‘Sick at the desk’ workforce crisis costs UK economy billions every year October 8, 2026 Britain’s workforce health crisis isn’t happening on sick leave; it’s happening at the desk, as employees are working through illness and stress. Poor workforce health is estimated to cost the UK economy £241bn in lost productivity annually, according to claims in a new report by healthcare insurer Vitality, with mental ill-health being the single largest [...]
Retailers demand energy bill cuts as costs rise by £440m October 8, 2026 Retailers have urged John Healey to slash green policy costs from energy bills, warning that their electricity costs are set to soar by £440m this year. The British Retail Consortium (BRC) – which represents top retailers including Tesco, Sainsbury’s and Marks & Spencer – has warned that rising “policy costs” on energy bills will inevitably [...]
KBRA Releases Opal Group European CLO Summit Recap October 7, 2026 KBRA releases its recap of Opal Group’s European CLO Summit, held at the London Marriott Hotel Grosvenor Square on 6 October 2026. The conference brought together collateralised loan obligation (CLO) market participants who discussed the strong European issuance and investor demand, alongside tighter transaction economics, limited primary loan supply, and increasing credit dispersion. Panellists generally [...]
KBRA Assigns Preliminary Ratings to Merrion Square Residential 2026-1 DAC October 7, 2026 KBRA Europe (KBRA) assigns preliminary ratings to seven classes of notes to be issued by Merrion Square Residential 2026-1 DAC, a static RMBS securitisation collateralised by predominantly first lien, reperforming mortgage loans. As of 30 June 2026, the underlying collateral comprises a €635.2 million portfolio of secured mortgage loans. These mortgages are largely secured by [...]
Are rolling stocks about to go off the rails? October 7, 2026 Andy Burnham’s pricey plans for nationalisation and greater public control of services have thrust Thames Water, housebuilders and the care sector under the microscope. But while public attention has centred primarily on these British heavyweights, the process of bringing the UK’s passenger rail services back into state hands has chugged along quietly, leaving the question [...]
Peyton AI Launches Platform That Screens Medical Malpractice Cases in Minutes, Not Months October 7, 2026 Co-founded by veteran medical expert witness Dr. J.W. Rodney Peyton OBE, the platform gives law firms, insurers and health systems a source-cited read on case merit in minutes
Former Whitbread bosses mastermind takeover of Beefeater restaurants October 7, 2026 Former senior managers at Whitbread have advised on a deal to buy back nearly 60 restaurants from the group, after it wound up its Beefeater and Brewers Fayre chains last month. Common Table Group, a British hospitality firm, has agreed to buy 57 restaurant sites and one Premier Inn hotel from the FTSE 100 hotels [...]
Dutch consulting disruptor takes aim at City’s ‘five-to-one’ markup October 7, 2026 Sweav, a Dutch-founded freelance consulting platform, is launching in the UK to challenge the traditional professional services sector on pricing. Speaking to City AM, Joeri Schouten, co-founder of Sweav, said: “The UK is the biggest professional services market in Europe [but] the culture is still much more traditional, very hierarchical, and has an even more [...]
Why British entrepreneurs hold the key to the cost-of-living crisis October 7, 2026 Ahead of the upcoming Budget, entrepreneur Tom Inskip explains why rewarding risk-taking is the only way to build a thriving, future-proof British economy. For better or worse, most people in my life would call me a ferocious optimist. Someone once joked, “when Skippy sees a shit on the road, he’s immediately looking around the corner [...]
KBRA Releases Research – Opal Group European Private Credit & ABF Summit Recap October 6, 2026 KBRA releases its recap of Opal Group’s European Private Credit & ABF Summit, held at the London Marriott Hotel Grosvenor Square on 5 October 2026. The conference brought together market participants to discuss the performance and outlook for European private credit, the continued expansion of asset-based finance (ABF), and the growing use of fund finance, [...]