St James’s Place suffers £1bn hit to flows as investors look to dodge pension tax July 29, 2026 St James’s Place took a £1bn hit to net inflows in the first half of the year as investors pulled cash from its funds to dodge market volatility and a looming pension tax bill. Net inflows declined from £3.8bn to £2.7bn in the first half of the year, in line with analyst expectations. The group [...]
Ofgem targets speculative AI data centres to free up Britain’s energy grid July 29, 2026 Ofgem has announced plans to stop speculative AI data centre projects clogging up Britain’s electricity grid, after applications for new power connections more than tripled in less than a year. The energy regulator is consulting on a new upfront commitment fee for large data centre developers, alongside tougher rules requiring projects to prove they are [...]
Record Interactive Investor inflows drives profit rise at Aberdeen July 29, 2026 A surge in inflows at Interactive Investor helped wealth firm Aberdeen achieve rising profit in the first half of the year. The investment platform signed up tens of thousands of new customers, growing customer numbers by 14 per cent to 525,000 over the period, as the firm won out against rivals in the battle to [...]
Rathbones suffers near £1bn net outflows as it braces for FCA probe fallout July 29, 2026 Rathbones took a near-£1bn hit in net outflows in the first half of the year as it braces for further costs from a probe into the company following concerns raised by the financial watchdog. The wealth manager said it will take a knock from costs to improve its operations after a review by the Financial [...]
‘You can blame us’: The firm that sparked accountancy private equity gold rush July 29, 2026 Blick Rothenberg’s chief executive, Nimesh Shah, told Morning Wire the firm ‘killed’ the traditional partnership model a decade ago, and now stands as the blueprint that every mid-tier accountancy competitor is trying to emulate. City-based Blick Rothenberg is widely recognised as the first major UK accountancy firm to receive private equity backing, after HgCapital invested [...]
If Andy Burnham really wants to help NEETs he should rule out tax rises July 29, 2026 Andy Burnham’s announcements on technical education are welcome, but they will be meaningless if young people have no jobs to move into. The Budget will be the real test of how he plans to grow the economy, says Georgiana Bristol Andy Burnham has descended from the North with an array of new pledges and spending [...]
Silly season is upon us but politics will get serious soon enough July 29, 2026 In May, Reform MP Danny Kruger unveiled a substantial piece of work “setting out Reform’s plans for the centre of government, shaped by the research of the Preparation for Government team.” His 5,000 word article went into huge detail about the structural changes his party intends to make to Whitehall and the machinery of government. [...]
Second time lucky for Lucy Rigby? July 29, 2026 The Square Mile has welcomed its fifth City minister in two years and a familiar face is back in the hot seat- but can she deliver? Few tears were shed in the City when it became clear that Rachel Reeves would be out of Number 11 Downing Street. Yet the surprise return of her erstwhile [...]
‘Scale is survival’: UK broadcasters race to merge as streaming giants squeeze revenues July 29, 2026 British broadcasters are turning to mergers as television revenues come under pressure from streaming services, YouTube and online ads, according to Ofcom. The media regulator’s annual Media Nations report found commercial broadcaster revenues fell from £4.98bn to £4.83bn in 2025, despite the wider TV and online video market growing seven per cent to £18.4bn. Growth [...]
Healey faces £24bn spending squeeze as inflation puts tax rises in play July 29, 2026 Chancellor John Healey is facing a £24bn real terms squeeze on the public purse due to higher inflation and will be forced to hike takes to fund the government’s spending plans, a top think tank has warned. Price growth will peak at 3.8 per cent early next year before a slow return to the Bank [...]