Starling’s profit slides as falling interest rates bite May 21, 2026 Starling’s profit took a dip in the latest financial year as the lower interest rate environment took a chunk out of the digital bank’s bottom line. The UK fintech notched a £217m pre-tax profit, down three per cent from the £223m secured in the prior year. This came as revenue slipped 5.6 per cent to [...]
Tate & Lyle admits ‘disappointing year’ as US buyer circles May 21, 2026 Tate & Lyle has seen profit and revenue slip in what the ingredients firm described as a “disappointing year” marked by muted demand, as a US buyer circles. The FTSE 250 company saw revenue slip by three per cent to £2bn as profit before tax fell by 10 per cent to £238m in the year [...]
Losses balloon at Easyjet despite seeing ‘no disruption’ to jet fuel supplies May 21, 2026 Easyjet has played down fears that a jet fuel crisis caused by the Middle East will rip through its low-cost model, saying it has kept price rises to a minimum despite losses at the carrier ballooning to more than half a billion pounds. The London-listed carrier told investors it was “not seeing any disruption” to [...]
Nationwide income soars on consumer lending boost May 21, 2026 Nationwide booked a hefty jump in its annual income as the building society benefited from a boost in consumer lending and clawed out a bigger market share of mortgage balances. The mutual recorded a 22 per cent jump in total income to £6.4bn, which was up from £5.2bn in the previous year, led by a [...]
BT overhauls dividend policy as it vows ‘enhanced distributions’ for shareholders May 21, 2026 BT has refreshed its dividend policy as the telco giant vowed to deliver “enhanced distributions” for shareholders. The FTSE 100 member declared a final dividend of 5.87p, increasing its full-year dividend by 2 per cent to 8.32p. BT said its new policy would be to “grow the dividend by low to mid single digit percent [...]
Enhanced Games isn’t sport but a product placement exercise May 21, 2026 The Killers are an odd choice of band to wrap this weekend’s Enhanced Games. I’ve no idea about lead singer Brandon Flowers’ attitude to the permissibility of performance enhancing drugs in sport, but the name of his beat combo jars with an enterprise testing scientific and medical boundaries. It won’t be spinach that the 50 [...]
As it happened: Stocks jittery as Iran war drags on; Reeves unveil cost-of-living package May 21, 2026 Welcome back to the City PM liveblog. Donald Trump has warned Iran there are two options that could see the US finishing the war in Iran, with one that will “see a few people killed as opposed to a lot”. He added: “We could do it either way.” It’s the latest threat from the White [...]
Next faces shareholder pressure over worker pay May 21, 2026 Shareholders in Next are set to put pressure on the retail giant to take action on its “reliance” on low-paid labour. At Next’s annual general meeting on Thursday, a group of investors will call on the retailer to take further action on worker pay and adopt the “real living wage” for all employees. But the [...]
Weather or not to stock – AI aims to shelter UK business from the classic (wet) British summer May 21, 2026 A chilly spring, a sluggish UK economy and hard-pressed household budgets at a time of rising interest rates have combined to put a national talking point – the weather – into the spotlight in the City. Seasonal trends, or the lack of them, can make or break trading at retailers and hospitality companies. Disruption from [...]
Rising hiring costs push British businesses to the brink May 21, 2026 UK businesses are on the brink due to the government’s highly contentious employment rights agenda and cost hikes, following the first provisions of the Employment Rights Act, which came into force in April. According to new research from Employment Hero, an AI-powered employment platform, more than half of UK businesses feel employing staff has “become more [...]
