FTSE 250 facilities manager swept off London Stock Exchange in £3.1bn deal July 21, 2026 Mitie is set to become the latest company picked off the London Stock Exchange, after agreeing to a £3.1bn takeover by UK rival OCS. The global facilities management company agreed to pay 221.6p in cash for the firm, comprising 218.5p per Mitie share and a final dividend of up to 3.1p. The offer price is [...]
Burnham premiership begins with decline in job postings July 21, 2026 Andy Burnham’s premiership has kicked off with disconcerting news for job seekers, setting up new government ministers for a difficult few months in supporting the UK labour market. The Office for National Statistics revealed that the number of vacancies fell by 7,000 between April and June, with the biggest falls coming in areas such as [...]
Mike Ashley’s Frasers ups stake in Hugo Boss as takeover pressure mounts July 21, 2026 Frasers Group has pushed its stake in Hugo Boss above the threshold forcing it to make an offer for the whole firm, piling pressure on the German fashion house to accept its £1.7bn bid. The fashion group, which owns Sports Direct and Flannels, said on Tuesday that it had bought 2.5m new shares in Hugo [...]
Four charts revealing scale of Andy Burnham’s economic challenge July 21, 2026 Andy Burnham has harboured ambitions to be Prime Minister for over a decade. But the economy he is inheriting will take the shine off his lofty hopes – just look at these four charts. As he stepped out onto Downing Street for the first time as Prime Minster, Andy Burnham allowed himself to break out [...]
As it happened: Stocks rally as defence shares surge on John Healey as Chancellor July 21, 2026 Welcome back to the Morning Wire FTSE 100 liveblog. It’s Tuesday and the markets have been adjusting to the first full day of Andy Burnham’s Labour government. Burnham shocked Westminster and the City on Monday evening when he appointed John Healey as his Chancellor, just weeks after he had resigned in protest as defence secretary. [...]
UK fintech Pockit recruits founder of Burger King Kazakhstan July 21, 2026 A top British fintech has hired the founder of Burger King’s Kazakhstan franchise in an eye-catching board appointment. The Cardiff-based business, which offers prepaid accounts to customers without a credit score, has recruited Kazakh businessman Anuar Utemuratov to become a director, according to company filings seen by Morning Wire. Utemuratov worked as an analyst for [...]
A photography expert’s guide to the best images from the World Cup July 21, 2026 After a thrilling World Cup, Morning Wire Picture Editor Andy Blackmore ranks his favourite images from the tournament. Aside from war, about the only other human experience that spans such a wide range of emotions is sport. Of all the sports, perhaps football is the most emotive, and photographers at the World Cup hold the [...]
Tate & Lyle faces shareholder revolt over executive pay July 21, 2026 London Stock Exchange stalwart Tate & Lyle faces an investor revolt over its chief executive’s salary after failing to address shareholder concerns about its executive-level pay. The FTSE 250 ingredients firm could be overruled by its investors at its annual general meeting (AGM) on Wednesday after coming under pressure from a leading shareholder advisory firm. [...]
British Business Bank cuts jobs in automation push July 21, 2026 The British Business Bank slashed its headcount in the last year as the government-owned economic development bank underwent a major restructuring. The bank – which backs loans from financial institutions in a bid to drive up UK small business lending – said in its annual report “a number of colleagues were placed at risk under [...]
Dimon threatens to ditch JP Morgan tower in tax warning to Burnham July 21, 2026 The boss of JP Morgan has refused to commit to the future of the bank’s planned £10bn tower in Canary Wharf as he warned Andy Burnham’s new government against penalising the banking sector with a raft of new taxes. Jamie Dimon, the chief executive of the US financial behemoth, said he hoped that London would [...]