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Sales of gold bullion are skyrocketing as investors look to safeguard themselves against political and economic instability, and also from capital gains tax. The Royal Mint has reported a nine per cent increase in its revenue from gold bullion sales over 2024, setting a new record high, as reported by City AM. In the final quarter of 2024 alone, these sales surged by 153 per cent compared to Q3 2023. The Mint witnessed a significant rise in sales across all bullion categories (gold bars, digital gold and gold coins), with the number of people purchasing gold increasing by 12 per cent. Revenue from bullion coin sales jumped by 56 per cent in the fourth quarter of 2024 on the third, and by 206 per cent on the fourth quarter of 2023. On 30 January 2025, the price of gold reached a record high of $2,799 (£2,251.31) per ounce, propelled by investors snapping up the metal as a hedge against aggressive US tariff plans. Stuart O’Reilly, market insights manager at the Royal Mint, commented: "A combination of economic uncertainty and geopolitical volatility have led gold prices to hit multiple all-time highs in 2024. At a time when interest rates are gradually subsiding, investors have been drawn in by the capital growth gold has delivered as an asset class, and the protections safe- haven assets provide. Gold continues to be popular as a secure investment that can help weather financial and political uncertainty, as well as offering diversification for a portfolio." In 2024, the price of gold surged by over 26 per cent, outperforming the S&P 500. Since 2000, the value of this precious metal has skyrocketed nearly 800 per cent. Gold investments can also be exempt from capital gains tax (CGT), making it an attractive investment for those who have already utilised their ISA and Sipp allowances before the end of the tax year on 5 April. Britannias and sovereigns, gold coins produced by the Royal Mint, are free from CGT. However, gold coins manufactured elsewhere, such as South African Krugerrands or American Gold Eagles, along with other forms of gold bullion, are subject to CGT in the UK.

Professional Services

TDR Capital to refinance education provider BPP after £2.5bn sale fails

2025-06-25 21:08:34

Private equity behemoth TDR Capital is exploring refinancing options for BPP Holdings, a leading UK provider of professional and academic education, after attempts to sell the institution fell through. Last summer, reports indicated that TDR was preparing to offload the company, with valuations surpassing £2.5bn, and had enlisted Morgan Stanley and Houlihan Lokey to secure a buyer, as reported by City AM. However, one interested party remarked that autumn presented an "unfortunate time to be trying to sell a business" amidst the economic uncertainties surrounding Rachel Reeves' inaugural budget. Among the potential suitors were private equity firms such as CVC, Cinven, and KKR, according to The Times. With the sale now off the table, TDR is seeking to refinance the educational enterprise. Previously, in 2021, Apollo Global Management-backed Vanta Education sold BPP to TDR for a figure below £700m. Following the acquisition, TDR rapidly expanded BPP's services, including the purchase of Buttercup Solutions, which provides training for pharmacists, pharmacy technicians, and hospital support staff. Last year marked BPP's international expansion with the acquisition of Acsenda School of Management and Arbutus College in Canada. BPP also operates BPP University, renowned for its accountancy and law courses, catering to 38,000 students, predominantly in postgraduate programs. In the financial year leading up to April 2024, TDR reported a pre-tax profit of £43m, a period characterised by significant acquisitions, including the supermarket titan Asda.

Professional Services

Cost-cutting pays dividends for TSB as bank reports record year

2025-07-10 09:43:12

TSB's cost-cutting measures have enabled the bank to weather a "competitive mortgage market", as the high street lender reported a record-breaking year. TSB's pretax profit rose to £290.4m, a 22 per cent increase from the previous year and a record since the bank's return to the high street in 2013, as reported by City AM. This was achieved despite a slight drop in income to £1.1bn from £1.2bn in 2023, which the bank attributed to "lower mortgage margins in a highly competitive market". The profit boost was due to reduced costs. TSB reported that operating expenses had decreased by 3.6 per cent to £821.9m, down from £852.9m the previous year. "A continued focus on costs and lower restructuring costs helped to mitigate the impact of higher inflation, one-off costs and the new Bank of England levy," it stated. Credit impairment charges also dropped by 44 per cent to £30.1m, reflecting an improving economic outlook and lower risk from its unsecured portfolio as cost-of-living pressures ease. The bank’s net interest margin (NIM) fell by seven basis points to 2.68 per cent compared to 2023, although margins actually improved throughout each quarter in 2024. NIM measures the difference between what banks pay on deposits and what they earn from loans and other assets. By the fourth quarter, the bank’s NIM stood at 2.77 per cent. Most banks have seen margins improve in recent years thanks to the Bank of England’s interest rate hikes. The prospect of fewer rate hikes will likely prove a tailwind for many lenders. The bank commented on the fluctuating market expectations, stating: "Market expectations have been unstable, but imply that the Bank Rate will remain higher than in the years preceding the recent rises." TSB announced its plans to pay a £300m dividend to its parent company, Spanish bank Sabadell, which is currently warding off a hostile takeover bid from BBVA.

