Midweek Scoop

A collection of 32 posts

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Midweek Scoop

Shelf Life to Share Price – Princes Eyes a £700m London Listing

Princes is one of those names you meet on the supermarket shelves long before it makes an appearance in the financial news. Tinned tuna, corned beef, even those tins of peaches stacked quietly in the cupboard – the kind of staple you reach for on a Tuesday night when inspiration runs

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Private Party: Soho House Checks Out of the Stock Exchange

If you’ve ever sipped a martini in a swoon-worthy armchair, debated oat milk vs cow over avocado on toast, or waited three months for a “local” members’ club to let you in – chances are, you’ve brushed up against the world of Soho House. The global club-hotel-restaurant-spa-gym-creative-community hybrid has

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Cars, Commissions and Courtrooms – Why Bank Shares Just Went Up Despite a Hefty Bill

It’s not often you hear “consumer compensation scheme” and “bank shares rise” in the same breath, but here we are. This week’s big finance story involves mis-sold car finance, a Supreme Court twist, and a market reaction that looks – at first glance – to defy common sense.

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Behind the Mic: How Podcast Publishers Took Over the Show

If you still think podcasting is just two mates chatting about football in a shed, it’s time for a rethink. The shed’s been soundproofed, they’ve got a producer, a sponsorship deal, and someone from Spotify on speed dial. Podcasting isn’t a cottage industry anymore – it’s

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Beyond the Music: Bieber’s Family Office and the Business of Being Rich

Pop star. Chart-topper. One-time Calvin Klein poster boy. And now… head of his very own wealth machine. Justin Bieber, never one to stick with convention, has reportedly launched a family office – RBCx Holdings (short for Royal Bible Club, naturally) – following the $200 million sale of his music catalogue to Hipgnosis

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Vine Britannia: Can England’s Wine Boom Weather the Storm?

It wasn’t just the crisp acidity or the hint of stone fruit that caught our attention. It was the bottle. We’d just tasted a Chardonnay from The Heretics – a bold new producer tucked into the North Essex hills – and immediately went digging for more. The wine was brilliant.

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Green Dreams, Paid Monthly – The Rise of Energy-as-a-Service

How eEnergy and Redaptive are changing the rules of engagement (and repayment) for energy efficiency upgrades Let’s face it – we’d all love a building that practically runs itself on sunshine and a clean conscience. But upgrading your office building to something worthy of a sustainability Pinterest board doesn’

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So, You Want to Start a Political Party…

If you’ve spent the past week doomscrolling and wondering whether Succession was a documentary, you may have seen it: Elon Musk has launched his own political party, and he’s called it – brace yourself – the America Party.

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Wimbledon May Be on, But the Real Game is Off the Court

Wimbledon is back – complete with Centre Court dramatics, overpriced strawberries, and enough Pimm’s to sink a yacht. The sporting world once again marvels at the precision and physicality of tennis at its peak. But far from the courts of SW19, a quieter transformation is underway: elite players are turning

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Metro Bank and the Curious Case of Banking Valuations

Or: how to flog a once-flailing bank with a fresh narrative and a dash of interest rate fairy dust. Just over a year ago, Metro Bank looked about as lively as Brighton pier a rainy bank holiday.  Its shares were worth about as much as a Freddo, its bonds were

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Up, Up and Away – The Space Elevator Dream and the Finance Behind It

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Talking Shop: The Real Business Behind the Conference Lanyard

The Global ABS conference has once again taken over Barcelona. Flights are full of navy suits, hotel lobbies echo with talk of regulation, and someone, somewhere, is still looking for the right meeting room. But while delegates gather to trade market insights and LinkedIn pleasantries, there’s another story unfolding

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Private Equity in Law Firms – The Reshaping of a Profession

In early 2025, two former senior partners of a major international law firm quietly launched a new advisory business. Their mission? To help law firms and private equity investors navigate a world that, until recently, barely existed: buying and selling stakes in law firms. Not so long ago, the idea

