Time for crowdfunding platforms to get serious about transparency November 6, 2017 The patient capital review consultation may have closed in September, but debate around it has not. As November’s Budget fast approaches and Brexit uncertainty worries business, the political emphasis for encouraging Britain’s budding entrepreneurs and high-growth firms becomes more astute. To date, a good deal of the debate has focused on tax. The investment sector [...]
Ladbrokes Coral ordered to pay £2.3m by Gambling Commission for failings at Gala Interactive November 6, 2017 Ladbrokes Coral has been fined £2.3m for breaching consumer protection regulations, it was confirmed this morning. The group’s subsidiary, Gala Interactive, has been fined after two high-spending gamblers who later went to prison lost £1.3m between them on the site. Both used stolen money to fund their gambling addictions. The Gambling Commission found in an [...]
London’s Oxford Street to be pedestrianised by the end of 2018 under plans by Mayor Sadiq Khan November 6, 2017 Radical plans to pedestrianise Oxford Street are set to get underway next year to provide a traffic-free space in central London in time for the full launch of Elizabeth Line services. London mayor Sadiq Khan and the deputy leader of Westminster City Council Robert Davis, announced the plans this morning to banish buses and black [...]
App-land heavyweight Michelle Kennedy is connecting lonely young mums November 6, 2017 When you’re the deputy chief executive of a thriving dating network, and were instrumental in the launch of another, upon giving birth to your first child, one might think that starting a new firm would be the last thing on your mind. Not for Michelle Kennedy. Previously of Badoo, and an integral player at Bumble’s [...]
Challenger bank Aldermore recommends £1.1bn takeover offer from FirstRand | City A.M. November 6, 2017 After a month that has seen its share price rocket, Aldermore finally announced this morning that it would recommend a takeover offer from South Africa’s FirstRand valuing the business at £1.1bn. FirstRand, which with a £15.8bn market value is South Africa’s largest financial services institution, announced in October that it had made an approach to [...]
Tube status: Seven lines suspended or delayed – Circle, District, Hammersmith & City, Bakerloo, London Overground, DLR & Metropolitan Line November 6, 2017 Commuters were facing a nightmare journey to work this morning as seven Tube lines were hit by suspensions or delays – while a train partially derailed in South West London. The DLR, Bakerloo, Circle, District, Hammersmith & City, London Overground, and Metropolitan lines were all hit by hit by derailments, power failures and signal failures. [...]
Waterloo station hit by rush-hour commute chaos as train partially derails November 6, 2017 Commuters into one of London’s biggest transport hubs were bracing themselves for cancellations and delays this morning, after a train derailed in South West London. South West Trains said there had been a “low speed partial derailment” between Wimbledon and Clapham Junction, which will cause cancellations, delays or revisions to the timetable until the end [...]
Jan Hammer, partner at Europe’s most active fintech investor Index Ventures, wouldn’t rule out investing in Initial Coin Offerings (ICOs) November 6, 2017 Europe’s biggest fintech investor Index Ventures would not rule out putting cash into an initial coin offering (ICO) as the method of raising funds for startups continues growing in popularity. “We haven’t invested in one,” said Jan Hammer, general partner at the venture firm in London, who boasts UK fintech stars Transferwise, Funding Circle and [...]
Carles Puigdemont and Catalan ex-ministers released in Belgium pending ruling November 6, 2017 Five Catalan separatists including the ousted president Carles Puigdemont have been released in Belgium to await a court hearing in Brussels. Puigdemont handed himself into Belgian police early on Sunday. He will now appear in court within the next two weeks, so that the authorities can decide whether to yield him and his former ministers [...]
City Pub Group plans to raise £30m in a float on the Alternative Investment Market (Aim) by the end of November November 6, 2017 The City Pub Group is set to launch its long-awaited float on London’s Alternative Investment Market (Aim) by the end of November. The group, which operates a 34-strong estate of premium pubs across the south of England, will today announce its intention to go forward with an initial public offering (IPO) to raise £30m of [...]