Professional Services

JP Morgan Global Growth & Income trust set to acquire Janus Henderson's smaller fund

2025-06-30 19:26:05

JP Morgan's Global Growth & Income trust, a leading investment trust, is poised to acquire its smaller rival managed by Janus Henderson. The £3.1 billion JP Morgan trust has initiated a takeover bid for the £329 million Henderson International Income trust, as revealed in a stock exchange announcement today, as reported by City AM. Following the announcement, shares of Henderson International Income surged by 9.6 per cent in early trading. Both trusts have acknowledged a significant overlap in their top shareholders, with 85 per cent of Henderson's investors also holding shares in JP Morgan Global Growth & Income. Should the acquisition proceed, charges for Henderson's investors would decrease from 0.77 per cent to 0.42 per cent. The new board of the trust would include six directors from JP Morgan's trust and one from the Henderson trust, with the latter director resigning after a year. "The board believes that the proposed combination will provide shareholders with access to a larger, more liquid vehicle with an outstanding track record and a history of growing dividends whilst focusing on the most attractive investment opportunities," stated Richard Hills, chair of Henderson International Income trust. He added, "Having consulted a number of our largest shareholders who have indicated their support, we believe the combination is very attractive for shareholders as a whole." JP Morgan Global Growth & Income's largest holdings include Amazon, accounting for 6.8 per cent of assets, Microsoft at 6.7 per cent, and Nvidia at 5.6 per cent. According to data from Deutsche Numis, JP Morgan Global Growth & Income was the second most popular trust across all investment platforms in 2024, falling behind only Scottish Mortgage. The popularity among retail investors has been partially due to the strong performance of the JP Morgan trust, with its underlying assets growing by 49.2 per cent over the last three years compared to Henderson’s 17.8 per cent. This is in comparison to a 31.9 per cent return across all global equity income trusts, as per data from the Association of Investment Companies.

Professional Services

FTSE 100 hits record high in 2025, boosted by global market trends and Smiths Group breakup

2025-07-03 21:44:09

The FTSE 100 has reached another record high this morning, with the index increasing by five per cent since the beginning of 2025. London's primary index climbed 0.46 per cent this morning before slightly retreating, while the more domestically focused FTSE 250 surged 0.53 per cent as reported by City AM. Susannah Streeter, head of money and markets at Hargreaves Lansdown, attributed this trend to investors seeking safer havens amidst Wall Street volatility over AI spending and Trump’s tariff plans: "Given the volatility this week on Wall Street as investors fret about the trajectory of AI spend, and the impact of Trump’s tariff plans, there’s been a flight to safer havens, offering more reliable returns, where stocks have been undervalued compared to their US peers." Earlier this month, the FTSE 100 achieved its first all-time high since last spring, fuelled by investor speculation that the Bank of England would slash interest rates more drastically than anticipated. The index also benefited from a depreciating pound and a commodity boom, which propelled miners and oil companies. Although the pound has rebounded from the $1.22 low it hit earlier in the month, it remains seven per cent lower against the dollar over the past four months, currently standing at $1.24. Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell, commented on the FTSE 100's recent performance: "The FTSE 100 marked new record highs on Friday morning, taking its cues from solid trading on Wall Street as the recovery from Monday’s DeepSeek related volatility continued." He noted that "Defence and energy names were among those giving the UK’s flagship index an end-of-week boost." Today, the most significant boost to the FTSE 100 has come from Smiths Group, whose shares surged over 11 per cent following the announcement that the company is considering a split. The global engineering firm disclosed plans to offload Smiths Interconnect and separate Smiths Detection through either a demerger or sale, alongside a commitment to a £500m share buyback programme. Other notable gainers in today's trading include Next, with a two per cent increase, BAE Systems rising by 1.3 per cent, and St James’s Place up by 1.2 per cent. "Investors will be relieved that the markets have successfully negotiated a week full of major events including a Federal Reserve interest rate meeting and the start of the Magnificent Seven earnings season," Mould commented. He also pointed out that there's another potential market mover on the horizon: "Later on, there’s one more hurdle to get over this week as core PCE inflation data is released in the US.

