war, which has seen the likes of China retaliate with heavy tariffs on the [...]
London startups bag £2.69bn in VC funding in 2025 so far April 17, 2025 London-based startups attracted £2.69bn in venture capital (VC) in the first three months of the year, marking a robust start of the year despite a fall in deal volumes. According to KPMG’s latest venture pulse report, while deal count dropped from the previous quarter, the overall value of funding reached nearly 90 per cent of [...]
Big Four vs Watchdog: Giants rack up over £154m in fines April 16, 2025 The accountancy regulator has handed over £154m in fines to the Big Four firms over the last five years for audit failures
UK employers cut jobs as tax hikes bite April 15, 2025 High wage growth persisted in the three months to February, official data has shown, but a rapid drop in payrolled employment pointed to concerning trends in the labour market. Annual growth in average weekly earnings excluding bonuses hit 5.9 per cent, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said on Tuesday. But separate tax data showed [...]