Diageo slashes dividend as ‘Drastic Dave’ takes charge February 25, 2026 Guinness maker Diageo has slashed its dividend as the cost-cutting regime of new chief executive ‘drastic’ Dave Lewis begins to take hold, prompting a share price spook. The board announced the “difficult” decision to cut its dividend to 20 cents to “accelerate the strengthening” of its balance sheet in its interim results, the first financial [...]
HSBC bonus pot swells to 14-year record despite profit hit February 25, 2026 HSBC announced its bonus pot had swelled to an over decade high on Wednesday despite the bank recording a hit in annual profit as hefty impairment charges helped offset a boom in the bank’s wealth management operations. The FTSE 100 banking titan recorded a seven per cent drop in pre-tax profit for the annual year, [...]
Bureau Veritas: Sector-Leading Organic Revenue Growth of 6.5% in FY 2025 February 25, 2026 Strong margin improvement to 16.3% in FY 2025 Positive growth outlook with continued margin expansion in 2026 New EUR 200 million share buyback
FTSE 100 Live: Index hits record as HSBC, St James’s stock rally February 25, 2026 Good morning and welcome back to the City AM liveblog. There’s a number of factors weighing on global markets at the moment, and yet the FTSE 100 was able to close Tuesday’s session unscathed. It came despite President Donald Trump’s new 10 per cent tariffs coming into effect, sending some jitters across global indexes. But [...]
Exclusive: RFU insist they will retain key role in spite of crunch votes February 25, 2026 The RFU has insisted it will retain its key role across English rugby regardless of the outcome of two crunch votes this week which could see Prem Rugby ringfenced. On Friday the RFU Council will vote on proposals outlined in a recent Governance and Representation Review and is also set to approve plans, dubbed Project [...]
Accountancy firms face margin squeeze as AI disrupts compliance services February 25, 2026 Most UK accountancy firms admit margins on traditional compliance services are under pressure from automation, as professional services firms rethink strategies in the age of AI. According to a report shared exclusively with City AM by Ravical, while most British firms believe margins have increased over the last three years, the majority (63 per cent) [...]
James Reed: Youth unemployment crisis will have decades-long impact February 25, 2026 Those not working in their twenties are unlikely to start in their thirties. The youth unemployment crisis needs action, writes James Reed.
£40bn to restore Parliament? Maybe Guy Fawkes had the right idea… February 25, 2026 The reported £40bn cost of refurbishing the Palace of Westminster is not a serious proposal – it’s a distraction designed to outrage, writes James Ford We are all familiar with the Goldilocks principle of restaurant wine lists. Every wine list is part marketing ploy, part social gauntlet and pure psychological trickery. It is designed to [...]
The London Tunnels joins JP Jenkins after ditching Euronext February 25, 2026 The company behind plans to convert a set of secret Second World War tunnels beneath the City into a major new tourist attraction has today joined private securities venue JP Jenkins after quitting Amsterdam’s Euronext. The London Tunnels Ltd, which was set up in 2023, floated on the Dutch exchange in 2024 in a bid [...]
Ticketmaster lobbies for UK resale price cap as critics warn of market squeeze February 25, 2026 Ticketmaster and its parent company, Live Nation, have been lobbying in favour of the UK government’s proposed cap on ticket resale prices, City AM understands, as ministers prepare legislation aimed at curbing ticket touting. The Department for Business and Trade (DBT) is considering limiting resale prices to between zero and 30 per cent above face [...]