Private market allocations reach record high as investors pump in £4.7 trillion January 28, 2026 Global private market allocations from institutional investors have reached record highs, with many planning to increase their allocations over the next few years. Private markets have risen to represent 12.5 per cent of overall portfolio allocations, accounting for $6.5 trillion (£4.7 trillion) of assets under management, according to the latest study from Aviva Investors. North [...]
Banking and insurance to drive financial M&As after 2025 frenzy January 7, 2026 Deals in the financial services sector are expected to be “robust” in the year to come, following a burst of activity from the banking and insurance sector in 2025. UK banks, insurers and asset managers publicly disclosed 337 deals last year. Whilst this dipped down from the record high of 378 in 2024, the value [...]
Mark Kleinman: Out of the frying pan and into the furnace for UK steel December 4, 2025 Mark Kleinman is Sky News’ City Editor and the man who gets the Square Mile talking in his weekly City AM column Out of the frying pan and into the furnace for UK steel Death knells and the British steel industry have made uncomfortably common bedfellows in recent years. All three of the country’s biggest steelworks – including [...]
Labour’s war on pensioners punishes people for doing the right thing December 3, 2025 The government wants to mandate how pension funds should invest – a clear breech of fiduciary duty that puts people’s life savings at risk, says Helen Whately and Mark Garnier Labour is waging a war on savers. This should be a big story, but it’s been drowned out in the cacophony of the Budget unravelling. [...]
Shoplifting ‘epidemic’ and AI data centre demand help Mitie revenue surge November 20, 2025 Rising demand for shop security guards and AI data centres have helped drive a surge in sales for security and engineering services company Mitie. The FTSE 250 business, which has more than 80,000 staff, saw a 12 per cent rise in revenue from security services to £580m in the six months to end September, fueled [...]
Aviva sign deal worth £4.5m per season for major stadium November 11, 2025 Insurance giant Aviva has extended its stadium sponsorship agreement for Dublin’s Aviva Stadium through until 2030 in a deal reportedly worth around £4.5m per season. The 51,000-capacity Lansdowne Road site has been sponsored by the London headquartered insurance firm since 2010 and the new deal – with the Irish rugby and football unions – is [...]
Six Nations should stage Ireland matches in USA, but not England ones November 7, 2025 There have been calls this week for Six Nations matches to be played in the United States, and I agree. But it should never be England crossing the Atlantic, and should almost always be Ireland. Andy Farrell’s Ireland successfully staged an epic spectacle at Soldier Field in Chicago against New Zealand. The game was pretty [...]
New Principality Stadium naming rights deal ‘challenging’, says former negotiator October 30, 2025 The timing of a new deal for the naming rights of Cardiff’s Principality Stadium has been described as “challenging for Welsh rugby” given the state of the game across the River Severn. The 73,931-capacity stadium on the banks of the Taff is the fourth largest in the UK and plays host to the Wales rugby [...]
FTSE 100 Live: BBVA Sabadell bid falls through, tax rises in focus October 17, 2025 Good morning from the City AM liveblog team. Rachel Reeves isn’t going to introduce a Wealth Tax, but she is going to tax the wealthy. She isn’t going to impose austerity, but she is going to get spending under control. Confused? Speculation over the contents of next month’s Budget has reached fever pitch, and it’s [...]
Former Aviva chief executive dies in car crash October 16, 2025 The former UK boss of insurance giant Aviva has died in a car crash, after his vehicle collided with a tree. David Barral, who held senior roles as Aviva Life and Pensions, was driving his Aston Martin when it crashed on the A58 between Bardsey and Collingham just outside his native Leeds on Tuesday. “We [...]