Labour lines up advisers for Thames Water administration August 12, 2025 Labour ministers have reached out to top insolvency practitioners in the scenario Thames Water falls into special administration, it has been reported. The UK’s largest water company is at a crisis point after private equity giant KKR pulled out of a multi-billion pound investment deal that could have offered it a lifeline given Thames Water [...]
ChatGPT-5 launch took the shine off OpenAI August 12, 2025 Overhype has taken the shine off OpenAI, whose much anticipated launch of ChatGPT-5 left superfans disappointed, writes Paul Armstrong.
The 24-second news cycle has killed off silly season August 12, 2025 In a media landscape fuelled by outrage, the news cycle has no more room for fun or nuance, writes Adam Taylor
Newcastle: Club taken over and will become Newcastle Red Bulls August 12, 2025 Energy drinks giant Red Bull has taken over Newcastle with the club to play under Newcastle Red Bulls branding. The Prem Rugby club had been teetering on the edge of financial crisis with former owner Semore Kurdi putting the club on the market for £1. But the major brand has stepped in to take over [...]
S&U shares jump as bank predicts profit ‘resurgence’ August 12, 2025 Shares in specialist lender S&U rallied as markets opened on Tuesday after the bank said its “resurgence in profitability” had begun to materialise. The London-listed firm’s stock was up over three per cent in early trading to 1,940. The jump came after the lender provided an upbeat trading update, anticipating building momentum for the second [...]
KFC and Pizza Hut help serve up huge profit for owner August 12, 2025 Huge dividends from KFC and Pizza Hut helped their owner Yum! Brands more than triple its profit last year, it has been revealed. The group’s European division has posted a pre-tax profit of $1.2bn (£892.7m) for 2024, up significantly from the $317.1m (£235.8m) it posted for 2023. The firm, Yum! Restaurant Holdings, is a holding [...]
Advertisers have a new audience to sell to: AI models August 12, 2025 For generations, advertisers have obsessed over how best to win the hearts and minds of consumers. But with people increasingly turning to their large language model of choice for product recommendations, the industry has a new audience to get its head around: artificial intelligence, writes Ali Lyon. David Ogilvy had four golden rules to help [...]
Alstom: Profit slashed at London Underground trains maker August 12, 2025 Profit at Alstom, the train manufacturer which supplies the London Underground, has been slashed by almost £100m as its turnover fell significantly during its latest financial year. The Derby-headquartered business has reported a pre-tax profit of £21.9m for the 12 months to 31 March, 2025, down from the £121m it achieved in the prior year. [...]
Derwent: Central London office rents firmly in recovery August 12, 2025 Derwent London has said the fundamentals of the London office market continue to strengthen despite a “volatile” economic backdrop. London’s office market has been in recovery since the end of last year, with falling interest rates and a return to the office helping to support occupancy. “Demand [is] well above the long-term average and [there’s] [...]
PageGroup profits slide as UK recruitment slowdown bites August 12, 2025 Recruiter PageGroup has posted a sharp drop in first half profits as subdued hiring across the UK and Europe weighed on performance, but the group stuck to its full year targets and pledged to press ahead with cost cuts. The Surrey-headquartered FTSE 250 firm saw operating profit tumble to £2.1m in the six months to [...]