From protein to plastics – EU funding continues to flow (for now) August 21, 2020 | City Talk Portugal’s off the list. Croatia’s on the list. Spain and France have been on the list for a while. As far as Europe is concerned, the headlines are dominated by the latest quarantine rules for people returning to Britain from holiday hotspots. It’s tough to keep track of the changing rules and timings. On a [...]
We are facing a mental health crisis among our young people — one we cannot afford to ignore August 21, 2020 The cost of Covid-19 keeps climbing. So far, the government is forecast to borrow £400bn in this financial year alone. Whether we like it or not, that money will have to be paid back — but the longer social distancing measures remain in place, workers stay furloughed, and consumers save rather than spend, the greater [...]
Shuttered Woodford fund to pay out £183m to investors next week August 20, 2020 Investors trapped in the failed Woodford Equity Income will receive a £183m payout next week, following the sale of a number of assets. Link Fund Solutions agreed a £224m deal to sell 18 healthcare stocks, representing around half the remaining fund’s assets in June to Acacia Research. The firm then offloaded the bargain stocks just [...]
Won’t somebody think of the graduates? Hard-hit young people need to go back to the office August 20, 2020 Recessions always hurt. Tragically, the one we face now looks particularly severe, its speed and scale staggering. With the furlough scheme being rolled back (its own cost to the economy astronomical), UK businesses are now having to stand in the way of an economic tsunami with little or no protection. There is no hiding from [...]
Seven online jobs to consider this August August 20, 2020 With a spate of redundancy and hiring freezes, and many offices likely to be locked up until 2021, we’ve seen a huge surge in job seekers searching for “online” and “remote” opportunities this summer. Offering increased flexibility and the chance to work from home around other commitments, online jobs can be a perfect solution for [...]
Monzo marketing chief steps down amid doubts over bank’s future August 19, 2020 Monzo’s long-standing head of marketing is stepping down as the challenger bank faces doubts over its future due to the coronavirus crisis. Tristan Thomas, who joined Monzo in its infancy in 2015, told staff he will leave the company at the end of the year. The move comes as the digital bank faces a fight [...]
Mind the gap? Financing scale-ups takes sharper focus August 19, 2020 | City Talk ‘There is a risk… of a lost generation of innovative businesses unable to access the right capital to scale and go global’: so warns an analysis published this month entitled The Future of Growth Capital. The report – co-produced by Innovate Finance, the ScaleUp Institute and Deloitte, in collaboration with industry, investors and the recently [...]
Fintech can drive the economic recovery — if the government would only give the sector the right support August 19, 2020 Over the past month or so, the Digital Finance Forum has been carrying out its second annual Summer Survey, which aims to gauge the opinion of founders across the fintech sector. Unsurprisingly, this year’s survey was concerned primarily with Covid-19 and how it has affected founders and their companies. It paints a stark picture. To [...]
City of London Group reports loss as subsidiary prepares for banking licence August 18, 2020 The City of London Group has reported a loss of £9.7m as its subsidiary prepares to become a fully authorised bank. In July, Recognise Financial Services reached a major milestone in its journey towards becoming a bank when the Prudential Regulation Authority issued its Total Capital Requirement letter. The figures The City of London Group [...]
Coronavirus will make it harder to raise finance in the next year, say fintech founders August 18, 2020 The majority of fintech founders in the UK believe the pandemic will make it harder to raise finance in the next year. A survey by the Digital Finance Forum (DFF) found that just under half of respondents cited limited access to capital as the most pressing challenge during the pandemic. It comes as the government [...]
