Barclays and Natwest set for bidding war in race to beef up wealth arms February 4, 2026 Barclays and Natwest are set for a bidding war as the banks prepare to make their play to snap up Evelyn Partners amid the race to beef up wealth management arms. The blue-chip lenders are both gearing up to table offers of over £2bn for the London-based wealth manager. A successful takeover would help enhance [...]
Zurich to acquire Beazley in landmark £8bn specialty insurance merger February 4, 2026 Following two previous rejections last month, Lloyd’s of London underwriter Beazley has confirmed in a joint statement on Wednesday morning that it has reached an agreement in principle with Zurich. The offer proposed by Zurich has a total value of 1,335 pence per share. This is composed of a 1,310p cash payment from Zurich and [...]
FTSE 100 Live: Pound at 2021 high as Trump shrugs at dollar woes January 28, 2026 Good morning and welcome back to the City AM liveblog. Has the mining sector’s rally finally run out of steam? It appeared so on Tuesday, where City banks helped lift the FTSE 100 out of the red as miners across the board sank despite the ever-increasing price of precious metals. Fresnillo – the best performing [...]
FTSE 100 Live: Babcock boss exits; Retail sales fall in golden quarter January 23, 2026 Good morning and welcome back to the City AM liveblog. Today is the final day of the World Economic Forum in Davos and what a ride it has been for capital markets. The FTSE 100 started Monday’s trading session at a cool 10,235.31 before shedding some points as Trump turned up pressure on his tariff [...]
On this day 1571: The Royal Exchange is opened January 23, 2026 The Royal Exchange was opened by Elizabeth I 455 years ago on this day. Eliot Wilson traces the origins of its success.
Lloyd’s of London’s Beazley again rejects Zurich’s £7.7bn takeover bid January 22, 2026 Beazley, the prominent Lloyd’s of London underwriter, has unanimously rejected a 1,280p per share cash proposal from Zurich Insurance Group, which it says “materially undervalues” the firm’s future prospects. The board noted that this latest offer is actually lower than a 1,315p proposal Zurich made in June last year, which valued the firm at approximately [...]
Bank bosses brace for interrogation in FTSE 100 lenders’ earnings season January 21, 2026 Britain’s banking heavyweights are gearing up to report full-year earnings with top bosses set to face the crunch on the progress of their overhaul strategies. Lloyds chief Charlie Nunn will be the first of the City’s top bankers to go under the microscope when the FTSE 100 giant releases its annual report on 29 January. [...]
Zurich makes £7.7bn play for Beazley after FTSE 100 firm rejected first offer January 19, 2026 Zurich Insurance Group has launched its second public pursuit of Lloyd’s of London prominent underwriter Beazley with a revised proposal at 1.280 pence per share, valuing the firm at just under £8bn. At the start of the month, Zurich privately submitted a proposal to the Beazley board to acquire 100 per cent of the company [...]
CVC and AIG forge landmark $3.5bn investment alliance January 19, 2026 Private equity firm CVC Capital Partners announced a $3.5bn (£2.61bn) strategic partnership with American International Group (AIG) to support “long-term investment objectives”. As part of the agreement, announced on Monday, AIG will act as a ‘cornerstone investor’, a private equity secondaries evergreen platform, contributing up to $1.5bn from AIG’s existing private equity portfolio. This aims [...]
Tough year ahead as businesses face compliance and investigation storm January 17, 2026 A wave of complex regulations and cross-border probes is set to test the resilience of businesses worldwide in the coming year; at the same time, resource constraints expose vulnerabilities. A staggering 82 per cent of global businesses fear being hit by cross-border or multi-agency investigations this year, according to a new report by law firm [...]