Goldman Sachs criticises £1.45m paternity payout July 31, 2026 Goldman Sachs has criticised a ruling to hand one of its former senior executives a £1.45m payout over his dismissal while on paternity leave. Jonathan Reeves, who served as the deputy global head of the Wall Street bank’s compliance ‘control room’ in London, was dismissed from his job in 2022 when he was due to [...]
Everton Friedkin Group owners inject £38m, reportedly to pay Burnley July 31, 2026 Everton owners The Friedkin Group have injected £38m into the club, reportedly to cover compensation owed to Burnley. The club was deemed to owe Burnley close to £40m after a landmark ruling earlier this year but the Premier League Independent Disciplinary Commission after the Clarets successfully argued that the Toffees’ breach of Profitability and Sustainability [...]
Sainsbury’s to sell Argos in £120m cut-price deal July 31, 2026 Sainsbury’s has said it will sell long-struggling catalogue retailer Argos for £120m, a fraction of the £1.4bn it bought it for a decade ago. The supermarket giant has struck a deal with Swift Partners – a new company led by On the Beach chairman Richard Pennycook and former Morrisons boss Trevor Strain. Their takeover will [...]
ITV hands shareholders £100m returns after £1.6bn Sky deal July 31, 2026 ITV has announced a £100m share buyback as part of its commitment to return £950m to investors following its blockbuster £1.6bn Sky deal. The broadcaster said the “milestone” merger will “unlock significant value for shareholders,” as it posted a two per cent jump in revenue across the last six months. Earlier this month, ITV agreed [...]
Natwest hikes targets again after jump in profit July 31, 2026 Natwest has upgraded its income targets for a second quarter running as the bank posted better than expected profit and dished out a bumper dividend to investors. The blue-chip lender reported a 20 per cent jump in pre-tax profit in the first six months of 2026 to £4.3bn, up from £3.6bn the year prior and [...]
Fifa want to sell the family silver but should World Rugby do the same? July 31, 2026 Selling stakes in commercial entities is like selling the family silver. So should World Rugby copy Fifa? Selling stakes in commercial entities – much like Fifa announced it wanted to do with the World Cup – is like selling the family silver. Global tournaments are pillars of sports with revenues and reach that soar during [...]
Burnham accused of imposing ‘top–down’ devolution July 30, 2026 Andy Burnham’s devolution agenda has been slammed over its “top down” approach after the Prime Minister unveiled new plans to share income tax revenue with local leaders. Burnham, himself a former Manchester mayor, said regional leaders in England will begin receiving a “greater share of locally generated revenues” next spring as part of his push [...]
Gino D’Acampo restaurants face HMRC winding-up order July 30, 2026 The company behind TV chef Gino D’Acampo’s restaurant empire has been hit with a winding-up petition by the UK tax authority. Upmarket Hotels & Leisure, which runs five British restaurants named after the former This Morning star, was served the petition by HMRC after a filing made to the High Court, as seen by City [...]
High interest rates and low confidence put construction firms under pressure, Lords warns July 30, 2026 Construction firms have been hit by a barrage of reduced market confidence, high interest rates and rising national insurance costs, builders’ merchant Lords has warned, after it suffered its biggest-ever single-day stock fall. The London-based firm released a challenging market update on Thursday, which saw its shares plunge 20.61 per cent to an all-time low [...]
AI data centres and defence tech lead investment wave July 30, 2026 Data centres, energy, and military technologies are the main investment channels tech buyers want to pour money into, according to new research. Law firm A&O Shearman’s latest outlook for technology investment said demand was growing for the infrastructure needed to build and run AI, while software companies faced greater scrutiny over whether AI could replace [...]