FCA sets out plans for new Pisces private stock market December 17, 2024 The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has set out its plans for a new private stock market system today as it looks to revive London’s flagging IPO pipeline and allow investors to more easily tap into unlisted companies. In a consultation document, the City watchdog said the new stock market system, PISCES, first tabled by the [...]
Royal Mail hit with £10.5m fine over late deliveries December 13, 2024 Ofcom has hit Royal Mail with a £10.5m fine today for failing to meet its delivery targets over the past year. In a statement this morning, the media watchdog said it would fine the postal company for the second time in just over a year for falling “well short” of its first and second class [...]
Equals finally strikes £283m takeover deal with Lord Hammond-led group December 11, 2024 Equals Group is set to merge with the payments firm chaired by Lord Hammond after striking a £283m takeover deal today, potentially drawing a line under a protracted period of talks that has dragged on for more than a year. The Aim-listed payments outfit, which first addressed a potential takeover by a separate group of [...]
London Stock Exchange exodus hits £107bn as Ashtead eyes the US December 10, 2024 The value of companies fleeing the London Stock Exchange for foreign markets has reached £107bn this year after FTSE 100 Ashtead announced it would be heading across the Atlantic today. In a statement this morning, the construction equipment firm confirmed a long-rumoured move to swap its primary listing to the US, where it has its [...]
Boohoo hits out at Ashley’s Frasers Group again as public spat deepens December 10, 2024 Boohoo has accused Mike Ashley’s Frasers Group of waging a campaign to “destabilise” and “disrupt” the company today in the latest salvo of a protracted spat between the two retail giants. In a letter to shareholders, Boohoo urged them to vote against Ashley’s efforts to install himself on Boohoo’s board and said Frasers is “acting [...]
Labour’s business backers – where are they now? December 10, 2024 Labour won the public backing of over 120 business chiefs in a letter before the election – but the enthusiasm of those executives appears to have dimmed since then. City AM tried to track them down. It was a letter that seemed to signal a tectonic shift in British politics when it landed in newspapers [...]
Aviva set for £3.6bn Direct Line takeover December 6, 2024 Direct Line is set to agree to a £3.6bn takeover by its bigger rival Aviva, after the FTSE 100 firm returned with a sweetened bid for the company today. In a joint statement to the market this morning, the two firms said they had struck the outlines of a deal in which Aviva will pay [...]
Another London-listed firm goes private as deals bonanza accelerates December 4, 2024 Another London Stock Exchange-listed firm waved through a take-private deal today in the latest of a torrent of exits from the City’s bourse this year. Learning Technologies, an AIM listed edtech company, agreed to an £836m takeover from US private equity behemoth General Atlantic, making it one of 45 listed companies to sell-up or enter [...]
Former City minister quits Westminster group over scathing FCA report December 4, 2024 The former City minister John Glen has quit a cross-parliamentary group on fairer finance after it released an incendiary report on the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) accusing it of “incompetence”. In a letter to the Financial Times, Glen, who served as City minister between 2018 and 2022, said he was “dismayed” by the report and [...]
French turmoil could be a boost for the City of London, says top lawyer December 3, 2024 Political turmoil in France and geopolitical tensions between China and the US are showcasing the UK’s status as an “independent financial centre” and destination for international IPOs, a leading capital markets figure has suggested. Mark Austin, a lawyer at Latham & Watkins who has masterminded many of the City’s reform efforts over the past two [...]