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Victoria’s Secret Has a Secret Weapon (and It’s Called a Poison Pill)

In news that has nothing to do with lace or lingerie, Victoria’s Secret has just adopted a poison pill – and no, this one’s not a metaphor for a failed perfume launch. It’s a classic American boardroom manoeuvre: legally sound, routinely controversial. The trigger? BBRC International, helmed by

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Courts in Session: How Local Tennis Clubs Can Evolve Without Going Bust

Across the UK, local tennis clubs are quietly rethinking their game plan. The Sunday morning doubles still roll on, the committee still debates the price of tea bags, but there’s something new stirring behind the baseline. A fresh crop of racquet sports – pickleball and padel – are bouncing into view,

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Swapping Beers for Basis Points: JD Wetherspoon’s Quiet Hedging Habit

JD Wetherspoon (JDW), the no-frills, no-music, pints on tap pub chain, opens its first Isle of Man outpost today (14 May 2025). The Conister Arms will seat 725 punters, create around 120 jobs, and bring Wetherspoon’s brand of industrial-scale beer service to Douglas. It’s part of a wider

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Railway Arches and Blackstone’s €1 Billion Bet: What’s Going On Beneath the Tracks?

Blackstone – one of the world’s biggest property investors, has just spent €1 billion on a rather niche slice of British real estate: railway arches. Yes, actual arches. The ones holding up train lines. Turns out, they’re not just for graffiti and pigeons anymore.

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Building Britain’s Future: Financing the Next Generation of New Towns

Britain's Grand Designs: Now with More Paperwork The UK has always had a soft spot for a bold construction project. From the post-war creation of Milton Keynes (all concrete cows and roundabouts) to Stratford’s post-Olympic glow-up, we’ve never been shy about reshaping the map when needs

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Chocolate Off the Shelf, Strategy Behind the Scenes

You may want to sit down for this one - especially if you're fond of the darker end of the chocolate spectrum: dark chocolate Toblerone is being pulled from UK shelves. Yes, the angular Alpine treat - specifically the 360g version - is on its way out, thanks

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British Steel’s Crisis and the Politics of Propping Up a National Staple

British Steel is in trouble again - and when a company that supplies 95% of the country’s rail tracks starts running out of money, people in Whitehall tend to sit up and pay attention. Unfortunately, so do investors, unions, and anyone trying to work out whether they’re about

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Silvertown Tunnel: When You Can’t Afford It, Just Get Someone Else to Pay

As of Monday, East London got itself a shiny new tunnel. Not because TfL stumbled across a suitcase of cash on a Jubilee line train, but because someone else - namely, a group of investors and lenders with a taste for long term toll forecasts - agreed to foot the

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WHSmith Sells Up - A Midweek Guide to Buying Pens, Paperclips, and an Entire Business

This week, a nostalgic chunk of British retail history looks set to pack its bags. WHSmith - purveyor of airport holiday reads, over-priced stationery, and the random temptation of reduced chocolate bars when you just want to pay for a pack of Bic pens - has agreed to sell its

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Klarna x DoorDash: Spreading the Cost of a Takeaway, One Bite at a Time

It’s official: you can now buy your Friday night takeaway in four easy instalments. Klarna - the Swedish fintech heavyweight of the “Buy Now, Pay Later” (BNPL) world - has teamed up with DoorDash in the U.S. That means you can get your groceries, your bubble tea, and

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Old Trafford: Renovation or Demolition? And More Importantly, Who’s Paying?

Manchester United is back in the headlines, but for once, it’s not because they’ve sacked another manager or spent £80 million on a defender who can’t defend. No, this time, it’s about their home - Old Trafford. The club is debating whether to give it a

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The FCA’s Mortgage Market Reforms: A Stiff Drink for the Housing Market?

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has decided that mortgage stress testing rules could do with a rethink - presumably after realising that even people with perfectly respectable finances were being told they couldn't afford a mortgage but could, apparently, afford years of paying rent at twice the price.