Virgin Media slapped with £24m Ofcom fine December 1, 2025 Ofcom has dished out its biggest fine of the year after accusing telecoms giant Virgin Media of failing to protect vulnerable customers. The media regulator has hit Virgin Media with a £23.8m fine over its treatment of customers during a planned transition from analogue to digital landlines. Virgin Media notified Ofcom over incidents connected with [...]
Blockbuster FTSE merger abandoned after shareholder fury December 1, 2025 A plan to merge two FTSE-listed funds to form the UK’s largest infrastructure investment firm has been abandoned after shareholders expressed frustration with the terms of the deal. HICL Infrastructure said it will no longer be proceeding with its planned merger with The Renewables Infrastructure Group (TRIG) after its board “determined that it cannot progress [...]
Class actions surge in UK, but public sees lawyers as main winners December 1, 2025 Public awareness of class actions in the UK has reached the highest level since 2020, with the majority of the public believing they make money for law firms and litigation funders. A new report by Portland, shared exclusively with City PM, found that public awareness of class actions in the UK has reached 27 per [...]
Business confidence drops to post-pandemic lows after Budget December 1, 2025 Business confidence in bosses’ own organisations fell to the lowest level in over five-and-a-half years after the Budget, a leading survey has suggested, as the absence of growth policies in Rachel Reeves’ statement dampened leaders’ moods. The Institute of Directors’ monthly survey indicated bosses were fearing for the worst after last Wednesday’s much-anticipated event, with [...]
Autumn Budget: Investor confidence crisis ‘remains live’ December 1, 2025 The likelihood of an investor confidence crisis in UK assets after last week’s Autumn Budget “remains live” and markets will “gradually lose faith” in the government’s fiscal plans despite the initial reaction being largely positive, an economics consultancy has said. A fresh analysis published by Oxford Economics said the government’s frontloaded spending and backloaded tax [...]
Lady Mayor: Higher taxes will discourage investors at critical time December 1, 2025 Higher taxes on dividends, pension contributions and savings risk discouraging investors exactly when we need them, writes Susan Langley.
UK economy set to cool as weak consumer confidence damages spending December 1, 2025 The UK economy is expected to cool in 2026, as the softening labour market and subdued consumer confidence caused a drop in household spending. The economy is set to slow 1.0 per cent next year, down from 1.4 per cent in 2025, according to the latest economic outlook from professional services firm KPMG. Meanwhile, unemployment [...]
Half of young investors check their accounts at least once a day December 1, 2025 Half of investors aged under 35 check their digital investment accounts at least once a day, research for a major bank suggests. This compares with only 11 per cent of over-55s, according to the survey among more than 2,000 people for HSBC UK. The research indicated that nearly a fifth of under-35s investors will check [...]
Starmer to argue in favour of welfare reforms and investment measures November 30, 2025 Prime Minister Keir Starmer will set out plans later today on how the Budget will enable the government root “out excessive costs” and reform the welfare system, as pressure over Treasury decision grow. Starmer will discuss how choices made in the Budget will advance the government’s goals of boosting economic growth and bringing down the [...]
Buyer of WH Smith in late stage talks to snap up leading footwear chain November 30, 2025 The investment firm which bought WH Smith is in advanced talks to takeover a privately owned footwear retailer as it looks to snaps up more UK high street staples. Modella Capital is in late stage talks to buy Wynsors World of Shoes, which trades from approximately 50 standalone shops across the the north of the [...]
