‘The world of Cat TV is more cut throat than you would ever imagine’ – inside the strange business of TV… for cats
Crowdfunder launches £1m fundraising on Crowdcube November 4, 2015 Crowdfunder, the UK rewards-based crowd-funding site launches a £1m fundraising today to expand its business. The Cornish crowdfunding platform is looking to raise the money to create 50 new jobs, and link up with new partners, which currently include JCDecaux, Virgin StartUp and Not on The High Street. It is running the fundraiser with Crowdcube.com, [...]
European companies increase alternative finance funding November 4, 2015 An increasing amount of companies in Europe are turning to alternative finance, with around a third of funding now coming from private debt funds; asset managers; peer-to-peer lending, and crowdsourced funding. According to research from law firm Allen and Overy almost half of corporates (48%) expect their use of alternative finance to increase over the next five years. [...]
Diet Chef raises £1.5m debt financing from LendingCrowd November 3, 2015 Diet Chef, the company that delivers diet food to your door, has secured £1.5m in debt financing from crowdfunding platform LendingCrowd. Launched in 2008, Diet Chef now has more than 150,000 customers and turnover of £15m last year. The deal is to fund a management buy-out by the founders Kevin Dorren and Andrew Veitch, with fixed-interest [...]
Association of British Insurers: Sales of annuities have picked up despite new pension freedoms November 3, 2015 Annuity sales rose to 22,380, worth £1.17bn, during the third quarter of 2015, the first time quarter-on-quarter sales have risen for three years, the Association of British Insurers (ABI) revealed at its Biennial Conference today. By comparison, annuity sales for the second quarter of 2015 where 18,200, worth £990m. Figures from the ABI also revealed that [...]
Islamic finance global market soars 12 per cent in last year to £1.3trn November 2, 2015 The global market for Islamic finance has soared by 12 per cent over the last 12 months to $2thn (£1.3trn), according to a report by TheCityUK. The alternative finance industry, which eschews traditional interest on loans, is predicted to hit $3trn by 2018. This is down to growing demand in emerging markets. Chris Cummings, chief [...]
UK defined benefit pension scheme deficit worse than a year ago, finds JLT Employee Benefits November 2, 2015 The deficit for all private sector defined benefit pension schemes in the UK was an estimated £228bn at the end of October, according to figures from JLT Employee Benefits released today. By comparison, the deficit at the end of October 2014 was £208bn. JLT Employee Benefits estimates that total defined benefit pension liabilities for the [...]
Seedrs announces US launch following law change opening up to equity crowdfunding November 2, 2015 Seedrs is going west to try its luck across the Atlantic. The UK crowdfunding platform just announced an upcoming beta launch in the US, following a law change on equity crowdfunding. The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) voted on Friday to approve Title III of the Jobs Act, opening up equity crowdfunding to non-accredited [...]
Welfare coddles pensioners at the expense of the working poor – but it needn’t be like this October 29, 2015 The two biggest drivers of government spending, welfare and the NHS, will continue to dominate the political agenda this Parliament. Thanks to Monday’s vote in the House of Lords, delaying changes to tax credits, a £4bn hole in the government’s spending plans has now opened up. As ministers rethink their plans, they should address another [...]
UK pensions: People unwilling to pay full price for pensions advice, warns charity Citizens Advice October 29, 2015 Just two per cent of people are willing to pay a typical independent financial advisor’s (IFA) fee for pensions advice, research from charity Citizens Advice revealed today. While 47 per cent of the more than 2,000 people surveyed said they would be happy to spend some sort of fee for advice on defined contribution pension [...]
Leon founder Henry Dimbleby launches £3.5m crowdfunding bid to create “world-class street food market” in London backed by Nigella Lawson and Jamie Oliver October 29, 2015 Could London be getting a world-class street food market? Henry Dimbleby, founder of natural fast-food restaurants Leon, and Street Feast’s Jonathan Downey are betting on it. Through London Union, Street Feast’s parent company, the pair is launching a crowdfunding bid hoping to raise £3.5m – enough money to create not just 12 local markets, but [...]