Augmentum Fintech backs German tech rental platform October 1, 2019 London-listed investment fund Augmentum Fintech has led an €11m (£9.8m) funding round backing German technology rental firm Grover. Augmentum invested €6m in Grover – which offers consumers flexible subscriptions to products including smartphones and laptops – the fund’s first investment in Germany. Read more: Augmentum Fintech to double in size as it seeks £150m fundraise [...]
Fintech star Revolut’s losses double to £33m as it splashes cash to expand October 1, 2019 Losses at fintech behemoth Revolut more than doubled to £33m in its latest financial year, as it ploughed money into a massive expansion. Revenue rose 354 per cent year on year to £58.2m in 2018, according to accounts filed today. However the cost of sales rose 247 per cent, meaning the fintech recorded a loss [...]
DEBATE: Is the Thomas Cook boss right to defend his high pay? October 1, 2019 Is Peter Fankhauser, boss of now-collapsed Thomas Cook, right to defend his high pay and bonuses? YES, says Benedict Spence, a freelance writer. It never sits well, watching those high up the corporate ladder gorge themselves as companies go under. But the case of Peter Fankhauser and Thomas Cook isn’t quite as clear cut as [...]
Islamic finance 101: Debunking the common myths October 1, 2019 Islamic finance is one of the fastest-growing sectors in the world, targeting a vast portion of the global population that has been largely underserved by the financial services industry. It’s thought that the Islamic finance industry will reach $3.8 trillion in assets globally by 2022, from $2.2 trillion in 2016. Traditionally, Islamic finance has focused [...]
New rules force pension funds to consider environmental and social factors October 1, 2019 Pension funds are now required to consider environmental and social factors when making investment decisions, under rules introduced today as part of the government’s bid to tackle climate change. New rules which have come into force this morning mean all defined-contribution schemes with more than 100 members will have to set out how they are [...]
Watchdog calls for clearer investor warnings in wake of Woodford saga September 30, 2019 The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) will introduce tougher rules for funds that invest in hard-to-sell assets following the suspension of Neil Woodford’s flagship fund. In a policy statement published today, the financial regulator also said investors should be given better warnings about the risks they face if they want to be able to withdraw their [...]
Prudential hit with £23.8m fine for annuity mis-selling September 30, 2019 Prudential has been fined £23.8m for failures related to non-advised sales of annuities, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) said today. The company has also offered customers approximately £110m in compensation for its breaches. The City watchdog said Prudential’s non-advised annuity business focused on selling annuities directly to existing Prudential pensions holders. Read more: City watchdog [...]
Neil Woodford’s role at risk as listed fund suffers £232m loss September 30, 2019 Woodford Patient Capital Trust (WPCT) is considering the position of beleaguered fund manager Neil Woodford after the fund reported a £232m loss and a significant writedown in the value of its portfolio. WPCT said its assets dropped a further 21 per cent in value during the past three months, with chairman Susan Searle describing the [...]
A splash of colour: Art can boost workplace productivity September 30, 2019 Florence Nightingale once wrote: “Little as we know about the way in which we are affected by form, by colour, and light, we do know this: that they have an actual physical effect. Variety of form and brilliancy of colour in the objects presented to patients, are actual means of recovery.” That’s a quote from [...]
Funding Circle investors face four month wait to withdraw cash September 28, 2019 Funding Circle is conducting an internal review after it was revealed investors are having to wait more than 16 weeks to withdraw cash. The peer-to-peer platform told The Times it was “exploring a range of options” to tackle the problem delaying investors from selling their loans in its secondary market. Funding Circle has around 80,000 [...]
