Author: Lily Harper

Stay informed with free updatesSimply sign up to the UK property myFT Digest — delivered directly to your inbox.Renting a one-bedroom flat is unaffordable across roughly half of England for new nurses, teachers and NHS healthcare assistants, according to the charity Shelter, highlighting the severity of the country’s housing shortage. Rent for an average one-bed property would take up more than 30 per cent of gross pay for a newly qualified nurse in 45 per cent of English local authorities, 43 per cent for teachers and 69 per cent for healthcare assistants, according to analysis of official data by the…

Unlock the Editor’s Digest for freeRoula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.Prudential suffered a slowdown in profit growth in 2024 as challenges in its core China market weighed on the life insurer. The FTSE 100 group said on Thursday morning in Hong Kong that new-business profit, a measure of expected earnings from recently sold products, rose by 11 per cent to $3.08bn in 2024, at constant currencies. While new-business profits rose, a stalling of growth in Prudential’s mainland China and Hong Kong markets meant the increase in 2024 was far smaller than the…

Stay informed with free updatesSimply sign up to the European banks myFT Digest — delivered directly to your inbox.Deutsche Bank’s chief executive said the bank would axe almost 2,000 jobs in its retail division this year, as Germany’s largest lender struggles to rein in costs and boost profitability.Chief executive Christian Sewing on Wednesday said the bank would shut a “significant number” of branches this year and step up the pace of job cuts as part of a broader push to improve returns.“Where we have to turn around the ship in terms of profitability is clearly the retail bank in Germany,”…

Unlock the Editor’s Digest for freeRoula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.Cinven has sold German life insurance group Viridium to a consortium including Allianz, BlackRock and Japan’s T&D Holdings in a €3.5bn deal, a year after the business faced scrutiny from regulators because of its private equity ownership.The British buyout group will exit its majority investment in the insurance consolidator in a transaction that values Viridium at €3.5bn including debt. Viridium’s other backers, Generali Financial Holdings and Hannover Re, will remain invested, while Japanese insurance group T&D Holdings will hold the largest share.…

Unlock the Editor’s Digest for freeRoula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.A handful of technology start-ups expected to publicly list their shares next month has led to cautious optimism on Wall Street of a long-awaited “window” for initial public offerings, despite a surge in market volatility following US President Donald Trump’s aggressive tariff policies. CoreWeave, an AI data centre operator, and Klarna, a Swedish fintech group, both filed for a New York IPO this month, fuelling hopes for an end to a three-year slump in large tech listings driven by high interest rates.New…

Unlock the Editor’s Digest for freeRoula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.Santander is to close a fifth of its UK branches as part of an overhaul of its retail network in the country, in a move that will put about 750 jobs at risk. Santander UK said on Wednesday it would shut 95 of its 444 branches and reduce services or hours at a further 50-plus locations in order to “better serve the changing needs of its customers”. The closures comes as the Spanish lender explores a number of strategic options for its…

Unlock the Editor’s Digest for freeRoula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.Thames Water has received preliminary equity bids from parties that include one of the US’s biggest infrastructure investors and a London-based distressed asset investor.The teetering utility, which serves 16mn households in and around London and is groaning under nearly £20bn of debt, said on Tuesday that it had “received proposals from six parties in respect of the equity raise” through which it is seeking to raise billions of pounds to stave off collapse. Among the six parties interesting in providing fresh equity…

Unlock the Editor’s Digest for freeRoula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.The UK’s largest car insurers have piled hidden costs on top of double-digit interest rates for customers paying in monthly instalments, according to people familiar with the practice.Admiral and Aviva are among the car insurers that have pre-screened customers who opt to pay their premiums monthly rather than annually, one analysis of the practice found, and have raised the prices they charge such clients as a result.So-called double-dipping is expected to be scrutinised as part of a probe by the Financial Conduct…

Latest news on ETFsVisit our ETF Hub to find out more and to explore our in-depth data and comparison toolsEuronext’s ambitious plans to consolidate the thousands of exchange traded product listings scattered across its bourses would be “transformational” for retail investors, according to Vanguard.The stock exchange operator is in discussions with market participants about consolidating the 3,300 ETP listings spread across its Milan, Amsterdam, Paris, Oslo, Brussels, Dublin and Lisbon bourses on to one exchange.Paul Young, head of ETF capital markets at Vanguard, the world’s second-largest asset manager, said “we think the initiative is a very positive development and will…

Unlock the Editor’s Digest for freeRoula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.Inter Milan’s value collapsed by 75 per cent before distressed debt investor Oaktree Capital seized control of the Italian football club from its Chinese owners last year.Delayed accounts for 2022 show that Inter’s former owner, the Chinese retailer Suning, slashed the value of a 68.55 per cent stake from €586mn to €148mn as it struggled to keep hold of the club.The accounts, filed in October by Los Angeles-based Oaktree on behalf of one of Inter’s holding companies, underscore the depth of the…