Defence and immigration help Serco weather outsourcing pressure June 25, 2026 Serco said a boost in defence contracts and higher demand for its immigration services across Europe helped offset delays in its North America business, as it reiterated guidance for the year. The FTSE 250 outsourcing group said revenue for the first six months of the year is expected to rise around three per cent to [...]
Halfords shares rev up as garage growth drives return to profit June 25, 2026 Halfords shares have boomed after it smashed analyst expectations to turn a £44m profit, in a sign that the motoring and cycling retailer’s turnaround is beginning to gain pace. The company notched a £43.6m pre-tax profit in the year to April, returning to the black after last year’s £30m loss, as revenue grew five per [...]
US glue maker swoops on AIM-listed manufacturer in £659m deal June 25, 2026 A US glue maker is set to hand London’s junior stock market another blow after snapping up medtech firm Advanced Medical Solutions. HB Fuller said on Thursday it would acquire the AIM-listed company in a deal that values it at £659m. The US manufacturer – which specialises in industrial adhesives and chemical products – offered [...]
Easyjet rejects fourth bid but holds out for ‘more attractive’ offer June 25, 2026 Easyjet has slapped down suitor Castlelake for a fourth time but said it was open to a “more attractive proposal” from the US private equity firm. The budget airline revealed on Thursday it had rejected a £6.50 per share bid, which valued it at £4.9bn, saying that Castlelake was “substantially undervaluing the company and its [...]
Is football eating itself? Not before it eats other sports first June 25, 2026 The World Cup has become so big that it now puts all other sports in the shade, laments Ed Warner. I remember the summer of 1976 as a swathe of bleached playing fields, jumpers for goalposts and pick-up games of cricket. There happened to be an international football tournament that June, but I defy anyone [...]
Revealed: Secret Treasury plan to tax State Pension before it is paid out June 25, 2026 The Treasury is drawing up plans to automatically withhold income tax from the State Pension before it is paid out to recipients, Morning Wire can reveal, in a move which flies in the face of previous assurances by Chancellor Rachel Reeves that she would not “go after” elderly Brits with fresh tax demands. The proposal, [...]
As it happened: Stocks higher as oil price sinks; Reeves makes bid to stay as Chancellor June 25, 2026 Welcome back to the Morning Wire liveblog. The price of oil is heading lower this morning as the outlook around the Strait of Hormuz improves. Brent crude – the international benchmark for oil prices – tumbled below $73 per barrel, extending losses for a fourth consecutive session. These moves helped wipe out all the gains [...]
Lloyd’s deputy chair: The City is a club in the best sense June 25, 2026 Each week, we dig into the memory bank of the City's great and good. Today, Vicky Carter tells us about Lloyd's first female deputy chair.
Luminance’s boss: Why building our own AI beats ‘rented intelligence’ June 25, 2026 Amid a surge of legal AI tech firms coming to market, concerns are emerging about ‘rented intelligence,’ with some companies criticised for simply putting their logos on technology developed by others. In contrast, Luminance insists it is focused on the bigger picture, betting its future on AI models it has built in-house. Speaking to City [...]
‘Streets ahead’ – London aims to wear the legal AI crown June 25, 2026 New York may have the money, but London is trying to claim the ‘global capital of legal AI’ crown, writes Maria Ward-Brennan. In the midst of a brutal transatlantic talent war, where US firms are driving salaries through the roof and aggressively poaching top talent across the City, London has quietly secured a major strategic [...]