 | Restaurant Group (RTN) to close up to 90 sites. Frankie & Benny’s and Chiquito chains to bear the brunt of closures as consumers shun casual dining chains. |
| Blackstone buys student flats for £4.7bn in UK’s biggest private property deal. Investors are flooding into private student housing as supply fails to keep up with demand. | |
 | Pressure mounts on Intu Properties (INTU) as lenders say it must raise £1.3bn. Owner of shopping centres including Lakeside is struggling under debts of almost £5bn. |
 | Serco Group (SRP) reaches ‘escape velocity’ from past mishaps. Outsourcer finally moves on from huge writedowns as revenues start to rise and the dividend is restored. |
 | De La Rue (DLAR) announces cost cuts to revitalise business. Banknote manufacturer enjoys share price surge as focus switches to polymer currency printing. |
 | Hammerson (HMSO) to cut 2020 dividend as group shifts focus. UK landlord reshapes portfolio in reflection of dire state of UK retail sector. |
 | Activist Bramson urges Barclays (BARC) to end ‘cycle of disruption’. Letter to investors comes after investigation of Epstein links to chief executive Jes Staley. |
 | Odey to vote against Anglo American bid for Sirius Minerals (SXX). Hedge fund says miner can afford to pay more without damaging investment case |
 | Petrofac Ltd. (PFC) warns revenue slide to persist in 2020. SFO probe into oilfield services group has led to a dropoff in new orders |
| Revolut valued at $5.5bn in long-awaited funding round. UK group raises $500m in deal that makes it one of most valuable fintech companies in Europe. | |
| KPMG investigates Carillion auditor over other outsourcer. Probe commissioned by Big Four firm is examining the audit of another outsourcing firm. |
| Bank of England’s money printer De La Rue (DLAR) sees its shares rocket after revealing plan to slash costs as it continues to move to plastic notes. |
| Bullring owner Hammerson (HMSO) slashes dividend by almost half as retail sector struggles send its rental income diving. |
 | Tesco (TSCO) completes its exit from China as it continues retreat from ill-fated Asian adventure. |
 | Prudential (PRU) could end 172-year presence in the UK as it comes under attack from billionaire US tycoon. |
| shares soar as it hails sweet success of new product lines and raft of store openings. | |
 | Is your HSBC Holdings (HSBA) being axed? Bank to shut more than two dozen branches as customers move online and less than 1% of withdrawals are made from its cash machines. |
 | Small investors could be blocked from voting on Anglo American (AAL)‘s £405m takeover offer for Sirius Minerals (SXX). |
| HSBC Holdings (HSBA) to close 27 more branches across UK this year. Wave of closures announced as more customers switch to online and mobile banking |
| Bullring owner Hammerson (HMSO) slashes dividend as portfolio dives in value. Shopping centre owner sold properties worth nearly £1bn last year as retailers struggled. |
| Digital bank Revolut becomes UK’s most valuable fintech startup. Valuation more than triples to £4.2bn after cash injection by early Airbnb and Spotify backer. |
| Hammerson (HMSO) halves dividend as portfolio plummets in value. One of Britain’s biggest shopping centre owners has slashed its dividend after £828 million was wiped off the value of its portfolio in a year. |
| American hedge fund Third Point takes aim at Prudential (PRU). An American hedge fund has built a 5 per cent stake in Prudential and is calling on the British insurer to split its Asian and US businesses. |
| Blackstone set to invest billions in Britain. An American infrastructure investor with a $14 billion war chest is preparing to pump money into Britain. | |
| Alarm as Tesco (TSCO) opens first mainstream cashless store. Tesco is opening a cashless shop in London in the most significant move yet by Britain’s biggest retailer to shift away from coins and notes towards electronic payments. |
 | GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) works with China to find vaccine. One of Britain’s biggest drugs companies is partnering with a Chinese biotech company to develop its vaccine candidate for the coronavirus. |
| Lawrence Stroll faces tough task in revving up Aston Martin Holdings (AML). Billionaire Canadian gave a £500m lifeline to the struggling carmaker, but reviving the company could prove difficult. | |
| Odey to vote against Anglo American (AAL) rescue bid for Sirius Minerals (SXX). Decision will be welcomed by legions of retail shareholders in Sirius. |
| Tesco (TSCO) to cut 1,800 jobs in bakeries overhaul. Shoppers switching to bagels and wraps rather than buying loaves of breads prompts bakery overhaul, supermarket says. |
| Boost for London market as Kazakh finance firm and miner mull floats. The companies were forced to delay London listings amid global economic uncertainty. |
 | The owner of Primark, Associated British Foods (ABF), is the latest business to sound the alarm on coronavirus, which could leave its shops without clothes longer term. The business relies heavily on factories in China to make its wares. |
  | Estate agents Countrywide (CWD) and LSL Property Services (LSL) in talks over £460m merger. Analysts at Peel Hunt say a tie-up would help solve Countrywide’s debt problem. |
| Barclays (BARC) boss ‘set to depart by the end of next year’. Potential departure comes as City watchdog investigates links between Jes Staley and disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein. |
| Primark’s owner, Associated British Foods (ABF), has warned there is a risk of shortages of some clothing lines later this year if delays in factory production in China are prolonged because of the coronavirus. |
| The UK’s largest retailer Tesco (TSCO) is introducing a range of plasters to match different skin colours and better reflect racial and ethnic diversity. |
| Two of Britain’s biggest estate agency groups, Countrywide (CWD) and LSL Property Services (LSL) are in talks over a possible £470m merger that would bring together well-known brands such as Hamptons International and Your Move. |
| Philip Morris drew up a plan for £1bn tobacco transition fund. Firm accused of hypocrisy after talking to anti-tobacco MP about helping smokers switch products. |
| Primark owner Associated British Foods (ABF) said Primark sales in the first half of the financial year were 4.2 per cent higher than the same period last year, as it was boosted by recent site expansions. |
| Property firms Countrywide (CWD) and LSL Property Services (LSL) have announced they are talking over a possible merger. The proposed deal could make the combined firm the largest estate agency in the country. |
 | The feared activist investor who has taken on hospitals operator NMC Health (NMC) – a member of the prestigious FTSE 100 – and litigation finance firm Burford Capital has set out plans to expand and target more UK companies. |
| Barclays (BARC) is set to start looking for a new boss to replace Jes Staley, who is reportedly set to leave the bank at the end of the year, according to the Financial Times. |
| Loeb’s Third Point calls for the break-up of the UK’s Prudential (PRU) . The activist hedge fund takes $2bn stake in the insurer and demands separation of US and Asian arms. |
| Mustier rules himself out of HSBC Holdings (HSBA) running. UniCredit chief’s decision means search for CEO for Europe’s biggest lender continues. |
| Barclays (BARC) set to kick off hunt for next chief executive. Bank preparing to appoint headhunters as it plans for life after Jes Staley. |
| Blackstone to invest in the UK from a $14bn Saudi-backed fund. Slow start to US rebuilding drive that was originally intended to receive most of cash. | |
| Reach Plc (RCH) embarks on data push to counter falling ad sales. Owner of Daily Mirror and Express wants to increase the number of registered users sevenfold. | |
 | Anglo Pacific Group (APF) rules out further investment in thermal coal. Mining investor to shift portfolio towards greener metals and minerals. |
| Countrywide (CWD) confirms talks with property rival LSL. Potential all-share tie-up would create UK’s biggest property group. |
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