London fintech serves up UK-wide partnership with sushi chain Itsu | City A.M. August 7, 2018 London-based fintech firm Flux will roll out a UK-wide deal with sushi chain Itsu that could see users receive nutritional information sent straight to their phones. Starting today, users who have opted in with Flux’s banking partners will receive an itemised digital receipt inside their banking app when they pay with their card at any [...]
Halifax house price index: House prices hit new record – but activity remains ‘soft’ | City A.M. August 7, 2018 House prices rose by 3.3 per cent in the second quarter of the year, hitting a new record of £230,280 – but caution still reigns over the property market. Prices rose 1.4 per cent in July, according to the Halifax house price index, up 1.3 per cent on a quarterly basis. Russell Galley, managing director [...]
Softbank’s Indian Uber challenger brand Ola is launching in the UK | City A.M. August 7, 2018 Ola, the Indian ride-hailing firm backed by Japanese mega-investor Softbank, is bringing its services to the UK. Ola’s app will allow riders to choose from services across both private hire vehicles and black cabs, in a bid to shake things up by challenging major UK taxi disruptors Uber and Gett at the same time. The [...]
Hargreaves Lansdown tops up dividend as profits rise 10 per cent | City A.M. August 7, 2018 Investment manager Hargreaves Lansdown gave investors a summer treat as it hiked the dividend on the back of impressive full-year results. Despite the decent results, shares in the company were down three per cent in early trading on Tuesday. The figures Before tax profits shot up 10 per cent to £292.4m, as it added a [...]
Stan Kroenke tables £1.8bn cash offer to buy Arsenal | City A.M. August 7, 2018 US sports tycoon Stan Kroenke has made an all-cash offer to buy Arsenal in a deal valuing the club at £1.8bn. Kroenke already owns 67 per cent of the football club’s shares, but wants to buy the remaining stock and make the company 100 per cent privately owned. The second largest shareholder of the club [...]
Elon Musk’s SpaceX successfully ‘reflights’ its Falcon 9 ‘Block 5’ rocket | City A.M. August 7, 2018 Elon Musk’s aerospace company Space X has successfully launched one of newest Falcon 9 rockets back into space for the second time, in the early hours of the morning US time. The Falcon 9 ‘Block 5’ rocket is designed to be able to go into space and return 100 times, while heat shields and other [...]
The EU must start taking Brexit seriously | City A.M. August 7, 2018 From the UK’s perspective, the weeks leading up to the summer recess were eventful to say the least. From the controversial unveiling of Theresa May’s Chequers plan, to the resignations of David Davis, Boris Johnson, and several other high-profile officials, Brexit was all anyone could talk about. Now, with just a little over half a [...]
The Tories should ditch the pro-business label and focus on being pro-market instead | City A.M. August 7, 2018 The great and good of the commentariat fear that Brexit will mean the Tories’ abandoning the terrain as the “pro-business” party. But is that even a label worth fighting for and a good guide to how the party should approach policy? Those who self-define as free-marketeers or libertarians have long argued that politicians should aim [...]
Femtech firm Elvie backed by Nex Group’s Michael Spencer bags partnership to roll out flagship product to NHS | City A.M. August 7, 2018 A London-based femtech company that received early backing from Nex founder Michael Spencer will today announce that its flagship product will soon be free to women through the NHS. NHS Supply Chain will make the Elvie Trainer, which is an insertable pelvic floor muscle trainer that provides bio-feedback on Kegel exercises through a smartphone app, [...]
Campaign group hands transport minister list of demands over £1.5bn Network Rail arches sale | City A.M. August 6, 2018 Thousands of businesses facing rent hikes from the sell-off of Network Rail’s £1.5bn commercial property portfolio have written to the transport minister Jo Johnson to demand he safeguard their interests. Among the proposals is the request that he pause the sale to allow local parties to declare their interest; a “year-zero” rent audit to ensure [...]