City regulator: Concentration poses risk to markets October 8, 2024 The boss of the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) said “herding behaviour” and “market concentration” were posing new risks to the financial markets today as he warned investors to brace for volatility in the long term. Speaking at the regulator’s market conference in Westminster, Nikhil Rathi said excessive daily swings had become a bigger concern to [...]
Brooks Macdonald buys financial advisor amid takeover rumours October 8, 2024 Brooks Macdonald has bought independent financial advisor LIFT in a deal worth up to £45m, as takeover rumours swirl around the group. LIFT has £1.6bn in assets under advice, with £600m of this being funds under management. The firm is headquartered in Greater Manchester, with offices in London and Edinburgh, and has around 1,400 clients, [...]
Cinch and Webuyanycar owner slashes loss despite used and electric cars woes October 8, 2024 The owner of Cinch and Webuyanycar slashed its loss almost in half despite suffering a sharp drop in the value of used cars in 2023. Constellation Automotive, whose brands also include Marshall Motor Group and BCA, has reported a pre-tax loss of £74.4m for the year to 31 March, 2024, down from the loss of [...]
Mike Ashley’s Frasers bets big on brick-and-mortar with 1m sq ft of new shopping malls October 8, 2024 Mike Ashley-owned Frasers group has announced the acquisition of over one million square feet of retail space across three shopping centres in a huge new bet on physical retail. The shopping centres – in Exeter, Maistone and Gloucester – have a combined annual footfall of almost 17 million visitors and 1.015 million square feet. The [...]
ESG management platform FuturePlus closes £2.7M Seed raise October 8, 2024 The Sustainability Group, developers of sustainability management and ESG reporting platform FuturePlus (add Hyperlink: https://www.future-plus.co.uk/), has closed its latest round. Overfunding in this round, The Sustainability Group secured a 5x increase in its valuation in just under 3 years, taking its total investment to £2.7 million to date. The Sustainability Group will invest the funds [...]
Coldplay Moon Music review: Could this be perfect pop? October 8, 2024 Every now and then I find myself considering the fine margins between major and minor success. I remember, for instance, a gig I attended at the turn of the millennium at the Nottingham Arena performed by the band Travis. In those days, like their rivals Coldplay, they could easily fill a stadium of 10,000 people. [...]
Ofwat orders water firms to pay £157.6m for missing performance targets October 8, 2024 Water companies will have to pay a £157.6m penalty after missing key targets on reducing pollution, leaks and supply interruptions while customer satisfaction continues to fall, Ofwat has said. Not one company achieved the regulator’s top category of “leading” while Anglian Water, Welsh Water and Southern Water fell into the lowest category of “lagging” while [...]
Record number of millionaires to leave UK as top academics join calls for exit tax October 8, 2024 The UK is set to lose the greatest proportion of millionaires in the world in the next four years, new analysis suggests, as a group of respected academics joined growing calls for Rachel Reeves to introduce an exit tax at the upcoming Budget. The Adam Smith Institute’s (ASI) Millionaire Tracker – a new initiative from [...]
UK’s cash-strapped fintechs brace for buyouts as London IPOs stall October 8, 2024 Amid a dearth of IPO activity, the UK's fintech sector is bracing for more consolidation as successful start-ups expand and established players fend off future rivals.
Social impact investors demonstrate ‘stability’ as market hits £10bn October 8, 2024 Britain’s social impact investment market has “once again” grown, as investors show confidence within impactful investments, a new report has revealed. According to an annual assessment by one of the UK’s largest impact investors, Better Society Capital, the social impact investment market jumped seven per cent in 2023 to £10bn, up from £9.4bn in 2022. [...]