Professional Services

Metro Bank sells off £584m personal loan book as it switches to specialist lending

2025-06-30 01:59:36

Metro Bank is in the process of divesting its £584m portfolio of unsecured personal loans as it shifts focus towards specialist lending. The sale, hinted at the end of January, is expected to net the FTSE 250 bank a profit of £11m. The transaction details are yet to be revealed but come just before the company is due to announce its annual results on Thursday morning, as reported by City AM. Analysts from Peel Hunt, including Robert Sage, Stuart Duncan and Stephen Payne, commented: "By downsizing exposure to legacy unsecured personal loans more rapidly than expected, Metro can free up funding and capital to scale up its commercial and corporate lending balances, which have higher risk-adjusted returns sooner than guided." They noted a surge in demand for commercial and corporate lending, suggesting that the sale could reinforce the bank's balance sheet. The analysts further remarked: "The steadily rising groundswell of positive news for Metro continues with this announcement." They praised the bank’s management strategy: "Having set out an ambitious and transformative strategy aiming to generate returns above the sector average, management is now showing how it may be able to deliver on its plans even more rapidly than its already tight stated timeframe." They have also planned to update their target price and recommendations after reviewing the full-year financial results from the bank. Meanwhile, Metro Bank, boasting roughly three million UK customers, hasn't offered new personal or unsecured loans since 2023, reflecting its concentrated effort on specialist lending. The lender unveiled a series of cost-saving measures at the start of the year, which included cutting 1,000 jobs and reducing the opening hours of its high street branches.

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Barclays and Natwest to axe climate targets from executive bonuses as US giants follow suit

2025-07-11 10:20:28

Banking behemoths Barclays and Natwest have decided to remove climate targets from their annual bonus schemes for top executives. This move is indicative of a broader trend in the corporate sector, severing the formal connection between climate and diversity goals and remuneration, as reported by City AM. Both banks will eliminate sustainability metrics as performance indicators from annual reward schemes, instead incorporating climate objectives into long-term share-based incentive plans. Barclays and Natwest argue that this approach better aligns with long-term climate aspirations. However, this can also be viewed as part of a larger overhaul of environmentally and socially conscious measures that many firms have integrated into their operations in recent years. The Net-Zero Banking Alliance (NZBA), established in 2021 by the UN Environment Programme finance initiative, has faced considerable scrutiny after six of America's largest banks withdrew. These included J.P. Morgan, Citigroup and Bank of America, accounting for a significant portion of assets under management. Donald Trump's inaugural act as US President was to sign an executive order on 20 January to terminate "radical and wasteful" DEI programmes in the US. Numerous American companies have either openly or subtly followed suit, with Deloitte phasing out its diversity objectives in the US and removing DEI-related content from its website. McDonalds, Target and Walmart have implemented similar actions in the past month. Barclays has previously included climate metrics in its annual bonus scheme for senior executives, but will now incorporate sustainability measures into its long-term incentive plan. According to the bank's annual report, these goals will be combined with customer and client metrics and will have a 25 per cent weighting. The report stated: "Progress towards these targets is expected to be volatile and non-linear and is best assessed over a multi-year period," It added: "The sustainability measures are included as part of a broader, renamed category of measures... includ[ing] financing the transition, reducing our financed emissions and achieving net zero operations, as well as supporting our communities." Meanwhile, Natwest will give sustainability metrics a 15 per cent weighting in its chief executive's performance share plan, up from 10 per cent of his bonus, according to The Times.

Professional Services

Bank of England set to cut interest rates as UK economy stumbles

2025-06-13 19:49:57

Market analysts anticipate a Bank of England interest rate cut this Thursday, due to growing concerns about the UK's faltering economy which are expected to override ongoing inflation worries. The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) is set to endorse a third rate decrease, potentially taking the benchmark Bank Rate down to 4.50 percent, as reported by City AM. However, a note of caution regarding the rest of the year is likely to be indicated by the rate-setters, owing to persistent economic price pressures. "Gradualism, we think, will remain front and centre for the MPC given two-sided risks to the inflation outlook," commented Sanjay Raja, the chief UK economist at Deutsche Bank. Projections alongside the decision are predicted to project diminished growth and elevated unemployment compared with the Bank's previous estimates in November. At that point, growth was forecast at 1.5 percent for 2025, but experts now believe this might settle closer to one percent due to minimal economic expansion post the last summer's general election. The downturn has been attributed partially to the government's discouraging rhetoric and budgetary tax increases. Trends indicate that consumer and business confidence remains lackluster as the new year commences, likely putting a cap on short-term growth prospects. Although anticipations suggest a softer economic landscape, revised inflation forecasts are still slated to be adjusted upwards, particularly in the near term. Since November, energy prices have risen and the pound has weakened, increasing the cost of imports. Furthermore, surveys indicate that companies are passing on more of the costs from the national insurance increase than Bank officials had anticipated. The most recent data shows inflation at 2.5 per cent in December, lower than expected, but many economists predict inflation could climb to as high as 3.3 per cent by spring. The Bank's earlier forecasts suggested inflation would peak around 2.8 per cent. The challenge for the Bank will be communicating the decision to cut rates while revising their inflation estimates upwards. However, rate-setters are likely to stress that weaker growth will impact inflation in the long term. "The weaker growth outlook will probably translate into an inflation forecast that is again below the inflation target," said Matt Swannell, chief economic adviser to the EY Item Club. Barclays' economists stated that the new forecasts would "exacerbate the divergence between a near-term overshoot and medium-term undershoot of inflation. Markets are pricing in around two or three cuts this year, although some economists expect the Bank to cut rates more aggressively."

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