Defence secretary tells City sector is ‘open for business’ May 13, 2025 Defence secretary John Healey has unveiled plans to open a “marketplace” that will allow suppliers from different areas of the economy to support defence firms, telling an audience at the London Stock Exchange that “UK defence is open for business.” Healey announced the new scheme linking up the defence sector with companies in software, data [...]
British Airways bets on AI to shake off delays May 13, 2025 British Airways has revealed that a major push into artificial intelligence has started to pay off. The UK flag carrier reports an improvement in punctuality after years of cancellations, IT meltdowns, and operational chaos. Chief executive Sean Doyle described the new AI systems as ‘game changing’, claiming they have helped reduce delays and cancellations that [...]
UK to increase ‘very high talent’ immigration in new plans May 12, 2025 The number of people arriving on “very high talent routes” will be increased despite efforts to slash immigration levels. The proposals are set out in a section titled ‘global talent’ in Labour’s immigration white paper, which was published on Monday morning and largely focussed on plans to cut net migration from a peak of over [...]
To deliver growth, Lloyd’s of London’s new CEO has to be ruthless May 12, 2025 In order for Lloyd's of London to prosper, Patrick Tiernan must be ruthless in his leadership, writes LMA CEO Sheila Cameron.
Deliveroo’s sale reignites fear over UK’s tech exodus May 9, 2025 When London-headquartered Deliveroo announced in early May that it had agreed to be acquired by US delivery giant Doordash, it triggered more than just a major shakeup in the food tech sector. To many in the industry, it was a familiar story – yet another prominent British tech firm snapped up by an overseas buyer. [...]
Are we witnessing the slow death of advertising holding companies? May 5, 2025 The feted founder of AKQA, Ajaz Ahmed, has launched a new agency that promises to take on the “slow, bureaucratic” ad groups that since the pandemic have have been labouring under stagnant revenues and falling share prices. Ali Lyon asks: “Are those holding companies on borrowed time?” Ajaz Ahmed is not a man to shy [...]
Microsoft shares jump after AI bets pay off May 1, 2025 Microsoft shares surged over six per cent in after hours trading on Wednesday after the tech giant delivered another quarter of better than expected earnings, driven by its booming cloud and artificial intelligence (AI) businesses. The company posted revenue of $70.1bn (£52.5bn) for the quarter ending in March, up 13 per cent year on year, [...]
London’s AI surge at risk from skills crunch, Amazon warns April 30, 2025 London businesses are embracing artificial intelligence (AI) faster and more comprehensively than the rest of the UK, but the capital’s acute digital skills shortage risks limiting the broader economic gains from this progress. New research from Amazon Web Services (AWS) revealed exclusively to City AM that 67 per cent of London-based businesses have now adopted [...]
Supply, skills and sustainability: futureproofing procurement for the UK April 30, 2025 UK procurement professionals face a range of challenges in the next few years, from global political and economic uncertainty to recruitment and making the most of technology. Procurement in the UK is changing. The wider environment, with political uncertainty coupled with economic volatility, makes for a challenging landscape. Procurement is increasingly tasked with striking the [...]
Construction firms lose hope but businesses are ‘showing resilience’ April 30, 2025 Construction firms have grown despondent about their business prospects despite signs of resilience across the UK economy, a new survey has found. The sector is key to the housing secretary Angela Rayner’s plans to build 1.5m homes by 2030 though early signs suggest the ambitious target will not be met. Construction saw a bigger drop [...]