Farming is more digital than finance – and the most digital business industries in the UK February 11, 2016 The digital economy is being fuelled by traditional businesses as much as it is hot shot startups – but some are innovating more quickly than others and you might call finance a surprising slow moo-ver. Farming and the agriculture industry counts more digital businesses in its midst than finance, according to figures from market intelligence firm GrowthIntel. Just [...]
Viva la e-revolution, and what’s next for the booming UK digital economy February 11, 2016 The UK’s economy is witnessing an e-revolution. Digital innovation is now not only driving the digital economy, but is transforming the ways in which the more “traditional” industries are approaching their day to day business activities. Today at SPRINT – the annual event hosted by the Government Digital Service which showcases the digital transformation work [...]
City supremo Rich Ricci is racing into fintech joining FreemarketFX as chairman February 10, 2016 City supremo Rich Ricci, the former long-standing boss of Barclays' investment banking, is jumping on board the fintech revolution. The horse racing fan and former right-hand man of Bob Diamond will join the p2p currency exchange platform FreemarketFX, founded by former senior executive at Credit Suisse and Deutsche Bank Alex Hunn, as non-executive chairman He has also invested an undisclosed sum in [...]
London fintech startup World Remit raises $45m from Triple Ventures Growth BDC and Silicon Valley Bank February 10, 2016 Star London fintech startup World Remit has landed another multi-million pound round of funding from investors. Triple Ventures Growth BDC and Silicon Valley Bank have invested $45m (£31m) in the form of debt financing to fuel expansion plans. Read more: Index has a new $550m VC fund and its eye on London startups The remittances startup lets [...]
Insurance tech startup Lemonade backed by reinsurers Lloyd’s of London, Berkshire Hathaway’s National Indemnity, Hiscox and more February 9, 2016 A soon-to-launch tech startup with millions in venture capital investment and plans to disrupt the insurance industry has been backed by leading insurers Lloyd's of London and Berkshire Hathaway's National Indemnity. Lemonade, a New York-based peer-to-peer insurance firm which recently picked up $13m from Sequoia Capital among others, will be reinsured by the firms, along with Hiscox, Everest, Munich, Transatlantic and [...]
London Fintech startup Digital Shadows raises $14m from Trinity Ventures, Paladin Capital and existing investors February 9, 2016 One of London's up and coming fintech startups Digital Shadows has landed $14m of new funding from venture capital investors. The cyber security firm which counts the Bank of England among its clients, raised the series B round from Trinity Ventures and Paladin Capital as well as existing investors Storm Ventures, TenEleven and Passion Capital. "Given Trinity's long and [...]
Mayoral Tech Manifesto 2016: We must liberalise skilled visa policy to ensure the success of London’s tech sector February 9, 2016 The new Mayoral Tech Manifesto 2016 outlines the bold steps the next mayor must take to maintain London’s position as the digital capital of Europe, and make it a truly digital city for businesses and citizens. But can it be done? In theory, it can. If the infrastructure, investment and government decision-making aligns, the opportunity is there for [...]
Setting bank data free with open APIs is just the start for consumer choice February 9, 2016 Today’s report from the UK Open Banking Working Group has recommended the creation of an Open Banking Standard that will make it possible for banking data to be shared and used securely. But what does this actually mean? In layman’s terms, it means data that banks hold on their customer base – balances, transaction history [...]
Whether London’s next mayor is Zac Goldsmith or Sadiq Khan, they must pay attention to the tech sector February 9, 2016 A mayoral election campaign can be a strange thing. Without the national media attention of a General Election one can be forgiven for sometimes thinking that the candidates have gone quiet. But they're out there. From Orpington's church halls to Barking's pub function rooms, the candidates know that victory is secured one local paper at a [...]
Banking data to become open by the end of the year as industry and regulators work on ambitious banking standards and open API plans February 9, 2016 Banking could be made simpler for customers – from comparing mortgages to switching accounts – with ambitious plans for banks and regulators to streamline the sharing of data as soon as the end of the year that would establish the UK as a world leader in financial technology and banking innovation. A group of leading experts appointed by the Treasury [...]