UK retail sales bounce back as Brits enjoyed warmest June on record July 25, 2025 Sales for UK retailers rose last month as Britons enjoyed the warmest June on record, which helped drive sales of food and drink, according to official figures. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said overall retail sales volume rose by 0.9 per cent in June, following a 2.8 per cent fall in May, as consumers [...]
FCA urges UK insurers to improve motor insurance claim handling July 22, 2025 UK insurers have been urged to improve their claim handling skills after the UK’s financial watchdog found “concerning evidence” of poor practice in the motor insurance market. The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) said hikes in motor insurance premiums were down to how claims are handled by insurers, adding that “insufficient management information” was resulting in [...]
FCA softens remortgaging rules in dash for growth July 22, 2025 The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is set to remove red tape on remortgaging in the latest sign public bodies are tearing up their rulebooks to align with the government’s growth agenda. In new measures introduced by the City regulator, mortgage holders will be able to reduce the terms of their borrowing and switch to new [...]
FTSE 100 giant ICG bulks up as demand for alternatives grows July 16, 2025 Global alternative asset manager Intermediate Capital Group (ICG) experienced a strong first quarter of its 2025 financial year, as investor appetite for private equity-style returns continued to grow. The London-listed firm raised $3.4bn (£2.5bn) in the three months to June 30. This was led by ICG’s Europe IX fund, which targets mid-caps across the region, [...]
‘Golden opportunity’ for European equities, says CEO of stock exchange SIX July 16, 2025 Europe must seize a “golden opportunity” for the revival of its capital markets, the boss of one of the continent’s biggest stock exchange businesses has said, as he called for stronger retail participation in equities to keep pace with the US. Six CEO Bjorn Sibbern, who earlier this month completed the £225m takeover of London-based [...]
Starling mulls US listing in blow to Rachel Reeves’ fintech push July 15, 2025 The finance boss of Starling Bank has confirmed the firm is open to a US listing in a blow to Rachel Reeves’ hopes for a fintech-powered London market revival. Declan Ferguson, the chief financial officer of Starling, said the fintech had not formed a “concrete view” on which market the neobank would be most suited [...]
Exclusive: Panmure Liberum to ‘reinvigorate’ City market with banking tie-up July 15, 2025 Investment bank Panmure Liberum has joined forces with Nedbank in a push to expand their reach across equity capital markets and drive dual-listings across the UK and South Africa. London-headquartered Panmure will collaborate with Nedbank’s corporate and investment banking division to produce equity research across UK and South African markets. The deal aims to provide [...]
Buy UK: City stocks set for boost from Trump’s trade war with EU July 14, 2025 As the chaos around President Donald Trump’s erratic tariff agenda shows no sign of abating, brokers have thrown their weight behind UK stocks. Just this weekend, Trump threatened escalations with Mexico and the EU before slapping a 30 per cent levy on the 27-state bloc from August 1. But among the geopolitical noise, the UK [...]
UK’s financial services stronghold slips July 10, 2025 The UK’s position as a financial services leader has cracked as under-investment and staff reductions weigh on the sector. Nearly half of senior financial professionals believe the UK’s dominance is waning, research from the CRIF found. Over 40 per cent said they would no longer consider the country a global leader in the industry. Sara [...]
FTSE 100 smashes intra day high as investors call Trump’s bluff July 10, 2025 The FTSE 100 surpassed its all-time high on Thursday with investors unfazed by the latest barrage of trade threats from President Donald Trump. The UK’s flagship index rallied over one per cent in morning trading to over 8,970. This topped a previous intra-day record of 8,908.82 set on March 3. Miners pioneered Thursday’s jump with [...]