Exclusive: Octopus Investments appoints new CEO September 2, 2025 Retail asset management platform Octopus Investments has appointed Erin Platts, former chief executive of HSBC Innovation Banking, as its new CEO. Octopus Investments, the UK’s largest investor in AIM listed companies, is a branch of the financial services company, Octopus Group. It holds £9.9bn in funds under management. Platts will succeed Octopus Group co-founder and [...]
Zopa Bank expands payments grip with retail finance acquisition September 2, 2025 Digital bank Zopa has expanded its payments reach with a fresh takeover. The fintech has snapped up Rvvup – a platform designed to streamline businesses’ acceptance, collection and management of payments. Zopa said the acquisition will treble the size of its embedded finance business in two years, which covers the integration of financial products into [...]
Wise mulls UK banking licence after ditching London listing September 1, 2025 Money transfer firm Wise is looking into a UK banking license following the fintech ditching its primary listing on the London stock market earlier this year. The company has reached out to financial services heavyweights in the last two months regarding roles related to starting a banking business in the UK, according to The Times. [...]
Drax faces FCA probe amid allegations of misleading biomass sourcing August 28, 2025 The City watchdog has launched a probe into British power firm Drax over several issues, including statements regarding its biomass sourcing. The London-listed group informed its shareholders this morning that it was notified on Tuesday that the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) had commenced an investigation into the group. Drax stated that the probe covers the [...]
Exclusive: Female CFOs generate greater returns for investors August 28, 2025 Female chief financial officers (CFOs) in the UK are routinely outperforming industry benchmarks, according to a new study shared exclusively with City PM. According to finance management platform OneStream’s Glass Chair study, UK companies led by female CFOs have delivered an average total return 1.5 per cent above industry benchmarks. That figure grows to 3.2 [...]
Mark Kleinman: Gupta steeled for high-wire act to end without Liberty August 28, 2025 Mark Kleinman is Sky News’ City Editor and the man who gets the Square Mile talking in his weekly City PM column Gupta steeled for high-wire act to end without Liberty It’s crunch time – again. For Sanjeev Gupta, brushes with insolvency are nothing new. The steel tycoon has turned the process of snatching victory from the jaws of [...]
Double delisting fears hit London Stock Exchange August 27, 2025 Fears of a London Stock Exchange exodus were reignited once more on Wednesday as two firms prepared to quit the London market. Credit and legal services firm Anexo Group laid out plans to delist from the Alternative Investment Market (AIM) after citing the costs of being a publicly traded company and lack of investor interest. [...]
Prudential: FTSE 100 insurer pledges $5bn in shareholder returns August 27, 2025 FTSE 100 insurer Prudential said it had reached its “inflection point” on Wednesday after growing profit and kicking off a hefty program of returns of investors. The firm recorded a six per cent increase in adjusted operating profit before tax to $1.6bn (£1.2bn). Life weighted premium income, which indicates the volume of new business, increased [...]
What has caused the M&A surge in the UK financial sector? August 27, 2025 The UK financial sector has seen an influx of merger and acquisition (M&A) activity so far this year as investors look to capitalise on emerging opportunities in the market. Growing economic stability in both the private and public markets, following a period of instability caused by inflation and soaring interest rates, has sparked a renewed [...]
London Stock Exchange gets go-ahead to run Pisces private stock market August 26, 2025 The Financial Conduct Authority has given the London Stock Exchange the green light to operate a new Pisces private stock market, clearing the path for the market’s launch later this year. The City watchdog confirmed on Tuesday that London’s flagship stock exchange had become the first operator to receive approval to run Pisces – a [...]
