These are 2016’s top 100 influential leaders in fintech (part 1 of 4) December 7, 2016 It is no secret that the financial services industry continues to be transformed by the digital revolution. According to PWC, roughly 20% of financial services business is at risk of disruption to fintech companies by 2020. It follows that investment into the sector continues to rise. In 2015, funding of fintech businesses more than doubled [...]
Digital challenger bank N26 has pulled back from its UK launch plans December 6, 2016 The German digital challenger bank N26 has pulled back on its plans to launch in the UK as it pushes forward with expansion elsewhere in Europe, City A.M. can exclusively reveal. The startup which is seeking to disrupt the established banks, and whose peers include the likes of Monzo, Tandem and Atom in the UK, announced its [...]
Ex-Liverpool chairman Sir Martin Broughton targets sophisticated investors for new sports venture December 6, 2016 Sophisticated investors in the UK are being encouraged to back sport businesses using a new online platform that puts them in front of a range of unquoted companies in the sector. Sports Investment Partners (SIP), the private equity firm founded by former Liverpool chairman Sir Martin Broughton, has teamed up with corporate finance adviser Envestors to launch [...]
London number one as it beats Paris and Berlin to top Europe’s tech hotspots December 5, 2016 London is leading the way among cities in Europe for technology companies, with the booming sector set to outperform other industries over the next four years despite the vote to leave the European Union, according to a new ranking. The capital beat Paris and Berlin into second and third places respectively, while the broader Thames [...]
Risk and reward: Adam French, co-founder of Scalable Capital, left Goldman to develop an algorithm for matching retail investors with the right ETFs December 5, 2016 For two years, Adam French knew he was leaving Goldman Sachs. “The day I quit was quite liberating – it’s just not that easy to step away from a Goldman job,” says the former trader, and chief executive and co-founder of digital investment management firm Scalable Capital. There was no “eureka moment”, he adds – [...]
Four facts about Fintech Connect 2016 you need to know December 2, 2016 | City Talk Are you a fintech pro? Then you'll know 2016 has been a year that keeps on giving where events are concerned. If you’re going to Fintech Connect Live this week, you’re sure of a big surprise: it promises to be bigger than ever. Why? Because every second you’re there, £634 will be made in fintech in the [...]
The Royal Mint is putting gold bullion on the blockchain November 29, 2016 It’s not just currency that’s going digital – £1bn of the Royal Mint’s gold will soon be on the blockchain. The 1,000-year-old government-owned institution is working with exchange giant CME Group create a new digital trading platform for investors to buy and sell gold using blockchain’s distributed ledger technology (DLT) to track ownership. Why use [...]
London will reinvent itself again post-Brexit if it remains flexible and open to the world November 29, 2016 "We don't plan London very much. Nobody planned to have the euro-dollar market, for example. It rose because clever people were very quick at responding to market signals.” Speaking at a debate at the Museum of London on the future of the capital, hosted by Eversheds, The Independent’s Hamish McRae set out the optimistic case for the [...]
The sky’s the limit for Skyscanner November 25, 2016 | City Talk "Be not afraid of growing slowly, be afraid only of standing still." This Chinese proverb strikes a chord more than ever with Skyscanner. Yesterday's news that the Scottish 'unicorn' was bought by Chinese firm CTrip for £1.4 billion, proves the Scottish tech industry is full of Eastern Promise. With over 161,000 people employed in more than 10,000 technology and engineering [...]
Five important things fintech was handed in the Autumn Statement November 23, 2016 The UK's fintech powerhouse was not forgotten in the chancellor's Autumn Statement with several measures aimed at boosting the sector unveiled. Fintech census The government will carry out what's being called a fintech census, designed to identify the key figures driving the industry for investors. "An accurate measurement of this evolving space will help policymakers, investors [...]