KBRA Assigns Preliminary Ratings to Harben Finance 2017-1 Plc September 18, 2026 KBRA UK (KBRA) assigns preliminary ratings to nine classes of notes issued by Harben Finance 2017-1 Plc (Harben 2017-1), a static RMBS securitisation collateralised by seasoned buy-to-let (BTL) mortgage loans. The portfolio, aggregating £512.1 million in current balance, consists of BTL loans secured by first lien residential properties located in England and Wales. Harben Finance [...]
XPeng G6: The Electric SUV with Business Appeal September 18, 2026 The Tesla Model Y may still dominate conversations in Canary Wharf car parks and City office charging bays. Still, a growing number of Chinese manufacturers are arriving with serious ambitions – and considerable technology, writes our motoring journalist Tim Barnes-Clay. XPeng is one of them. The Chinese EV marque officially entered the United Kingdom in [...]
Summer of sorrow: Property sector bears brunt of August administration spike September 18, 2026 Nearly 2,000 businesses went into insolvency in August as economic pressures and ongoing geopolitical tensions weighed on British firms. According to new figures the Insolvency Service released on Friday, 1,946 firms went into insolvency in England and Wales in August, flat compared to July and down from 2,007 in August 2025. The data showed that [...]
Explainer: What on Earth has the Bank of England done with its bond sale programme? September 18, 2026 The Bank of England chose to hold interest rates at 3.75 per cent on Thursday. But its unexpected overhaul of quantitative tightening could be far more consequential, says Ali Lyon. On days when the Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee decides the future of interest rates, that choice – and the thinking that goes into [...]
Mark my words: tax rises are coming September 18, 2026 After Rachel Reeves’ tax raids of over £40bn in her 2024 Budget and £26bn in the 2025 edition, it should be inconceivable that John Healey will come back for more. Yet all the sights point in that direction, says Emma Revell No City AM reader could be unaware that Britain’s current economic outlook is not [...]
Nationalise Thames Water and block private rescue deal, MPs tell Burnham September 18, 2026 Andy Burnham and his government are facing increasing pressure to take control of Thames Water after a group of MPs warned a rescue deal led by its creditors should be rejected. A group of the stricken utility’s lenders, known as London & Valley Water, is vying to seize control of the company in a £10bn [...]
Investec’s South Africa surge offsets cooling UK performance September 18, 2026 Investec doubled down on its full-year targets today after a surge in activity in South Africa helped offset a slump in the UK. The FTSE 100 lender projected earnings per share to land between 41.7p to 43.3p, a three per cent to seven per cent rise from the prior year. The growth projection was largely [...]
Next boss Wolfson tells Healey: ‘You can’t spend your way out of a crisis’ September 17, 2026 Lord Wolfson, Next’s chief executive, has urged Chancellor John Healey to cut spending at next month’s Budget, warning, “you can’t spend your way out of a funding crisis”. The retail boss has urged the government to clamp down on spending, avoid further tax hikes and slash planning red tape to boost economic growth. He told [...]
Bank of England holds interest rates and overhauls bond sale programme September 17, 2026 The Bank of England has kept interest rates on hold at a sixth consecutive meeting, but warned that they were likely to rise at future meetings unless the threat to energy markets posed by the Iran war begins to ease. The central bank’s Monetary Policy Committee voted six to three to leave rates unchanged, in [...]
Next lifts profit targets but sounds alarm on ‘vicious circle’ of high tax and low growth September 17, 2026 Next has lifted its profit target again following “much better” than expected trading in the first half of the year as the retailer was spurred on by booming international sales and record summer temperatures. The FTSE 100 retail giant saw sales across its group jump by nine per cent in the six months to July, [...]