THE DAILY BRIEFING

CITY TIE-UP City law firm Druces is merging with West End rival Ronaldsons.

It will make 250-year-old Druces the 15th biggest player in the UK, according to Adviser Rankings. The business will have more clients in the AIM junior stock market than any rival.

WEALTHY AIMS Private equity firms are tapping up individual wealthy investors to raise cash.

Coinvestor and Connection Capital, two financial technology firms which pool savers’ cash and put it into funds normally only accessible to institutions, both say they have seen rising appetite for their service.

BIT BAN Japan’s finance watchdog has suspended Binance, one of the world’s biggest bitcoin exchanges, alleging it does not have the correct licence.

The exchange has been forbidden from operating in the country, which is at the heart of the craze for online money and accounts for the world’s highest trading volume on most days.

LAW GIANTS US titan Kirkland & Ellis is the biggest law firm in the world after overtaking rival Latham & Watkins. Kirkland, whose City headquarters are in the Gherkin skyscraper, said revenues climbed 19pc to £2.2bn last year. Latham raked in around £60m less.

NET GAINS Online retail sales in the UK surged by 13.1pc in February compared to a year earlier as people sheltered from the cold weather to do their shopping at home, figures published in IMRG Capgemini’s online retail sales index showed.

NEW ROUTE Low-cost airline Ryanair will begin flights to Ukraine from October, carrying 80,000 customers each year to two major airports in the country. It becomes the company’s 36th destination.

PARK RIDES Alton Towers and Thorpe Park owner Merlin Entertainments is opening two attractions in Birmingham this year, costing a combined £27m.