London startup Pace has raised £2.5m to help hotels boost revenues using artificial intelligence December 14, 2017 A London startup using artificial intelligence to help boost revenues for hotels has raised several million pounds of cash from early-stage investors. Seedcamp, SpeedInvest and Amadeus Capital Partners are among investors putting £2.5m into Pace, with InterGlobe – the company behind India’s larges airline IndiGo – leading the seed round. Read more: European fintech startup [...]
The UK’s late payments culture is the worst in the world – we owe it to SMEs to tackle it December 14, 2017 Every year, UK businesses spend an average of 15 working days chasing late payments. That’s a higher level of wasted time than in any other country in the world. This is unacceptable, and particularly relevant as we approach year-end, a time when businesses are managing a last rush of customer activity and working hard to [...]
UK FTSE 100 housebuilder bosses lined up to pocket £126m in 2018 December 14, 2017 Bosses of the top FTSE 100 housebuilders are in line for an epic £126m payout next year as part of their long-term share rewards. Jeff Fairburn, chief executive of Persimmon, is in line for the biggest payout. If the firm performs as analysts expect this year, Fairburn could receive £116m from share grants. Read more: [...]
Heathrow Airport to unveil plans to deliver expansion “more responsibly and affordably” December 14, 2017 Heathrow has today announced it will unveil plans to deliver airport expansion “more responsibly and affordably”, with the launch of its planning consultation into its long-awaited new runway next month. The airport’s consultation, which is a separate one to the government’s on its airports national policy statement, will cover aspects such as airport design and [...]
Emma Thompson on the importance of activism and why Greenpeace made her braver December 14, 2017 Emma Thompson may be best known for her Academy Award-winning roles on the silver screen but she is also a passionate and dedicated activist. When her hectic acting schedule affords her some precious time, she is frequently vocal in championing a more green and just world. City A.M. recently caught up with her to speak [...]
Manchester City obliterate struggling Swansea to maintain their 11-point cushion at Premier League summit December 13, 2017 Runaway leaders Manchester City maintained their 11-point lead at the Premier League summit after chalking up a regulation 4-0 thrashing of bottom of the table Swansea at the Liberty Stadium. City made light work of the struggling Swans as David Silva continued his rich vein of goalscoring form with a double strike – the 31-year-old [...]
Special delivery: Aberdeen Standard Investments raises £187.5m for a fund focused on warehouses and delivery depots December 13, 2017 Just as the online Christmas shopping boom builds to a crescendo, Aberdeen Standard Investments has swooped in on the trend raising £187.5m for its warehouse fund. In a London stock market float yesterday – the firm’s first since Aberdeen Asset Management merged with Standard Life earlier this year – the European Logistics Income fund pulled [...]
Brexit: Government loses key EU Withdrawal Bill vote on Dominic Grieve’s amendment seven by just four votes December 13, 2017 The government has suffered its first defeat over the EU Withdrawal Bill, as MPs voted in support of Dominic Grieve’s amendment seeking a meaningful vote on the final Brexit deal. It was not clear until the final minutes which way the vote – over an amendment to clause nine – would go, with both sides [...]
The UK drove a recovery in European private equity activity this year as UK buyout value doubled, according to CMBOR December 13, 2017 European private equity activity saw a rebound this year, thanks to a bull-run in the UK where the value of buyout deals almost doubled. The total amount spent by private equity firms on new buyouts in Europe hit €90.2bn (£79.4bn), up 50 per cent from last year and on a par with pre-Brexit referendum levels, [...]
Facebook says no more than 200 UK viewers saw Russia’s Brexit ads December 13, 2017 Facebook has found just three adverts posted by Russian accounts in its attempt to investigate potential meddling by the country in last year’s Brexit vote. The Electoral Commission had asked the social media giant to look into any interference with the referendum last year. In a letter to the commission, Facebook said the trio of [...]