Big Four’s AIM exodus accelerates as mid-tier firms seize mandates July 27, 2026 Mid-tier audit firms scooped up new clients as the Big Four giants executed an intentional retreat from London’s junior market. Three years ago, PwC, Deloitte, EY, and KPMG audited nearly half of the FTSE Alternative Investment Market (AIM) 100 index with 49 clients combined. But today, the market share has collapsed to 30 clients, according [...]
Healey: Squeezed businesses also need ‘breathing space’ July 23, 2026 Chancellor John Healey has said he is “just as concerned” by costs facing businesses as those facing households, adding that bosses also required “breathing space” to manage burdens from energy, labour and supply chains. Echoing Andy Burnham’s pledge to provide “breathing space” on the cost of living, Healey said he would aim to ease cost [...]
Mark Kleinman: Well runs dry for Thames Water creditors July 23, 2026 Mark Kleinman is Sky News’ City Editor and the man who gets the Square Mile talking in his City AM column Well runs dry for Thames Water creditors Are Thames Water’s taps about to run dry? Not literally, of course – but Andy Burnham’s arrival in Downing Street has fired the starting gun on a creditor sprint to [...]
Revealed: KPMG and Deloitte offer bumper redundancy packages to slash headcount July 17, 2026 KPMG and Deloitte are offering UK staff bumper redundancy packages as they look to slash their headcount and trim costs, City AM can reveal. The two accountancy companies, as well as PwC, have all ramped up their payouts to employees after a slowdown in the sector’s traditional ‘attrition model’, in which around 15-20 per cent [...]
How to cut the cost of your holiday this summer with Complete Savings July 16, 2026 Global pressure on fuel prices, rising holiday costs and food prices in the UK projected to rise by 50 per cent since start of the cost of living crisis – these are just some of the daily hurdles households are facing this summer. However, with school holidays fast approaching many families still want to travel [...]
AI is driving a VC investment boom July 15, 2026 The UK has landed some of the biggest megadeals in history, but it must double down on tech investment to keep its crown, says Nicole Lowe The UK is currently riding on the crest of a wave of near-record-breaking levels of venture capital investment and I’m delighted that it shows no sign of coming to [...]
FRC Chair-in-waiting grilled over holding seven other board roles July 15, 2026 MPs have raised concerns over whether the former chief executive of Virgin Money can realistically juggle her role as Chair of the Financial Reporting Council (FRC) alongside seven other board and chair positions. Dame Jayne-Anne Gadhia was named by the government on Monday as the next Chair of the accounting watchdog, set to take over [...]
Heatwave slows retail sales but World Cup boosts online shopping July 14, 2026 June’s scorching heat slowed retail sales, but Brits opted to shop from home instead, sending online sales soaring. Total retail sales in the UK slowed from 3.7 per cent in May to 1.9 per cent in June year on year, in line with this year’s average growth rate, according to the British Retail Consortium (BRC). [...]
U.K. Firms Make Cyber Resilience Measurable July 10, 2026 Boards and regulators push enterprises to prove response readiness and operational impact as AI-enabled threats grow, ISG Provider Lens® report says
As it happened: Stocks rises as oil eases but Strait of Hormuz concerns ramp up July 10, 2026 Welcome back to the City AM liveblog. Markets are set to make a loss for the week after the conflict in the Middle East returned to full-blown military action this week. The FTSE 100 has shed over one per cent and is on course to close in the red for the week, even after breaking [...]