Rolls Royce reveals £652m profit but engineering giant continues to ‘burn through cash’ February 23, 2023 Rolls Royce, the British aero-engine manufacturer, unveiled profits of £652m in 2022, £238m higher than the previous year. The increase, which was driven by its civil aerospace and power systems divisions, also reported free cash flow of £505m versus an outflow of £1.5 billion in the prior year. Charlie Huggins, head of equities at Wealth [...]
UK tech firm numbers double in two years – with London start-up growth lower than nearly all other regions February 22, 2023 The number of newly-created UK tech firms is up by a fifth, with London marginally below the national average. There were 46,474 new tech companies created in Britain in 2022, up from 38,240 in 2021. Based on data from Companies House, the uptick in registrations of new firms is almost double that of 2020, when [...]
UK will become ‘innovation wasteland’ if Hunt pushes through R&D tax relief cuts, FSB warns February 22, 2023 The UK will become an “innovation wasteland” if the government pushes ahead with plans to slash research and development (R&D) tax relief, the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) has warned. The UK’s largest business group urged ministers today to reverse plans to gut the R&D tax relief scheme, announced by Chancellor Jeremy Hunt in November, [...]
Growing ‘valley of death’ funding gap could scupper UK tech ambitions, industry bosses warn February 22, 2023 A growing ‘valley of death’ funding gap facing the UK’s tech sector could scupper the government’s Silicon Valley ambitions as firms struggle to raise cash and fuel growth, tech investors have warned. Venture capital funding into the UK faltered last year amid a global slowdown as soaring inflation and market volatility caused investors to pull [...]
Meta turns to paid-for verification as data reveals privacy concerns among UK users February 20, 2023 Facebook and Instagram owner Meta will soon role out a paid-for verification model, copying a similar move by rival social media platform Twitter. In a bid to claw back credibility, Meta chief executive Mark Zuckerberg revealed he was launching a new subscription service, which promised more personal security for users, for between £10-12.50 a month. [...]
Darktrace hires EY in bid to win back credibility after short seller questions accounts February 20, 2023 Cybersecurity company Darktrace has hired EY to review its finances in a bid to win back credibility after a short seller questioned its accounts. Darktrace has recruited the Big Four auditor to carry out an independent review after New York investment fund Quintessential Capital Management cast doubt over the “validity” of the tech firm’s financial [...]
Churchill’s grandson and Serco chief named new chair of Smith & Nephew February 17, 2023 The grandson of Sir Winston Churchill and chief executive of Serco has been unveiled as the new chair of 167-year-old medical tech firm Smith & Nephew. Rupert Soames will assume the position at the London-listed company following the retirement of Roberto Quarta, the firm announced. He will take the reins in late September, after joining [...]
Neeva eyes future London growth as part of wider European expansion February 15, 2023 Neeva founder and former Google ads boss Sridhar Ramaswamy has endorsed London as a world class place for tech innovation as he rolls out his AI-powered startup across Europe. Speaking with City A.M., the former Silicon Valley exec turned search-engine startup founder said being in places like London is “top of mind” for Neeva as [...]
Legal tech revolution: Firms invest in cost saving AI tools like ChatGPT to improve profitability February 15, 2023 Law firms are continuing to invest in cost-saving technologies, including artificial intelligence driven tools like ChatGPT, in seeking to stave off falling profitability. A sharp drop in M&A deals has hit US law firms’ profitability, wiping out the majority of all gains they made during Covid, the research from Thomson Reuters shows. US law firms [...]
Richard Branson’s failed Virgin Orbit satellite launch was caused by dislodged fuel filter February 15, 2023 A dislodged fuel filter caused last month’s failure of the first attempt to launch satellites into orbit from the UK, Virgin Orbit has said. This caused an engine to overheat, leading to the malfunction of components and the premature shutdown of the LauncherOne rocket’s thrust, according to the company founded by billionaire Sir Richard Branson. [...]