London

LME-certified warehouses in Hong Kong accepted over 8,000 tons of metals since April with CEO Matthew Chamberlain seeing stocks potentially reach hundreds of thousands of tons. A 10,000 square-foot facility at Runfa Wharf hit full capacity within a week and plans 30,000 square feet of expansion. Middle East tensions are driving manufacturers to seek stable supplies, positioning Hong Kong as a gateway to China's metals market despite higher costs than regional competitors.

Greg Jackson of Octopus Energy and Alice Bentinck of Entrepreneurs First, who raised $200m at a $1.3bn valuation, lead the finalists for City AM's 2026 awards. Ken Murphy makes the list after Tesco distributed £130m to 22,000 employees through investor schemes. The finalists reflect UK business resilience amid economic recovery: retail stability, fintech growth, and corporate profit-sharing as employee retention tools.

Supply shortages are turning London's office market into a landlord's paradise. CoStar data shows leasing in London's Southern Fringe reached its highest level since 2016, when Apple pre-let nearly 500,000 square feet at Battersea Power Station. City Core prime rents jumped 41.4 percent to £102.50 per square foot since 2019, while West End rents hit £185 per square foot, up 60.9 percent as property data shows. Construction activity fell to a 13-year low in 2025, creating a supply crunch that forces occupiers to pay premiums for Grade A space. Alternative investment firms now pay 24 percent above prime rents and commit to 12-year terms on average, signaling confidence that London's office shortage will persist despite hybrid work trends.

British fintech chiefs are switching from expansion mode to capital preservation as funding conditions deteriorate faster than expected. The shift signals the end of the growth-at-all-costs era that defined London's fintech boom since 2015. Companies that raised at peak valuations in 2021 now face down rounds or bridge funding at 40-60 percent discounts. Revenue multiples for profitable fintechs have compressed from 15-20x to 6-8x in eighteen months, forcing founders to choose between dilution and death.