CMA to investigate Aviva’s £3.7bn Direct Line deal May 14, 2025 The UK’s competition watchdog has begun an investigation into insurance giant Aviva’s proposed £3.7bn acquisition of Direct Line. The Competition and Markets Authority said it had commenced its phase one inquiry to establish whether the deal would result in a “realistic prospect of a substantial lessening of competition.” The CMA has invited comment on the [...]
Pension funds sign Mansion House Accord in £50bn boost to UK May 13, 2025 The UK economy could be about to receive a £50bn cash injection after Britain’s biggest pension funds pledged to redirect resources into private markets in a major policy shift. The voluntary, non-binding agreement by the funds, dubbed the Mansion House Accord, will see increased investment into major infrastructure projects as well as greater venture capital [...]
Scottish Widows abandons Mansion House pension funds agreement May 13, 2025 One of the UK’s largest pension funds has ditched a key agreement seen as crucial to Chancellor Rachel Reeves’ push to drive growth. Scottish Widows has not signed up to the second iteration of the Mansion House Compact, despite having thrown its weight behind an earlier version of the plans. The original pact saw 11 [...]
Self-employed? Don’t forget to set up a pension May 12, 2025 Self-employment comes with the benefits of being your own boss – you can set your own hours, workload and work from wherever you’d like. However, it also comes with the paperwork that your boss would otherwise handle. While the focus can quickly shift to taxes, it’s crucial not to forget to set up your own [...]
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. [...]
Lloyd’s of London selects Patrick Tiernan for CEO position May 8, 2025 Lloyd's of London appointed Patrick Tiernan as its chief executive officer after John Neal revealed in January is was going to step down
Northampton Saints a Champions Cup tonic for English Premiership May 6, 2025 With Northampton Saints in the Investec Champions Cup final, the English Premiership has a representative for the first time since 2020. At the end of January former Investec Champions Cup winners Exeter Chiefs were dumped out of the competition without a win to their name, Premiership leaders and title favourites Bath were dumped out with [...]
Saints and Bordeaux prove Champions Cup magic remains May 5, 2025 Whether or not you are a betting person you only needed to have a gander at the bookmakers’ predictions for the Investec Champions Cup semi-finals to get a good read on how each of the two matches last weekend should have gone. The first semi-final of the weekend saw tournament favourites Leinster host English champions [...]
Champions Cup prize money: Why profits in semis are shared May 2, 2025 As the Investec Champions Cup semi-finals get underway, why are the clubs involved not guaranteed all of the profits generated? Over the last couple of days the Uefa Champions League semi-finals have played out at London’s Emirates Stadium and Barcelona’s Estadi Olimpic Lluis Companys. The final four teams are battling for prize money that could [...]
Mercer: Pension funds need better pick of UK investments for key deal to work May 1, 2025 The government’s proposed pensions deal will not boost growth unless better UK investment opportunities are put on offer, the boss of one of Britain’s biggest funds has warned. In an interview with City AM, Benoit Hudon suggested a stronger pipeline of UK assets was needed as current options did not deliver good enough returns for [...]