logo
Boost for City as two companies confirm plans to list on the London stock market

Boost for City as two companies confirm plans to list on the London stock market

Daily Mail​19-05-2025

The City was handed a boost yesterday as two companies confirmed plans to list on the London Stock Exchange (LSE).
Cobalt Holdings expects shares to start trading 'on or around' June 10, while trading platform iForex is aiming for late June.
A dearth of listings and firms leaving following takeovers has prompted City figures to speak to the Chancellor and officials over how to increase investment in British companies and make the LSE more attractive.
Cobalt is run by Jake Greenberg, who helped set up specialist uranium company Yellow Cake and hopes to emulate its success by investing in cobalt – used in electric car batteries. Miner Glencore will invest £18million for a 10 per cent stake while Anchorage will put in £17million for 9.5 per cent, valuing Cobalt at around £180million.
Israel-based iForex, which specialises in contracts for difference – a type of bet on financial markets – is thought to be seeking a value of around £50million.
Founder Eyal Carmon will remain a majority shareholder and is recruiting mining veteran Mick Davis – who was chief executive of FTSE 100 giant Xstrata until its merger with Glencore in 2013 – to its board.

Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Business news house prices Dr Martens UK defence
Business news house prices Dr Martens UK defence

Scotsman

time9 minutes ago

  • Scotsman

Business news house prices Dr Martens UK defence

From Vodafone and Three's merger and rising UK house prices, to Michael O'Leary's £93m Ryanair bonus, Dr Martens' turnaround hopes, new UK weapons factories and the end of the NatWest bailout - here are today's top UK business stories. Sign up to our Scotsman Money newsletter, covering all you need to know to help manage your money. Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to The Scotsman, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... Vodafone and Three have officially merged, forming a new mobile giant called VodafoneThree. The deal completed on May 31, with Vodafone holding a 51 per cent stake. The new firm plans to invest £11 billion over the next decade in cutting-edge 5G. Max Taylor will lead as CEO, promising better service for millions of UK users. House prices on the rise and Ryanair boss share pay-out: More Business in Brief UK house prices rose 3.5 per cent in May, up slightly from 3.4 per cent in April, says Nationwide. Month-on-month, prices climbed 0.5 per cent, taking the average home to £273,427. That follows a small dip in April. Ryanair boss Michael O'Leary is set for a share bonus worth over £93 million. He's qualified for the pay-out after shares hit a long-standing target set back in 2019. The deal gives him 10 million shares - if he stays on until 2028. O'Leary has led the airline since 1994. The new boss of Dr Martens is set to unveil his turnaround plan this week. It comes as the bootmaker faces falling sales and profits, with results due Thursday. Shares have plunged over 80 per cent since the firm listed in 2021. Investors are hoping the strategy update will kick-start a revival. The UK will build at least six new weapons factories to boost defence readiness. Defence Secretary John Healey says it will help deter threats and support a constant weapons supply. The £1.5 billion plan includes up to 7,000 UK-made long-range missiles. It follows warnings that war needs an industry ready to deliver at speed.

Keir Starmer to put UK on war footing amid 'new threats' in 'dangerous world'
Keir Starmer to put UK on war footing amid 'new threats' in 'dangerous world'

Daily Mirror

time17 minutes ago

  • Daily Mirror

Keir Starmer to put UK on war footing amid 'new threats' in 'dangerous world'

Keir Starmer will this morning announce a huge expansion of the UK's submarine fleet as he warns the country needs to be on a war footing. A long-awaited strategic defence review will be published today, with the Government commiting to build 12 new nuclear-powered attack submarines and invest £15billion in its warhead programme. Defence minister Luke Pollard told BBC Breakfast the world is now "more dangerous" and ominously stated: "We're certainly not at war at the moment, but it's also true that we're certainly not at peace." Mr Starmer will give a speech in Scotland at around 10am to outline the plans, which will be released this afternoon. Defence Secretary John Healey said last night that Britain "must act decisively to face down Russian aggression". Defence minister Luke Pollard has said the UK is "certainly not at war at the moment, but it's also true that we're certainly not at peace". He said action was needed to prevent conflict, telling BBC Breakfast: I think all your viewers will have seen the appalling scenes from Ukraine over recent years. They'll be aware that the world is more dangerous. They'll be aware that to secure our freedom and our economic prosperity, we have to invest in our national security. "It's the first duty of any government to keep our country safe, but it's also the first mission of this Labour Government to grow our economy by investing in defence. We're creating jobs in every single part of United Kingdom." He went on: "I don't want us to go to war. I want us to deter aggression. That is precisely what the defence review sets out to do today." In response to the Strategic Defence Review, the Government's commitments will include: Getting the armed forces to a stage where it would be ready to fight a war Boosting weapons and equipment stockpiles and making sure there is capacity to scale up production if needed in a crisis or war £1.5billion to set up at least six munitions factories Buying up to 7,000 UK-built long-range weapons in a move due to support 800 defence jobs Setting up a new cyber command and investing £1billion in digital capabilities More than £1.5billion of additional funding to repair and renew armed forces housing Boosting recruitment for Britain's armed forces - with the number of cadets increasing by 30% A minister has again refused to guarantee that the Government will spend 3% of the UK's economic output on defence in the next Parliament. Labour frontbencher Luke Pollard said the commitment would be dependent on the state of the ecomomy. It comes after Defence Secretary John Healey yesterday could not confirm that the Treasury would fund the plan to bring spending up to 3% of GDP by 2034. Asked on Monday morning whether the 3% commitment remained a guarantee, defence minister Luke Pollard told Times Radio: "Well, we've set out that we are spending 2.5% by April 2027, with the ambition to spend 3% in the next parliament, when economic conditions allow." Pressed about the commitment, Mr Pollard added: "Well I've got no doubt that we will get to 3% in the next parliament, as I've said a number of times." The defence minister said the strategic defence review, a wide-ranging investigation into the UK's defence being published on Monday, is the "biggest transformation of our armed forces in 100 years".He said: "It seeks to learn the lessons from the war in Ukraine, refresh our capabilities, invest in our people, and underscore that increased defence spending up to 2.5% of our GDP by April 2027 is an engine for growth." Keir Starmer will today announce major plans to almost double the UK's nuclear-powered submarine fleet. The Prime Minister will set out the building of 12 new attack submarines as part of the AUKUS programme, a security partnership between Australia, the UK and the US. He will also announce a major £15billion investment in the UK's nuclear warhead programme. The PM will make the announcements as he unveils the Government's new Strategic Defence Review (SDR). The externally-led review is expected to recommend the Armed Forces move to warfighting readiness to deter the growing threats faced by the UK. The UK currently has five Astute class attack submarines, which are on track to become a fleet of seven warships in the near future. These will be replaced one by one with the new SSN-AUKUS attack submarines from the late 2030s. A further five new submarines will take the total to 12. A major expansion of the industrial capabilities at Barrow and Raynesway, Derby, will see a new submarine built every 18 months in the future. These will all be built by the UK and operated by the Royal Navy. Click here for the full story

