Thames Water could dodge fines under controversial new Ofwat deal April 2, 2026 Ofwat is preparing a controversial new deal with the UK’s largest water company which would allow the beleaguered utility firm to avoid any new fines over the next four years in exchange for a commitment to invest new cash in the business. The sector regulator is planning to accept “undertakings” in place of financial penalties [...]
‘Indian food is a universe’: Making a home at Chet Sharma’s BiBi April 2, 2026 Quietly but surely, Chet Sharma is serving up some of the tasty plates of food in London. Carys Sharkey meets the chef reimagining fine dining with a healthy serving of nostalgia If you make your way down Oxford Street, past the shops slinging vapes and candy to indiscriminating kids, weaving through the preachers confirming your [...]
Jim Ratcliffe backs Tory pledge to slash net zero tax April 2, 2026 Sir Jim Ratcliffe has joined a number of manufacturing bosses in support of a Tory pledge to axe carbon taxes levied through a trading scheme critical to the government’s net zero efforts. In a joint release between the Conservatives plus the Ineos chief and other industry bosses, the Kemi Badenoch’s party said it would save [...]
Lloyds shares slump amid questions over motor finance legal battle April 2, 2026 Lloyds shares slumped this morning even as the banking giant declared it would not have to top up its provisions following the confirmation of a motor finance redress scheme. The group – which owns the UK’s largest car finance lender Black Horse – said it had “undertaken an assessment of the implications and impact” of [...]
Speedy Hire shares tumble as firm sounds alarm on ‘worsening conditions’ April 2, 2026 Speedy Hire shares tumbled on Thursday after the tools and equipment hire services company slashed its profit expectations and warned “conditions have worsened” in the market. The London-listed firm said it now expects pre-tax earnings of £90m in 2026, down from £97m the previous year. “Market conditions have worsened…with uncertainty around the UK Budget in [...]
Middlesex CCC needs saving from oblivion so ECB must take bold action April 2, 2026 As the English cricket season begins again, the demise of Middlesex should be ringing alarms bells at fat cats Surrey and the ECB, writes Ed Warner. Of course the forecast is for biting winds across the country this weekend. What did you expect? The English cricket season starts tomorrow. Expect confected hoopla about The Hundred, [...]
FTSE 100 Live: Dow Jones joins City in red; Oil soars on Iran war fears April 2, 2026 Good morning and welcome back to the City AM liveblog. After a dose of optimism hit markets on Wednesday, that looks to all be eradicated come this morning. In a 19-minute long address to the nation, Donald Trump vowed to “finish the job” in Iran and warned the country would be hit “extremely hard” in [...]
‘Ambulance chasers’ in the crosshairs as claims industry faces scrutiny April 2, 2026 As London’s legal scene gets more litigious, creeping closer to the American ‘sue everything’ culture, so-called ambulance chasing claims firms are starting to appear in the headlines – for the wrong reasons. The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA)’s chief executive, Nikhil Rathi, has been critical of claims management companies (CMC) or similarly specialised law firms throughout [...]
Make foreign tourists pay to keep museums free for Londoners April 2, 2026 Free museum entry isn’t the feel-good policy you think it is. Time to charge foreigners and keep our precious collections free for Londoners, says James Ford Is the idea of charging foreign tourists for access to major museums and art galleries really that radical a proposal? Judging by the reaction from some corners of the [...]
Mark Kleinman: O’Neill’s mission is to take BP back to the future April 2, 2026 Mark Kleinman is Sky News’ City Editor and the man who gets the Square Mile talking in his City AM column O’Neill’s mission is to take BP back to the future In one sense it’s a baptism of fire – in another, hardly at all. Meg O’Neill’s arrival yesterday as the first female chief executive of BP comes, [...]