author - oman observer

The writer is our foreign correspondent based in the UK A boom in legal tie-ups is creating opportunities for consultants looking to win work advising on everything from integration to culture. Law...

The bosses of Britain’s largest industry groups have urged Chancellor John Healey to reduce the cost of business in order to boost growth across the UK economy. Several business chiefs had sent...

The Group representing the UK’s fastest growing fintech companies has called for the government to scrap stamp duty on shares to boost London’s flagging initial public offering market. Innovate...

With the emphasis on gender equality, a new report has found that four out of five companies across the FTSE 100 and S&P 100 have never had a female chief executive, as boards fail to promote them...

Ministers have intervened in a flurry of foreign takeover attempts on British defence firms in the past year over concerns the bids posed a threat to national security. The government unit that...

Investment in defence tech start-ups has reached a record high this year as the world’s biggest arms companies step up spending on new military technologies. New figures from Dealroom show defence...

British companies are facing a “cost of business crisis” as a string of controversial government policies have pushed up the average firm’s expenses by 70 per cent in a decade, one of the...

Investors have had more than £130bn from UK-focused funds in the10 years following the Brexit referendum. According to data from Morningstar, net outflows from UK equity funds stood at £134.8bn at...

Private equity money has poured into UK wealth management in recent years, but buyers now want firms to show organic growth after a raft of deals, dealmakers in the sector say. Potential buyers are...

London has reclaimed its position as Europe’s leading tech spot, overtaking Paris after a sharp rise in AI investment and a renewed influx of global capital into its startup scene. New figures from...

Boutique investment banks are expanding in Europe after a bumper period for M&A, even as deal activity has lagged the US. The so-called elite boutiques are eyeing fresh growth in London and other...

As the downturn bites, activity in the UK construction sector falls at the fastest pace so far this year impacting on the housebuilding sector which has remained firmly in contraction, according to...

The writer is our foreign correspondent based in the UK. Andy Burnham took office of UK prime minister against the third-strongest economic backdrop of any predecessor in the past 50 years, according...

Three out of every four jobs in London are at risk “now or in the near future” from AI – making it the most exposed city in the developed world to advances in the technology. The UK capital is...

Vacancies in the UK have slumped to their lowest level in more than five years as firms put recruitment on hold in the face of economic uncertainty and soaring wage costs. The Office for National...

Companies in the UK’s services industry reported the steepest decline in activity last month for three and a half years, as the Iran war drove up business costs and dampened demand, figures show....

The impact that Artificial Intelligence (AI) could have on the business models of wealth managers is holding up fresh private equity (PE) investment into the sector. Potential wealth deals have...

Finance firms in London are struggling to boost gender diversity – an important issue in the UK and Europe – in an increasingly lucrative area of finance, as just 9 per cent of Britain’s...

The UN’s global financial fund has called on Chancellor Rachel Reeves to drop the triple lock pension and draw up ‘contingency’ tax measures to ensure that public debt is reduced as a share of...

With an eye on a top three position in the country’s wealth market, HSBC UK has shrugged off competition from digital challengers for mass affluent money. Having only recently added features like...