House prices rise by 0.5% month-on-month in May after April dip
House prices rise by 0.5% month-on-month in May after April dip

The Independent

time37 minutes ago

  • The Independent

House prices rise by 0.5% month-on-month in May after April dip

House price growth accelerated in May, amid 'supportive' underlying conditions for home buyers, according to an index. Property values increased by 0.5% month-on-month in May, following a 0.6% fall in April, taking the average UK house price to £273,427, Nationwide Building Society said. The typical UK house price increased by 3.5% annually in May, compared with 3.4% in April. Robert Gardner, Nationwide's chief economist, said: 'Despite wider economic uncertainties in the global economy, underlying conditions for potential home buyers in the UK remain supportive.' A stamp duty holiday ended in March, with recent figures showing there was a stampede to get sales over the line before the deadline, followed by a transactions dip. HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) figures published last week showed an estimated 64,680 house sales took place in April – 64% lower than the 177,440 reported in March. The study indicated the figures had been affected by changes to stamp duty rates which apply in England and Northern Ireland. Outlining underlying conditions which could be positive for home buyers, Mr Gardner said: ' Unemployment remains low, earnings are rising at a healthy pace, household balance sheets are strong and borrowing costs are likely to moderate a little if (the Bank of England base rate) is lowered further in the coming quarters as we, and most other analysts, expect.' Iain McKenzie, chief executive of the Guild of Property Professionals, said: 'After the surge in transactions earlier this year, driven by the stamp duty deadline, April's drop in sales was expected. It's likely we'll see a short period of adjustment but agent sentiment, as captured in the latest (Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors) data, suggests optimism for the second half of the year.' Jason Tebb, president of OnTheMarket, said: 'Even though a considerable number of buyers brought forward transactions to take advantage of the stamp duty concession before it ended in March, there is still plenty of activity in the market now the incentive is no longer available.' He added: 'Lenders have been trimming mortgage rates and easing criteria in recent weeks which should help a little, giving buyers who rely on mortgages more wiggle room.' Alice Haine, a personal finance analyst at Bestinvest by Evelyn Partners, said: 'The traditional surge in listings at this time of year is a positive buyers can take advantage of, as a wider stock of homes to choose from raises the potential for heavier negotiation on price.' Tom Bill, head of UK residential research at Knight Frank said: 'There are tentative signs of momentum in the UK housing market after a slump in activity in April caused by higher rates of stamp duty but a dramatic rebound in prices doesn't feel likely. 'Concerns around inflation and the Government's financial headroom mean mortgage rates don't feel poised to drop meaningfully. Buyers also have a lot of properties to choose from this spring, which we expect to keep downwards pressure on prices in the short term.' David Johnson, managing director of property consultancy Inhous, said: 'Buyer demand picked up immediately after the bank holidays and has remained strong throughout May.' Karen Noye, mortgage expert at wealth manager Quilter said: 'Mortgage rates continue to improve meaning more buyers are finding the confidence to enter the market. 'Although lenders have started to reduce rates, many borrowers are still facing higher monthly costs than they would have a couple of years ago, particularly those coming off ultra-low fixed deals. Affordability stress testing also remains a barrier, with lenders continuing to apply caution particularly for those with smaller deposits or variable income. 'Some existing borrowers are resorting to term extensions or interest-only arrangements to ease the pressure on monthly budgets, but these are not long-term fixes and often result in higher overall repayment costs. 'The underlying issue is that property prices remain significantly out of line with average earnings, particularly in southern England, and that mismatch is limiting how far the market can stretch. 'Looking ahead, if interest rates fall further, we may see further house price increases, but with ongoing economic uncertainty, many would-be movers may decide to hold off until the outlook becomes clearer. The market is still navigating a complex landscape.'

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into the world of global news and events? Download our app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store