Starling Bank announces partnerships with mortgage broker, investment and pensions firms and insurer in open banking push February 13, 2018 Starling Bank will today unveil four new partners for its in-app marketplace, raising the prospect of customers buying insurance and even gaining a mortgage through the bank's app within weeks. The digital-only bank will launch an integration with Pensionbee in its app from today, with digital investing service Wealthsimple, mortgage broker Habito and Kasko travel [...]
Government sells Bradford & Bingley loans for £11.8bn to Prudential and Blackstone after a “highly competitive sale process” | City A.M. March 31, 2017 The government has sold £11.8bn of Bradford & Bingley loans to insurance giant Prudential and US private equity behemoth Blackstone. The loans were bought by the UK taxpayer during the financial crisis and have been managed by the UK Asset Resolution (UKAR) on their behalf. Prudential and Blackstone prevailed in what the Treasury called a [...]
UK investors are at their most confident since the Brexit vote, despite continued uncertainty February 15, 2017 UK investors are becoming increasingly confident despite continued uncertainty around Brexit, new figures show. Investor sentiment has risen to its highest level since before the EU referendum, according to a Lloyds Bank survey of more than 4,000 adults. Overall, Lloyds reported net investor sentiment was at 6.1 per cent in February, up from 5.7 per cent in [...]
Lloyds bankers’ bonuses overtake RBS’ this year February 5, 2017 Lloyds Banking Group’s bonus package will be more generous than RBS’ this year for the first time since the financial crash of 2008. RBS has set aside £340m for bonuses this year, according to Bloomberg, but Britain’s other bailed-out bank, Lloyds, is planning to share out £390m. Read more: The government has cut its stake [...]
Vital Ingredient gets a £8m health kick from Lloyds Banking Group’s private equity arm April 27, 2016 LDC, the private equity arm of Lloyds Banking Group, has backed the management buyout of salad chain Vital Ingredient. The company will invest £8m into the business while Santander will provide a further £4m funding to help the business double in size from 17 to 35 outlets over the next three years. Read More: LDC buys stake [...]
Bitcoin price (BTC) is rising back towards $9,000 February 12, 2018 Bitcoin is heading back up towards $9,000 after the cryptocurrency weathered a rough start to the year. The digital currency’s price swung back and forth over the weekend, briefly rising above $9,000 on Saturday before dipping back below $8,000 yesterday morning. At the time of writing, bitcoin’s price was up 8.22 per cent at $8,734.52, [...]
US fine will let RBS turn page on horror decade January 10, 2017 During the 2008-2009 banking crisis the UK government had to fork out a total of £115bn to rescue Lloyds Banking Group and RBS from imminent collapse, making the taxpayer a shareholder in both. Now a new milestone has been reached: the government is no longer the biggest stakeholder in Lloyds Banking Group, after it cut [...]
Lloyds private equity arm takes a cut of Rush hair salon January 22, 2017 The private equity arm of Lloyd's Banking Group has announced a £16m minority investment in Rush Hair and Beauty. Backing from LDC will provide support for the business's expansion plans. The hairdressing chain currently has 85 branches, primarily in London, Essex, and the South East. More recently, branches have opened across the country in key [...]
City leaders recognised for services to business in New Year honours December 30, 2017 The Square Mile has weathered a turbulent year, and as 2017 comes to a close, business leaders have been recognised for their work to promote UK industry through a period of immense change. Business leader Ken Olisa, former Lord Mayor of London Andrew Parmley, and City grandee Anthony Habgood, have been given knighthoods. Vivian Hunt, [...]
Will the number of listed law firms double over the next 12 months? March 15, 2018 When previously unfashionable Birmingham law firm Gateley listed on London’s AIM market on 8 June 2015, hundreds of years of legal tradition were undone, as members of the public were able to buy shares in a law firm for the first time. While this was undoubtedly a seminal moment for the English legal market, Gateley’s [...]