Business

Lloyds Banking Group is handing more than £3.1 billion back to shareholders after delivering stronger-than-expected annual profits, underlining the financial firepower of Britain’s biggest domestic lender. The FTSE 100 bank reported full-year pre-tax profits of £6.66 billion, up 12 per cent on 2024 and comfortably ahead of the £6.38 billion forecast by City analysts. The performance was supported by lower-than-expected bad loan provisions and growing income from non-lending activities. Lloyds announced a final dividend of...

The UK’s advertising watchdog has banned a series of adverts by Coinbase, ruling that they implied cryptocurrency could help ease cost-of-living pressures and downplayed the risks associated with crypto investing. The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) upheld complaints from members of the public after the adverts ran in August, depicting Britain in various states of decline alongside a satirical slogan and the Coinbase logo. The campaign included three poster adverts and a video which portrayed families,...

Driverless taxis could begin operating in the UK as soon as September, according to Waymo, the US self-driving car firm owned by Alphabet. Waymo said it plans to launch a pilot robotaxi service in London in April, with the ambition of carrying paying passengers later in the year once regulations allow. The UK government has said it intends to introduce new rules in the second half of 2026 to permit fully autonomous taxi services, though...

Apple has reported its strongest-ever quarterly iPhone sales, helping to lift overall revenues despite weaker performance in other parts of the business. In results published on Thursday, the US technology giant said total revenue rose to $144bn (£82.5bn) in the final three months of last year, driven by record sales of the iPhone. Apple said iPhone demand reached an all-time high during the quarter, supported by improved sales in China, as well as continued strength...

Tesla has reported its first annual fall in revenue as the electric carmaker accelerates a strategic shift away from legacy vehicle models and towards artificial intelligence and robotics. The company said total revenues fell 3 per cent in 2025, marking the first year-on-year decline in its history, while profits plunged 61 per cent in the final three months of the year. Tesla also confirmed it will end production of its Model S and Model X,...

China has agreed in principle to allow British citizens to travel to the country for up to 30 days without a visa, Downing Street has confirmed, following high-level talks in Beijing aimed at resetting relations and boosting economic ties. The announcement came after Keir Starmer met Xi Jinping in the Chinese capital, making him the first UK prime minister to visit China in eight years. No start date has yet been confirmed for the visa...

The Employment Rights Act 2025 received Royal Assent on 18 December 2025, and the Act will be implemented on a phased basis, through to 2027. There are, however, two specific implementation dates to be aware of this year: 6 April 2026 and 1 October 2026. April 2026 Paternity leave and Parental leave From 6 April, there will be a day-one right to paternity leave and parental leave. The current requirement for 26 weeks’ and one...

Ministers have again refused to pay compensation to women affected by changes to the state pension age, triggering renewed anger from campaigners who say millions were left in the dark about reforms that upended their retirement plans. The government revisited the issue after a previously unseen document emerged, but concluded once more that compensation was neither justified nor affordable. Campaigners argue that around 3.6 million women born in the 1950s were not properly informed about...

When Patrick Drahi revived the sale of a stake in a German fibre network this month, the headlines focused on familiar themes. High leverage typical of the sector and asset disposals, reflecting a large debt position built during a decade of unusually cheap capital. It is a narrative that fits comfortably with how European telecoms is often described, as an industry shaped by capital intensity, long investment cycles and complex balance sheets. Yet, this focus...

Aldi has announced plans to open 40 new stores across the UK in 2026 as part of a £370 million investment programme aimed at expanding access to low-cost groceries. The German-owned supermarket said new locations will include Southam in Warwickshire, Hastings in East Sussex and Amersham in Buckinghamshire, as it targets communities where it currently has no presence. Giles Hurley, chief executive of Aldi UK and Ireland, said the retailer had identified clear gaps in...