Are Britain’s independent pubs doomed? December 28, 2025 2025 has been a year of diverging fortunes for pubs. Listed pub chains – particularly those with a strong presence in London – are reporting record sales, buoyed by higher consumer spending and increased footfall as workers return to their offices. Independent pubs, meanwhile, are closing at the fastest rate this century, blaming unfriendly government [...]
Mastercard issues winding up petition against London fintech Guavapay December 26, 2025 Hundreds of jobs could be at risk as London fintech Guavapay faces a winding up petition from payments giant Mastercard over unpaid sums, City AM can reveal. The firm, which employs more than 500 staff and manages cross-border money transfers for individuals and businesses, was issued the notice on Christmas Eve, according to court filings [...]
The London IPOs to look out for in 2026 December 26, 2025 The year 2025 will not, it is safe to say, go down in history as a blockbuster one for London IPOs. Over its first nine months, the UK capital’s bourse was even languishing below its of Omani and Mexican counterparts when it came to capital raised at market debuts. We can take some consolation from [...]
Starmer threatens Abramovich with court over £2.5bn Chelsea proceeds December 17, 2025 Prime Minister Keir Starmer has vowed to take Roman Abramovich to court unless he hands over the £2.5bn proceeds from his sale of Chelsea FC to humanitarian causes in Ukraine. The huge windfall has been frozen in a UK bank account since May 2022, when the sanctioned Russian oligarch sold Chelsea to a US consortium [...]
Armed forces chief to warn ‘whole nation must step up’ amid Russian threat December 15, 2025 Growing threats faced by the UK will require “our whole nation stepping up” to ensure the country can continue to function in a crisis, the head of the British armed forces will warn. Chief of the defence staff Sir Richard Knighton will say the situation is “more dangerous than I have known during my career” [...]
Brits may have to hand over social media profiles to visit US December 10, 2025 US officials will vet the social media activity of Brits travelling into the US as President Trump increasingly turns his fire on a “decaying” and “weak” Europe. Those planning to visit on short term Esta visas would have to give personal details of family members, including dates and places of birth, and phone numbers used [...]
Meet the antinatalists who say having children is ‘cruel and unethical’ December 4, 2025 An increasingly vocal group says having children is at best selfish and at worst a moral crime. Cosmic Thapa meets the antinatalists When we arrive at Speakers’ Corner, an ambulance is parked on the pavement, its blue lights flashing over the crowd as police patrol the perimeter. Preachers balance on step stools waving holy books [...]
The best short haul Christmas break is not where you think December 2, 2025 Vilnius in Lithuania blends modern Christmas traditions with a strong heritage for the festive season. Daniel Edward gets into the spirit Vilnius is this year’s European Christmas Capital and with three daily flights from London, it’s an easy festive getaway. So I hopped on LOT’s evening flight from London City Airport to join the city’s [...]
World is scariest it’s been since Cold War, BAE Systems boss warns December 2, 2025 The world is “probably the scariest it’s been” since the Cold War, the chief financial officer of FTSE 100 defence giant BAE Systems has warned. Brad Greve said the governments BAE Systems supplies “see a risk environment that’s unprecedented” and that the company’s “mission of protecting those who protect us is more important than it [...]
Revolut co-founder Nik Storonsky changes his name as new ID rules introduced November 17, 2025 The co-founder of Revolut has changed his name on Companies House ahead of the introduction of new identity verification rules. Nik Storonsky has changed the spelling of his official name as a Revolut director to Nik Storonskiy, corporate filings show, in a move thought to align the spelling with how it appears on other official [...]