Thames Water agrees payment plan with Ofwat for historic fine August 27, 2025 Thames Water has agreed a payment plan with Ofwat for its £123m fine over rule breaches tied to its wastewater operations and dividend payouts. The payment plan will see 20 per cent of the total penalty – £24.5m – paid no later than 30 September this year. The penalty will not be funded by customer bills, [...]
Prudential: FTSE 100 insurer pledges $5bn in shareholder returns August 27, 2025 FTSE 100 insurer Prudential said it had reached its “inflection point” on Wednesday after growing profit and kicking off a hefty program of returns of investors. The firm recorded a six per cent increase in adjusted operating profit before tax to $1.6bn (£1.2bn). Life weighted premium income, which indicates the volume of new business, increased [...]
JD Sports announces new buyback despite falling sales August 27, 2025 JD Sports has announced a new share buyback programme despite a drop in like-for-like quarterly sales. The FTSE 100 company said it would invest £100m into the programme, which it said reflects “confidence in medium-term industry growth, our ongoing market share gains and focused execution”. This is despite a three per cent drop in like-for-like [...]
Ahead of the Game: Fifa eyes Morocco over Spain as 2030 World Cup HQ August 27, 2025 Fifa is in advanced discussions about basing the headquarters of the 2030 World Cup in the Moroccan capital Rabat. The centenary World Cup will be co-hosted by Morocco, Spain and Portugal, with the opening three games to be held in Paraguay, Argentina and Uruguay in a nod to the competition’s roots. The 2026 World Cup [...]
What has caused the M&A surge in the UK financial sector? August 27, 2025 The UK financial sector has seen an influx of merger and acquisition (M&A) activity so far this year as investors look to capitalise on emerging opportunities in the market. Growing economic stability in both the private and public markets, following a period of instability caused by inflation and soaring interest rates, has sparked a renewed [...]
Tax: What should Reeves do in the Autumn Budget? August 27, 2025 As rumours swirl about which taxes Rachel Reeves may target this autumn, Tim Sarson lays out what the Chancellor can (and should) do.
The silent majority wants more homes August 27, 2025 It’s far too easy for a vocal minority who’ve already got their foot on the housing ladder to pull it up after themselves. A representative planning system will unlock the new homes we need, says Simon Clarke For decades, Britain’s planning system has been run by the same cast of characters: the colonel guarding his [...]
A plea from a data centre owner: Stop vilifying us! August 27, 2025 Vast, humming fortresses of silicon and steel, data centres are the unsung titans, not villains, of our digital age, writes Huw Owen Data centres are under siege – not from cyberattacks, but from headline writers. “Thirsty data centres are sucking up Britain’s scarce water supplies,” cried one recent report; another elsewhere warned that the government’s [...]
One in ten UK banking jobs at risk from AI August 27, 2025 Bankers across the UK could be on the chopping block as the industry piles billions into AI. The push into the modern tech will put some 27,000 roles at risk – representing ten per cent of the UK banking sector’s workforce. By 2030, banks across the country will have piled over £1.8bn into generative AI [...]
Try this City of London rooftop bar to cool off after boiling hot office days August 26, 2025 Our Toast the City Awards are celebrating the City’s top spots and takes place this October. This week: Wagtail rooftop bar and restaurant. During some months there are more Google searches for ‘London rooftop bars’ than ‘new London bars’ – and that’s true even in winter. It’s just one sign that the capital’s intense love-in with sky-high [...]