Natwest and HSBC shares dip as bank tax chatter heats up September 22, 2025 Shares in Natwest and HSBC dipped on Monday morning as traders digested renewed chatter of a tax hike on Britain’s banking giants. Natwest tumbled as much as 1.3 per cent to 506p when markets opened, while HSBC fell 0.6 per cent to 1,022p. Barclays fell nearly 0.2 per cent to 381p. Lloyds was broadly flat [...]
City asked to contribute £120m Rachel Reeves’ stock market push September 22, 2025 Rachel Reeves’ major advertising push to re-invigorate the London market is expected to cost the City £120m, new documents have revealed. The campaign, which is being led by the Investment Association, was announced as part of Reeves’ Mansion House package where the Chancellor made her pro-business plea to the City. But smaller financial services firms [...]
Losses almost tripled at Sale Sharks owner’s £1bn empire before takeover September 18, 2025 Losses at the empire built up by Simon Orange, the self-made millionaire who co-owns rugby union side Sale Sharks, almost tripled in the year before being taken over. Cheshire-based CorpAcq counts more than 40 businesses as part of its portfolio including the likes of Cotton Traders but does not include the Prem Rugby club. The [...]
From law to tech: Who’s championing equal parental leave in the UK? September 16, 2025 New research has revealed the inaugural list of 165 UK employers that offer equal parental leave, including more than 20 professional services firms. The full findings, which will be formally launched at the UK’s first Working Dads’ Summit, revealed that 72 of the 165 companies offer dads up to six months of fully paid paternity [...]
How AXA UK&I boss is building a £7bn insurance powerhouse September 16, 2025 If AXA UK&I was listed on the London Stock Exchange in its own right, it would be part of the FTSE 100, its chief executive Tara Foley has said. The AXA group is one of France’s best-known financial services firms, and its financials reflect this, having generated over €110bn (£95bn) in 2024. While back at [...]
Wicked: Record London show sales after film’s success September 11, 2025 The global box office success of the big screen adaptation of musical Wicked helped the London stage show rake in record ticket sales last year. The film, staring Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande, was released in November 2024 and generated more than $756m (£559.2m) worldwide off the back of a successful promotional tour. It was [...]
UK’s top tech scale-ups named, but can Britain keep hold of them? September 11, 2025 Tech Nation has announced its Future Fifty 2025 cohort, featuring 25 high-growth UK scaleups across various sectors, including AI, climatetech, healthtech, and spacetech. Between them, these firms have raised more than £1.4bn and employ over 2,100 people. The programme, which was relaunched under Founders Forum Group in 2024, has long been seen as the UK’s [...]
Healey says Rayner ‘not a victim’ amid Labour reshuffle discontent September 7, 2025 Angela Rayner is “not a victim” and “any government is stronger” with her, a Cabinet minister has said after a reshuffle following her resignation saw tensions flare within Labour. Defence Secretary John Healey defended Sir Keir Starmer’s “clear, swift, fair action” following his former deputy’s admission that she mistakenly underpaid stamp duty on a seaside [...]
Lloyd’s of London BluePrint Two delayed, again September 4, 2025 The world’s leading insurance and reinsurance market, Lloyd’s of London, has delayed the rollout of its strategy to digitalise the market for the fourth time. Blueprint Two was launched six years ago, labelled an “ambitious strategy” by the market. The programme was pitched as delivering a “profound” change in the market through digitalisation. Lloyd’s, together [...]
Higher interest rates boost Lloyd’s of London September 4, 2025 Lloyd’s of London, the world’s leading insurance and reinsurance market, has reported a profit before tax of £4.2bn for the first half of 2025. Gross written premiums climbed to £32.5bn, up from £30.6bn reported for the same period last year. Its underwriting result fell to £1.5bn, down from £3.1bn the previous year, as the market’s [...]