BorrowMyDoggy rent-a-dog startup fetches £1.5m via crowdfunding event Crowdfinders October 21, 2015 BorrowMyDoggy, a startup which connects dog owners with those who aren't, has raised £1.5m thanks to crowdfunding. The Southwark-based startup, which lets dog lovers borrow canines from owners, has raised the cash from 40 investors through Crowdfinders, which brings together investors and companies for face-to-face pitches at events rather than via the more familiar online platform concept. More than 400 people, including [...]
Crowdfunder Indiegogo launches Generosity a new platform for charities to fundraise October 21, 2015 The world's largest online funding platform Indiegogo will today launch a new crowd-funding platform for charities and non-profit organisations. Generosity will replace Indiegogo Life, allowing non-profit organisations to raise money along with individuals looking for donations for personal causes, and charities. The platform will be free for users, except for transaction fees, so all the [...]
Why pensioners are probably earning more than you are October 20, 2015 Pensioners are better off than ever before, earning more on average than people of working age, according to new research from the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS). IFS director Paul Johnson said last night that IFS research suggests that pensioners’ incomes will continue to rise for at least the next decade – but it is [...]
Funding Circle buys German startup Zencap from Rocket Internet for European expansion plans October 20, 2015 UK fintech unicorn Funding Circle is continuing its world domination with the acquisition of German lender Zencap, to fuel European expansion plans. The peer-to-peer lender picked up the startup from incubator Rocket Internet for an undisclosed sum, giving it access to the small business lending market, which is worth one trillion euros across Europe – more than [...]
Moonpig owner Photobox snapped up by Exponent Private Equity and Electra Partners October 20, 2015 The owner of online greeting card website Moongpig.com, Photobox, has received a buyout offer from Exponent Private Equity and Electra Partners which is reportedly around £400m. It comes over a year after Photobox abandoned plans to float on the London Stock Exchange for £500m, citing the volatile stock market performance of other companies which had taken the plunge. The [...]
Why the UK pensions triple-lock is a costly economic – and political – mistake October 19, 2015 Politicians spend much of their time worrying about repeating the political mistakes of their predecessors. In recent weeks, Conservative MPs have mused over whether changes to tax credits could have the same impact on support for the government as Gordon Brown’s abolition of the 10p tax rate, or could even be their “poll tax”. Yet [...]
Judge P2P firms on whether they’re profitable – not just on how much money they’ve lent October 19, 2015 Three years ago this week, the veteran venture capitalist Robin Klein made the case in these pages for greater support for UK high growth technology companies in their push into mainstream London capital markets. Over time, confidence grew and several good firms were helped onto the public markets through the London Stock Exchange’s High Growth [...]
Head of P2P Finance Association: Why investors shouldn’t worry about platforms failing October 19, 2015 We know how important it is, in a new market like peer-to-peer lending, that consumers feel confident they are giving their money to honest and trustworthy players. That’s why the Peer-to-Peer Finance Association (P2PFA) has put so much effort into ensuring that the UK benefits from a sound regulatory regime for P2P lending. There has [...]
Pensions committee warns industry is at risk of next mis-selling scandal over new freedoms October 19, 2015 The work and pensions select committee is today publishing its report on pension freedom guidance and advice, in which it blasts reforms introduced in April as being “insufficient”. The report, the result of an inquiry, announced in July, into recent pension reforms, states that “freedom to choose” is not enough: “People must have the freedom to make a well-informed [...]
Abundance Pension launches world’s first P2P lending Sipp October 17, 2015 The world's first peer-to-peer lending (P2P) self-invested personal pension (Sipp) has been launched by P2P investment provider Abundance. The Abundance Pension lets individuals invest in renewable energy projects as part of their retirement savings. However, it comes at a time when the government is scrapping a green tax exemption that's been enjoyed by renewable energy companies since [...]