By: Maria Ward-Brennan

Professional Services Editor Maria Ward-Brennan is the Professional Services Editor at CityAM, focused on law, Big Four, and other management and accounting consulting firms. She was previously a litigation reporter at The Lawyer. Contact her via email at [email protected] or X (Twitter) @MariaW_B.

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British Gas owner shares tumble after buyback was paused

February 19, 2026

London-listed energy giant Centrica shares plunged nine per cent on Thursday morning after the group paused its share buyback programme in the face of a major earnings hit. The owners of British Gas reported lower 2025 earnings than in the previous year, but the group says it was resilient in a challenging market. The group’s [...]
FTSE 100 Live: Centrica profit falls; Stocks dip after record rally

February 19, 2026

Good morning and welcome back to the CityAM liveblog. It’s been quite the week for the “old and unexciting” FTSE 100. The blue-chip index closed 1.2 per cent higher on Tuesday led by a rally in the mining sector. Antofagasta led the pack up over 10 per cent, which came a day after its [...]
Law firms exposed as legal AI giants on poaching mission of tech talents

February 19, 2026

The legal world is facing a new kind of talent war, with law firms and tech companies battling to attract the sharpest minds. As legal tech grows, the fight for experienced lawyers is heating up. Think back to a few years ago, when the war for talent dominated the headlines after the US firms in [...]
Modernisation and missteps: Lloyd’s of London struggles for a new era

February 19, 2026

Lloyd’s of London, one of the world’s largest (re)insurance markets, has faced its fair share of battles in recent years, and one of the biggest fights has been against itself and its old-fashioned ways. Back in 2018, the incoming chief executive, John Neal, had an ambitious mandate: to restore stability and modernise Lloyd’s following a period [...]
Employment Rights Act: Business braces for shorter strike notices, stronger unions

February 18, 2026

The first batch of reforms, following the passage of the Employment Rights Act, came into effect on Wednesday, granting employees new trade union powers. As of Wednesday, measures under the legislation kicked in, including the repeal of most of the Trade Union Act 2016 and the introduction of protections against dismissal for taking industrial action. [...]
BAE Systems rides defence wave to dividend boost and record results

February 18, 2026

BAE Systems shareholders are set for a pay bump as the London-listed group has benefited from the wave of increased global defence spending. Sales at Europe’s largest defence contractor rose 10 per cent to a record £30.7bn, while underlying profit grew 12 per cent to £3.3bn. The group saw its total order backlog reach a [...]
FTSE 100 Live: Inflation falls to near year-low; BAE leads stock rally

February 18, 2026

Good morning and welcome back to the CityAM liveblog. Inflation has fallen to a near year-low this morning hitting its slowest pace since March and fuelling hopes that the Bank of England will take the chop to interest rates next month. New data from the Official for National Statistics showed rose the Consumer Price [...]
Employment Rights Act changes could cost Premier League clubs millions

February 18, 2026

Premier League clubs could be forced to pay millions in player dismissal fees when Labour changes to the Employment Rights Act come into force next year. It comes as the UK’s unemployment rate reached a near five-year high on Tuesday morning. The Employment Rights Act, a brainchild of former deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner, will [...]
Businesses to rush redundancies ahead of new Employment Rights changes

February 17, 2026

Businesses plan to carry out a “clean up” of redundancies by the end of the year in anticipation of the Employment Rights Act coming into force next January. The government’s plan to remove the unfair dismissal cap in its Employment Rights Act will lead to more claims, especially among higher-earning employees. To avoid expensive layoffs [...]
FTSE 100 Live: Unemployment rises; Debenhams’ £35m raise

February 17, 2026

Good morning and welcome back to the CityAM liveblog. The UK unemployment rate has risen again this morning, with fresh data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) showing the rate had surged to 5.2 per cent in the three months to December 2025. This was up from 5.1 per cent in the latest [...]

Interest rates next change ‘far more likely down than up’

Exclusive: London in talks to host return of sumo at Royal Albert Hall

Bowls Club is the City’s most eccentric (and brilliant) pop-up

By: Maria Ward-Brennan

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