Cubitts plots expansion to Ireland despite swinging to £1m loss May 18, 2026 Cubitts swung to a near-£1m loss in 2025 as the spectacle maker counted the cost of its US expansion plans. The London-based business opened its “first stores outside the warm but grey womb of the UK,” with two sites in New York City. Costs of setting up across the pond pushed the eyewear designer to [...]
The City is paying the price for Britain’s energy failure May 18, 2026 High, unstable energy costs don’t stay in the energy sector. They get absorbed into operating margins, debt-service forecasts, insurance assumptions, infrastructure returns, and the discount rate applied to British assets, says Alan Chang The City does not need another price shock to understand Britain’s energy problem. Markets are already pricing the risk. Renewed tensions with [...]
Good policing is the unsung pillar of growth May 18, 2026 Market confidence in the City is inseparable from its security, and the police are a core enabler of that security, writes Chris Hayward.
Barclays names Fractile and Isomorphic Labs among UK’s top AI startups May 18, 2026 Barclays has named AI chip startup Fractile and Google DeepMind spinout Isomorphic Labs among Britain’s top AI companies as investors race to back the next generation of UK tech champions. The banking giant’s Eagle Labs division unveiled its new AI 100 ranking this week, spotlighting the country’s fastest-growing AI businesses amid a record year for [...]
UK AI investment hits record £8.3bn as London tightens grip on tech boom May 18, 2026 Britain’s AI sector pulled in a record £8.3bn of investment last year, as global investors raced to back the country’s next generation of AI firms, with London tightening its grip as Europe’s leading tech hub. New research from Barclays Eagle Labs found funding into UK AI companies surged in 2025 after a sluggish period for [...]
Blackrock eyes SpaceX stake as Musk pulls IPO forward to June May 17, 2026 Elon Musk is pulling SpaceX’s long-awaited stock market debut forward as BlackRock weighs a major investment in what could become the largest IPO ever attempted. The rocket and satellite giant is now expected to price its flotation on 11 June before beginning trading on Nasdaq the following day under the ticker SPCX, according to Bloomberg. [...]
London Marathon’s staggering popularity isn’t about running at all May 16, 2026 Why does one in 50 UK adults want to run the London Marathon? Maybe because it’s an oasis of joy in a desert of doldrums, says Matt Readman. During the Great Depression of the 1930s, as breadlines lengthened and unemployment spread across entire cities, something unexpected happened: people laughed more. Or at least, they looked [...]
City sounds alarm on £40bn foreign M&A offensive targeting ‘cheap’ UK firms May 15, 2026 A group of City grandees has sounded the alarm on the wave of foreign firms picking off rivals from London’s stock market, after a flurry of unsolicited offers took the combined value of UK companies poised to leave Britain’s ailing bourse to £43bn. Some 22 listed companies have already accepted or received bids that would [...]
Google built the internet economy. AI is rewriting it. May 15, 2026 For the last two decades, most businesses have competed for visibility. Google rankings, paid search, website traffic, marketplace positioning and social reach became the foundations of modern customer acquisition. Entire industries were built around helping brands climb search results, generate clicks and capture online demand more efficiently than competitors. That ecosystem created clear winners. Companies [...]
AI is driving McKinsey’s business model and talent overhaul May 15, 2026 McKinsey & Company’s business model is changing to prioritise performance-based pay, a shift largely driven by the impact of AI, City AM understands. The Big Three consulting giant has told senior staff it plans to overhaul its remuneration structure for partners, with more of their pay potentially coming in the form of equity in the US-headquartered partnership. [...]