Cubitts plots expansion to Ireland despite swinging to £1m loss May 18, 2026 Cubitts swung to a near-£1m loss in 2025 as the spectacle maker counted the cost of its US expansion plans. The London-based business opened its “first stores outside the warm but grey womb of the UK,” with two sites in New York City. Costs of setting up across the pond pushed the eyewear designer to [...]
Kainos shares lift as revenue surges on bumper NHS contract wins May 18, 2026 One of Northern Ireland’s biggest technology firms has posted a surge in revenue on the back of a spate of NHS contract wins. Belfast-based IT services provider Kainos reported a 17 per cent rise in revenue to £431.1m for the year to end March, led by a 55 per cent jump in turnover from healthcare [...]
Brits now buy more BYDs than Land Rovers May 13, 2026 I’ve been poring over the latest DVLA car registration data release, which came out a few days ago, covering the fourth quarter of 2025. There are lots of fascinating trends in there, and I’d encourage you to go and have a look yourself. But one thing that really caught my eye is that for the [...]
Trapstar: London clothing brand put up for sale on insolvency marketplace May 13, 2026 A London clothing brand that has been worn by the likes of Jay Z and Rihanna has been put up for sale on an insolvency marketplace, CityAM can reveal. Trapstar, which sells luxury streetwear popular with young people, is seeking a buyer to help meet working capital challenges. The brand, which was founded in [...]
Barclays mortgage subsidiary makes £5bn balance sheet whoopsie May 12, 2026 Don’t you just hate it when you mix up millions with billions? No one is immune from such mistakes. Including, as it turns out, one of Britain’s biggest banks. A subsidiary of Barclays, the Kensington Mortgage Company, last week published its accounts. While revenue was up slightly to £83.4m, pre-tax profit fell by 90 per [...]
On the Beach shares slide as Brits delay booking holidays May 12, 2026 On the Beach has suffered one of its biggest-ever single-day stock selloffs amid investor fears over a slowdown in holiday bookings. Shares in the Manchester-based business plunged 17 per cent to 140p after the London-listed business said it saw a more than 12 per cent fall in sales to £52.2m for the six months to [...]
Eon, Hometree strike deals to snap up parts of Ovo Energy May 11, 2026 Two arms of Ovo Energy have been snapped up by separate buyers, ending uncertainty over the retail energy giant’s future. German energy firm Eon is to acquire Ovo’s retail business, creating one of the UK’s biggest energy operators with around 10m combined customers, while Ovo’s Home Services arm, including Corgi Homeplan and Homepeat, is to [...]
Compass shares jump as it shrugs off inflation concerns with profit upgrade May 11, 2026 Shares in Compass Group jumped on Monday morning as shrugged off concerns over inflation eating into its margins after upgrading its profit forecasts. The FTSE 100 catering giant, which has served meals everywhere from prisons to oil rigs, upped its profit growth estimate from 10 per cent to “above” 11 per cent for the year [...]
Brent Hoberman: We need a ‘British dream’ – and more talented immigrants May 7, 2026 The UK needs to welcome many more business founders from abroad to rejuvenate the economy, one of Britain’s best-known entrepreneurs has said, as he issued a rallying cry to renew faith in the future of the country. In a wide-ranging speech at the CityAM Awards ceremony at the Guildhall last night, Brent Hoberman, who [...]
Tony Travers: London local election result could trigger housebuilding slump May 7, 2026 The result of the forthcoming local elections could trigger a further slump in housebuilding in the capital as a shake-up in council composition obstructs development plans. Voters head to the polls in every London borough today, with polling suggesting Labour is on course to shed dozens of seats and lose its grip on the capital, [...]
