New planning rules ‘could blight high streets with empty pubs’ August 18, 2026 Angela Rayner’s attempt to stop pubs being redeveloped into offices and housing could “blight high streets” with empty venues, property experts have warned. The housing secretary has unveiled reforms to planning rules which mean that developers can only turn a pub into housing or an office if there is no reasonable prospect that it can [...]
Diageo boss ‘drastic’ Dave Lewis eyes £20m pay deal as 2,000 jobs slashed August 18, 2026 Diageo boss Sir Dave Lewis could take home as much as £20m in pay for the next year, it has emerged, while the drinks giant sheds 2,000 staff. The chief executive of the Guinness and Smirnoff maker could make as much as £20m in the year to June 2027, though he is more likely to [...]
Gradiant Expands US Operations with New Leadership, Office Openings, and Long-Term Services Contracts August 18, 2026 Every microchip, data center, and megawatt of AI capacity depends on water. Today, Gradiant, the water layer of the AI economy, announced a series of milestones reinforcing its ability to solve that constraint across the United States: a new US leadership hire, three new offices, a new innovation center, and long-term services contracts, including one [...]
Citi Unveils Custody+: A Suite of Near- and Real-time Custody Solutions to Meet Always-On Industry Demand August 18, 2026 As capital markets become increasingly always-on, Citi Investor Services’ innovative and modular ecosystem of solutions is redefining custody infrastructure for the future Highlights: Citi is redefining custody infrastructure to support clients’ diverse operating models as the industry shifts towards continuous markets, compressed settlement cycles and technology disruption With the U.S. rollout of real-time asset servicing through its Single Event Processing technology, over 80% of Citi’s total event volume is being processed in real-time These advancements further Citi Services’ platform strategy to build scalable and modern infrastructure with a strong data and AI foundation
The Summer Slowdown can become a thing of the past August 18, 2026 Every year through July and August, the same trend resurfaces across corporate Britain: the pace slows, offices empty and productivity dips. This summer, that has been more pronounced than ever. Britain is about to weather a record-breaking fifth heatwave of the year. Some of London’s biggest firms have slackened their in-the-office mandates and given staff [...]
London Gatwick hotel owner plans swanky 18,000-capacity sport arena August 18, 2026 A Canadian property tycoon whose portfolio includes a hotel by Gatwick Airport is planning an 18,000-capacity arena for one of his sports teams. Tom Gaglardi is hoping to have a new arena up and running for the start of the 2031 hockey season, with his franchise’s existing lease running out in five years. The Dallas [...]
London Sports Festival Extends Padel at Hay’s Galleria Following Continued Demand August 18, 2026 Central London Alliance has announced that the hugely popular London Sports Festival padel court at Hay’s Galleria has been extended until 18 October, giving even more people the opportunity to experience one of the world’s fastest-growing sports in one of London’s most iconic riverside destinations. Originally scheduled to conclude in August, the extension follows continued [...]
City law firm sues prominent Emirati business family August 18, 2026 London-headquartered law firm Charles Russell Speechlys has initiated legal action against investment entities controlled by the prominent Emirati business family Al-Sari, City AM can reveal, marking the latest development in an ongoing multi-jurisdictional dispute with its former client. The case stems from overlapping legal challenges involving entities in the Al-Sari family’s portfolio. The law firm, [...]
Labour backbencher adds to criticism of stamp duty on shares August 17, 2026 A Labour backbencher with experience in the financial services sector has urged Healey to reconsider stamp duty on shares in UK trading. Callum Anderson, the Labour MP for Buckingham and Bletchley, set out a list of growth policies for Healey to prioritise at the Budget. The proposals break from some of the party’s current economic [...]
The Expensify Visa® Commercial Card Brings New Proactive Spend Controls to 14 Countries August 17, 2026 New admin-defined spend rules let businesses control how, where, and when every card is used, stopping the wrong spend before it happens instead of cleaning it up after.