The Big Bang: How the City of London Was Catapulted Into the Modern Age

The Big Bang: How the City of London was catapulted into the modern age

The City of London was changed forever by a sweeping package of deregulation in 1986, known as the Big Bang. Forty years on – and facing existential threats – can the Square Mile reinvent itself again? When Alasdair Haynes left work as a young options trader on Friday 24th October 1986, he didn’t know what [...]

Remembering the Big Bang, forty years on

City of London skyline looking over the River Thames from the South Bank on 6th April 2026 in London, United Kingdom. The City of London is a city, ceremonial county and local government district that contains the primary central business district CBD of London. The City of London is widely referred to simply as the City is also colloquially known as the Square Mile. (photo by Mike Kemp/In Pictures via Getty Images)

‘Big Bang’ at 40: Are capital markets on the cusp of another revolution?

Forty years after the ‘Big Bang’ reforms reshaped London’s financial markets, a new wave of change is gathering pace. The TRADE sits down with experts from LSEG, SIX, FINBOURNE Technology and Taskize to unpack the question currently facing the industry: is another fundamental transformation already under way, and what will it take to turn technological potential into lasting progress?

Lessons from the original Big Bang and what they mean for the UK today

Ahead of tomorrow’s 40th anniversary of the UK’s Big Bang reforms and this week’s Budget, which is likely to sharpen the focus on growth and competitiveness, Leonard Ng, partner and head of the UK/EU Financial Services Regulatory group at Sidley, has shared his views on the lessons from 1986 and what they mean for the […]

Forty years on: how the “Big Bang” transformed London

Margaret Thatcher's Big Bang reforms were introduced over a single weekend. The result was a world-class financial centre that endures to this day.