Vitality: Health and life insurer slips into the red despite £100m sales boost February 19, 2025 Health and life insurer Vitality slipped into the red despite its revenue surging by almost £100m during its latest financial year, it has been revealed. The London-headquartered group has posted a loss before income tax of £168,000 for the 12 months to 30 June, 2024, after having achieved a profit of £37.9m in the prior [...]
Barclays and Natwest drop climate targets from executive bonuses February 18, 2025 Banking giants Barclays and Natwest will both drop climate targets from their annual bonus schemes for senior executives. The move reflects a wider shift underway in the corporate world, removing a formal link between climate and diversity targets and remuneration. Both lenders will cut sustainability metrics as performance measures from annual award schemes, and instead roll [...]
Where AI in law is actually heading February 18, 2025 It's not quite lawyer robots, but AI is already profoundly reshaping the way the courtroom works. Paul Armstrong tells us how.
Fan pressure tells as Liverpool freeze ticket prices for next season February 17, 2025 Premier League leaders Liverpool have bowed to supporter pressure and frozen ticket prices for next season. The decision to increase prices by two per cent this term sparked fan protests and accusations of greed being aimed at the club’s US owners, Fenway Sports Group. But there will be no repeat for the 2025-26 campaign after [...]
Assura: FTSE 250 firm rejects £1.5bn takeover approach February 17, 2025 FTSE 250 healthcare real estate investment trust Assura has rejected a takeover offer worth more than £1.5m – the fourth such deal it has turned down in the last six months it has been revealed. The Altrincham-headquartered business hit the headlines at the end of last week when it emerged it had been approached by [...]
Britons, our businesses need YOU to take risks February 17, 2025 Brits have become too cautious, and business is suffering because of it. It's time for us all to embrace risk, writes Chris Hayward.
City of London great and good raise record £160k for School of Hard Knocks February 14, 2025 The City of London’s best, brightest, great and good descended on Threadneedle Street’s M Restaurant as a record £161,000 was raised at the annual School of Hard Knocks Long Lunch. Leading City stalwarts including Champions Cup sponsors Investec were joined by the likes of Firethorn Trust, Clarksons, Falko, England international Andy Gomarsall, LBC’s Nick Ferrari [...]
Natwest skims past profit expectations February 14, 2025 Natwest narrowly beat analysts’ annual profit expectations after posting a bump in its consumer lending. The FTSE 100 lender posted a £6.2bn pre-tax profit, ahead of £6.1bn pencilled in by analysts and up 0.3 per cent on 2023. Net loans to customers hit £368.5bn, an increase of £12.9bn, which reflected Natwest’s acquisition of Metro Bank’s [...]
RFU criticised for lack of consultation over bonus row engulfing Sweeney February 13, 2025 An independent review of the bonus controversy engulfing the Rugby Football Union and its chief executive Bill Sweeney has criticised a lack of consultation with the RFU Council. The review, conducted by law firm Freshfields, backed the RFU’s design and implementation of its long-term incentive plan (LTIP), which saw Sweeney receive a £358,000 bonus last [...]
The public isn’t buying Labour’s growth story February 13, 2025 Today’s growth figures will have elicited a sigh of relief across the government. A meagre 0.1 per cent uptick is certainly better than a recession. Though the news is not all good. The economy is smaller on a per capita terms, and when you dig down into the data, private sector activity is shrinking. An [...]