European direct lending investment on course for record year October 14, 2019 Investment by European direct – or non-bank – lenders is predicted to soar to record levels by the end of the year thanks to an increase in average loan sizes, but the number of deals struck is falling, new research has found. Direct lenders in Europe deployed €22.6bn (£20bn) in the first half of 2019, [...]
Queen’s Speech plots path for pensions dashboards and new regulatory powers October 14, 2019 The government has today laid the groundwork to bring in new laws on pensions dashboards and give fresh powers to The Pensions Regulator. The Queen’s speech confirmed the government’s intention to legislate to force pension schemes to provide data for the dashboard scheme. This will eventually allow people to keep track of funds accumulated in [...]
KKR acquires majority stake in broadband provider Hyperoptic in £500m deal October 14, 2019 Global investment firm KKR has acquired a majority stake in the UK’s largest residential gigabit broadband provider. KKR bought the stake from funds managed by investment firm Newlight Partners and Mubadala, the UAE sovereign wealth fund. The companies have not announced the details of the deal, but it is understood to be worth £500m. Read [...]
Softbank seeks control of Wework via financing package October 14, 2019 Softbank is reportedly preparing a financing package for Wework that would give it control over the cash-strapped shared office space company. The package would significantly increase the stake of Softbank, which already owns around a third of Wework, a source familiar with the matter told Reuters. This would further dilute the influence of Wework co-founder [...]
Are big tobacco’s dreams going up in smoke? October 14, 2019 | City Talk Vaping was meant to be the saviour of both Big Tobacco firms and those that are addicted to its products, providing a safer alternative for smokers and some much-needed growth for an industry in decline. But, following 12 deaths and over 800 cases of damaged lungs being linked to e-cigarettes in the US, the future [...]
From Bloom & Wild to Moneybox, we meet the man who co-founded both October 14, 2019 What do a flower shop and an investment app have in common? More than you might think, says the co-founder of two flourishing British businesses, Moneybox and Bloom & Wild. The latter was featured in City A.M. in 2017 and remains one of the fastest growing tech companies in the country, according to Deloitte. “I [...]
In defence of my friend Dominic Cummings October 14, 2019 Everyone of a certain age who worked in New York or Washington has a 9/11 story; mine concerns Dominic Cummings. It was sometime early in the afternoon of the unforgettable, nightmarish day. Three planes had already slammed into the World Trade Centre Buildings and the Pentagon, inflicting their awful havoc. A fourth plane had been [...]
UK financial services firms leading the way on automation October 14, 2019 Financial services firms in the UK are integrating robo-advisers into their ranks faster than their global competitors in a bid to harness the technology to retain customers – or poach new ones, new research has found. While 37 per cent of UK financial services firms surveyed have implemented robotic processing automation (RPA) – a technology [...]
St James’s Place partners threaten rebellion over cancelled cruises October 13, 2019 Partners at wealth manager St James’s Place (SJP) have threatened to stop selling investments for the rest of the year unless they are offered compensation for the loss of their annual cruise holiday. Chief executive Andrew Croft promised to make changes to the lavish incentive scheme offered to SJP partners – which offered rewards ranging [...]
Revolut in bid to raise £1.2bn and become Europe’s most valuable fintech firm October 12, 2019 Fintech firm Revolut is seeking to raise £1.2bn from its investors in the coming months. The British-Based payment firm has hired investment bank JP Morgan to arrange a £395m equity raise and issuance of a £790m convertible loan, according to Sky News. Read more: Martin Gilbert to step down from Stand Life and join Revolut [...]
