Vape giant Supreme buys Slimfast in £20m deal October 20, 2025 Wholesaler Supreme has bought meal replacement and weight management brand Slimfast in what promises to be an immediately earnings-enhancing deal, analysts have said. The deal, which saw Supreme buy Slimfast UK and Europe for £20.1m, sent the former company’s share price up more than six per cent in early trades. Slimfast is known for its [...]
UK legal sector sees strong growth but AI puts pressure on hourly billing system October 20, 2025 The legal sector in the UK continues to outperform despite challenging market conditions but the uncertainty around cyber attacks could impede firms’ strategic objectives. According to the PwC Law Firm Survey 2025, the Top 10 law firms have reported UK fee income growth of 8.1 per cent, compared to 5.2 per cent across all international [...]
In focus: Getty and Shutterstock merger gets CMA probe October 20, 2025 The $3.7bn (£2.7bn) merger between Getty Images and Shutterstock is to be the subject of an in-depth probe from the UK’s competition watchdog after ‘substantial concerns’ were flagged. The deal, which was first announced in January, had already attracted the eye of the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) in June but will now be looked into [...]
Why can’t London build housing? October 20, 2025 London has the UK’s least affordable housing and it’s building the least, Sadiq Khan’s affordable housing targets and the Building Safety Regulator are largely to blame, says Ben Hopkinson Housing in London has been in crisis for decades. Unaffordable rents have kept professionals in their 20s living with their parents, made it harder for families [...]
Lamborghini opens flagship UK showroom in the heart of Mayfair October 20, 2025 Lamborghini has opened a new flagship UK showroom in Berkeley Square. The Lamborghini Mayfair site is positioned just across the road from arch-rival Ferrari, making life simpler for London’s supercar shoppers. Hosting a champagne reception for 350 of the Italian marque’s best customers, Lamborghini CEO Stephan Winkelmann toasted a “true destination showroom” that will complement [...]
Secure Trust Bank, Bank of Ireland up motor finance provisions October 20, 2025 Secure Trust Bank and the Bank of Ireland have added themselves to a growing list of businesses upping their provisions ahead of a flurry of claims expected in connection with the motor finance scandal. Following the publication of the UK finance watchdog’s review into the saga, Secure Trust Bank said it had more than tripled [...]
Cutting affordable housing quotas is a slap in the face for Labour voters October 20, 2025 If Labour is no longer in favour of building affordable housing, what exactly is the party for, asks James Ford.
B&M: City broker ‘not concerned’ about retailer despite turmoil October 20, 2025 City broker Panmure Liberum has reassured investors about a serious slide in B&M’s share price, arguing that it’s based on a ‘one-time error’ and doesn’t suggest underlying trouble. B&M surprised markets this morning when it released a trading statement showing a significant accounting error and the related departure of its chief financial officer. The FTSE [...]
AWS outage: Amazon says recovery is underway October 20, 2025 A swathe of apps and online services went down on Monday morning, including Zoom, Slack and Coinbase. This follows a global Amazon Web Services (AWS) outage, with knock on effects hitting millions of users of thousands of apps and websites. Amazon has said that services are “seeing significant signs of recovery”, with Lloyds Bank saying [...]
Hotel Chocolat tastes sweet success of quitting London October 20, 2025 How Hotel Chocolat has performed since being acquired by Mars for more than £500m in July 2023 has been revealed for the first time. The Hertfordshire-headquartered business quit the London Stock Exchange after being taken over in a £534m deal. The deal, which at the time represented a 169.8 per cent premium on its 139p [...]