London’s £1bn M&A boom sparks City pay debate as Roblox scams target children

London’s financial district is counting the cost of its busiest year in a decade—and the bill is landing in the middle of a national cost-of-living crisis. Investment bankers, lawyers and advisers have pocketed more than £1bn in fees from mergers and acquisitions of UK-listed companies so far in 2026, a 175 % jump on last year that has reignited scrutiny of City pay at a time when real wages are still below pre-pandemic levels.

The figures, compiled by the London Stock Exchange, show that overseas buyers have spent $132.9bn snapping up British companies, from household names to mid-cap industrials. Goldman Sachs, Freshfields and Rothschild are among the firms that have shared the spoils, with each deal generating fees that can run into tens of millions for a single transaction. The surge has been driven by a combination of cheap sterling, a post-election stability dividend and a global hunt for yield in a world of low interest rates. Yet it is the optics that are proving toxic: while nurses and teachers strike for inflation-beating pay rises, the City’s bonus pools are swelling again.

The backlash has been swift. Labour MPs have called for a windfall tax on advisory fees, while the Trades Union Congress has demanded that the government use its golden share in NatWest to cap executive pay ratios. “When the country is struggling to pay its bills, it is obscene that a handful of bankers are trousering eight-figure sums for shuffling paper,” said one shadow Treasury minister. The City, for its part, argues that the fees reflect the value of expertise in a complex regulatory environment and that the UK’s open capital markets are a competitive advantage that must be preserved.

The Roblox economy: where children’s playtime meets criminal enterprise

In living rooms across Britain, a new front in the battle against online fraud is opening up—and the victims are often too young to understand what has happened. Criminals are targeting children who play Roblox, the massively popular gaming platform, by tricking them into handing over login details in exchange for promises of free in-game currency, known as Robux.

The scam typically begins with a YouTube video or social-media post offering “free Robux” if the child follows a link and enters their username and password. The link often mimics the official Roblox site, complete with branding and a login page that looks identical to the real thing. Once the child has entered their details, the criminals drain their Robux balance—sometimes worth hundreds of pounds—and may also harvest personal data for further exploitation. Parents are left to explain why their child’s account has been emptied, and why their own credit card, linked to the account, has been charged for unauthorised purchases.

Roblox Corporation, which is listed on the New York Stock Exchange, has acknowledged the problem but says it is powerless to stop every fraudulent site. “We invest heavily in safety and education, but bad actors are constantly evolving their tactics,” a spokesperson said. The company has introduced two-factor authentication and parental controls, but security experts argue that the platform’s young user base makes it inherently vulnerable. “Children don’t have the same scepticism as adults,” said a cybersecurity analyst at the University of Cambridge. “They trust what they see online, and that trust is being exploited.”

The scale of the problem is hard to quantify, but the National Crime Agency estimates that online fraud against minors is rising faster than any other category of cybercrime. In 2025, Action Fraud received more than 12,000 reports of scams targeting children, a 40 % increase on the previous year. The real number is likely far higher, as many incidents go unreported.

Data breaches and the NHS: when trust is the collateral damage

East Suffolk and North Essex NHS Foundation Trust has become the latest health service provider to suffer a data breach, after the personal details of patients, including a child identified only as Noah Woods, were exposed. The trust has apologised and launched an “urgent” investigation, but the incident is a reminder of the fragility of public trust in an era of digital healthcare.

The breach appears to have been caused by human error rather than a cyberattack. A staff member inadvertently shared a spreadsheet containing patient data with an unauthorised recipient. The trust has not disclosed how many people were affected, but it has confirmed that names, dates of birth and NHS numbers were included in the leak. Noah Woods, whose case has been highlighted by the media, is a paediatric patient whose sensitive medical history was among the data exposed.

The trust’s chief executive, Dr William Kenworthy, said in a statement: “We take this incident extremely seriously and are doing everything we can to support those affected. We have reported the breach to the Information Commissioner’s Office and are reviewing our data protection policies.” The ICO, which has the power to fine organisations up to 4 % of their global turnover for serious breaches, has not yet commented on whether it will take enforcement action.

For patients, the breach is more than a bureaucratic failure. It is a violation of the implicit contract between the NHS and the public: that personal health data will be treated with the utmost care. “When you go to the doctor, you don’t expect your medical history to end up in the wrong hands,” said one affected parent. “This isn’t just about data—it’s about dignity.”

The incident comes at a time when the NHS is under pressure to digitise its services, from electronic patient records to AI-driven diagnostics. Yet each breach erodes confidence in the system’s ability to protect sensitive information. A recent survey by the Health Foundation found that 62 % of Britons are concerned about the security of their health data, up from 48 % in 2020. The NHS’s digital transformation, it seems, is running ahead of its ability to keep patients safe.

What to watch this week

The City’s M&A bonanza is unlikely to slow down in the final quarter of the year, with several high-profile deals still in the pipeline. Analysts are watching for signs of whether the Labour government will intervene to protect strategically important companies from foreign takeovers, particularly in the defence and energy sectors.

On the consumer front, Roblox’s quarterly earnings report, due on Thursday, will be scrutinised for any signs of how the company is responding to the rise in scams targeting its young users. Investors will also be looking for clues about whether the platform’s growth is sustainable, or whether it is becoming a victim of its own success.

Meanwhile, the Information Commissioner’s Office is expected to publish new guidance on data breaches in the healthcare sector, following a string of incidents at NHS trusts. The guidance is likely to emphasise the need for better staff training and stricter access controls, but critics argue that without more funding, the NHS will continue to struggle with the basics of data security.