Barclays splashes £750m on Canary Wharf base in ‘strong endorsement’ of London Banking Barclays has taken control of its global headquarters based out of Canary Wharf in a £750m deal hailed as a “strong endorsement” of the financial district and the capital itself. The blue-chip lender has entered a long-term leasehold interest agreement with Canary Wharf Group that grants the bank to use the property – based at [...]
Zopa first UK bank to be green lit to roll out targeted support Banking Zopa Bank has received regulatory approval to roll out targeted support for its investment customers, marking it as the first UK bank to get the green light. The bank joins a range of financial firms, including Royal London, Quilter and Vanguard, which has secured targeted support permissions since the scheme went live on 6 April. [...]
The digital bank revolution is over – and that’s a good thing Fintech Until it was finally unveiled last month, there was more than a year of will-they-won’t-they speculation in the press over whether Britain’s biggest digital bank, Revolut, would be awarded a banking licence by the UK’s financial regulators. It was a long, drawn-out process – far longer than for most of Revolut’s peers – thanks in [...]
Zopa Bank’s profit booms despite ‘penalised’ motor finance hit March 19, 2026 Zopa Bank cruised to its third consecutive year of profitability in 2025 but has offered a stark warning it feels “penalised” by the UK’s financial watchdog after getting swept up in the motor finance scandal. The Canary Wharf fintech has set aside £7.9m in provisions for the car mis-selling saga, which centres around the use [...]
Morning Wire Awards 2026: Meet the Finalists March 18, 2026 And the nominees are…. Personality of the Year Greg Jackson CBE The entrepreneur and CEO of Octopus Energy has become one of the UK’s most prominent business leaders, known for his straight talking and punchy views across a range of topics including UK entrepreneurship, the business environment, capital markets and, of course, energy. In August [...]
Revolut: Inside Nik Storonsky’s $75bn fintech empire still waiting for its crown February 24, 2026 In Revolut’s shiny new Canary Wharf headquarters, the command ‘Get Sh*t Done’ is bolted onto the walls. The unconventional office mantra is a stark reminder of co-founder Nik Storonsky’s acerbic, straight-talking manner that has kept the gas pumping at the UK’s most valuable fintech since it opened for business in 2015. “Whenever a target is set, [...]
Bank of England names first fintech cohort for scale-up regulator February 3, 2026 The Bank of England has named the first handful of UK fintech talent which will be overseen by the new regulatory ‘Scale-Up’ unit. Small business lenders OakNorth and Allica Bank – which was named the fastest-growing fintech ever by Deloitte – were listed as two of the firms that had been accepted into the first [...]
Fintechs should avoid ‘trap’ of early IPO, warns top London VC investor January 26, 2026 Fintech firms considering joining the public markets should avoid the “trap” of floating too early or risk “disaster”, a top London venture capital investor has warned. Speaking at an Innovate Finance panel discussion chaired by Morning Wire, James Codling, managing partner of VC firm Volution, said fintechs must make sure they “get to the right [...]
Wrexham-based Chetwood Bank takes on London rivals with £1bn jump in deposits December 23, 2025 Chetwood Bank has seen a near-£1bn jump in customer deposits as the Wrexham-based business wrestled market share from London fintech rivals. The Welsh digital bank, owned by US investment fund Elliott, posted a £960m increase in customer deposits in the year to March, bringing them to £3.8bn, a rise of just over a third, according [...]
Visa shifts European HQ to Canary Wharf December 5, 2025 Payments juggernaut Visa is set to switch its European headquarters to Canary Wharf – hot on the heels of banking behemoth JP Morgan. The move from its current spot in Paddington comes amid a major resurgence in the London financial hub after a number of big firms snapped up offices in the district. Visa will [...]