Royal Dutch Shell teams up with car giants including BMW and Ford to take ultra-fast electric vehicle charging across Europe’s highways November 27, 2017 Energy firm Royal Dutch Shell is teaming up with a raft of car giants including BMW, Daimler and Ford, to rapidly improve Europe’s charging infrastructure ahead of an expected surge in electric cars. Shell has signed an agreement with high-powered charging network operator Ionity, a joint venture between BMW, Daimler, Ford and the Volkswagen Group [...]
Open Banking will succeed if firms take the Thin End of the Wedge approach November 27, 2017 We see too many startups failing due to the disparity in size between them and much larger corporations they work with, due to inherent friction which is hard to overcome. Over-commitment to projects is one of the biggest reason that startups fail. Because of over-commitment, a startup will often find itself having to dedicate a [...]
Euro-regulation threatens internet model as we know it November 27, 2017 Few kids today will ever experience hovering in the local newsagents, browsing magazines before scarpering after an angry voice screeches that “this isn’t a bloody library!” from behind the counter. What they may experience, however, is the digital equivalent of walking into a shop, picking up as many magazines as they want, and leaving, without [...]
London has the biggest gender pay gap in the UK according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS) November 27, 2017 London might have had the smallest gender pay gap in the UK 20 years ago, but today it has the largest, according to new analysis from the Office for National Statistics (ONS). Women working full-time in London earned 15.1 per cent less per hour, on average, than their male counterparts 20 years ago. This has [...]
Victoria Beckham’s fashion brand nabs £30m from Paul bakery chain backer Neo Investment Partners November 27, 2017 Victoria Beckham Limited (VBL), the luxury fashion brand founded by the former Spice Girl whose name it shares, has caught the eye of London-based Neo Investment Partners. The growth investor, which specialises in high-end brands, has ploughed £30m into VBL to allow the company to expand its digital and physical retail presence. Beckham’s fashion business [...]
Royal Wedding announcement: Prince Harry engaged to American actress Meghan Markle November 27, 2017 Prince Harry is engaged to Meghan Markle, the Royal Family has announced. According to Clarence House, the pair became engaged in London earlier this month and the wedding will take place in spring 2018. The Prince of Wales is delighted to announce the engagement of Prince Harry to Ms. Meghan Markle. pic.twitter.com/zdaHR4mcY6— Clarence House (@ClarenceHouse) [...]
Struggling Pearson sells Wall Street English to Baring Private Equity Asia and CITIC Capital, bringing in “paltry” $100m | City A.M. November 27, 2017 The ailing education group Pearson has sold its English language training network, Wall Street English (WSE), in an effort to help keep the London-listed company’s head above water. Baring Private Equity Asia and CITIC Capital bought WSE for around $300m (£225m), but the deal is only expected to improve Pearson’s debt by around $100m – [...]
Having his cake and eating it: Patisserie Valerie group sees record profit as pro-Brexit chairman remains confident November 27, 2017 Patisserie Holdings, the parent company of cake cafe chain Patisserie Valerie, has announced record sales and profit today despite challenges in the casual dining sector. The figures The company, which also operates under the Druckers, Philpotts, Baker & Spice and Flour Power City brands, lifted revenue by 9.7 per cent to £114.2m in the year [...]
Uber has been behaving like a tech teenager – it’s time to grow up November 27, 2017 When Dara Khosrowshahi was ushered in as the new broom at Uber in August, he can’t have realised the full extent of the mess he had been tasked with clearing up. Damaging claims of sexual harassment that came to light in February were superseded in September by the dramatic decision to strip Uber of its [...]
Balderton Capital closes sixth fund at $375m to back more European tech startups November 27, 2017 One of Europe’s biggest backers of tech startups across Europe, including digital challenger bank Revolut and mapping app Citymapper in the UK, has raised a huge new fund to invest in early stage companies. Balderton Capital has raised $375m for its sixth fund which has gained more interest from US investors who are seeing Europe [...]