Banking challenger Monese tops 1m customers May 3, 2019 British banking startup Monese has surpassed the 1m customer milestone, as user growth tripled in the last year alone. The banking app, which counts Monzo, Revolut and Starling Bank among its rivals, said over 3,000 people are now joining Monese every day across its dual UK and European current accounts. Read more: Fintech startup Monese crashes [...]
London startup Checkout.com raises $230m in Europe’s largest ever fintech series A May 2, 2019 London-based fintech firm Checkout.com has raised $230m (£176.6m) from investors Insight Partners and DST Global, marking the largest European early-stage fintech raise to date. It is also the largest series A fintech fundraise globally of all time. Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund GIC, Blossom Capital, Endeavor Catalyst and other strategic investors also participated in the round. With [...]
Coca-Cola bottler sees strong first quarter growth May 2, 2019 Coca-Cola HBC AG – the world's third-largest bottler of the drink – today announced solid first quarter performance for 2019, as well as a special dividend for investors. Overall sales revenue rose 4.7 per cent to €1.41 bn (£1.21 bn) in the first three months of the year compared to the same period in 2018, [...]
Fixed income and global funds secure combined inflows of £1.5bn May 2, 2019 Fixed income and global funds saw combined net retail sales of £1.5bn in March, bucking the trend of mounting outflows sparked by Brexit uncertainty. Global funds secured net retail sales of £691m in March, making it the largest month of inflows into the sector on record, according to analysis by the Investment Association. Read more: [...]
Here’s why Boohoo shares are climbing higher May 2, 2019 | City Talk By Graeme Evans from interactive investor. Stock markets are struggling on boohoo's results day, but the retailer is defying the gloom. Fast fashion is back in vogue on the London market, with well-received results from Boohoo adding to euphoria over a spectacular 2019 for shares in AIM-listed rival ASOS (LSE:ASC). Their recent turnaround follows an [...]
AI-powered fintech chatbot Plum closes $4.5m funding round May 2, 2019 Money management chatbot Plum has raised a fresh $4.5m (£3.45m) in funding to bring it to a total raise of $6.3m, it confirmed today. Read more: Former HSBC trader's fintech startup raises £3.8m from the crowd VC outfit Venture Friends, along with the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), led the funding round for [...]
When the boss jumps ship, it’s up to employees not to rock the boat May 2, 2019 When Royal Bank of Scotland announced that chief executive Ross McEwan was stepping down, it didn’t take long for the news to turn to talk of remuneration packages and successors. This response is to be expected, but it does leave an important question unanswered: how will employees at the front line of the firm be [...]
DEBATE: At $1.5bn, is plant burger firm Beyond Meat over-valued? May 2, 2019 At $1.5bn, is plant burger firm Beyond Meat over-valued? Chris Beauchamp, a senior market analyst at IG, says YES. For many, Beyond Meat’s IPO would seem to mark the perfect “market top” moment. A company producing a cutting-edge product, with ongoing losses and the risk that it may never make a profit, is seeking to become [...]
Neil Woodford’s billion-dollar baby turns four May 1, 2019 | City Talk By Dzmitry Lipski from interactive investor. Late last month, Woodford Patient Capital turned four. Having weighed in at launch at £800 million, making it the second-largest UK investment trust launch ever after Smithson Investment Trust, according to the AIC, Woodford's middle child has had some high-profile teething issues along the way. Total assets today stand at [...]
Uber: Is it worthy of the price tag? May 1, 2019 | City Talk Underwhelming or canny? Uber may have learned something from Lyft after it announced it will chase a lower market valuation than previously forecast when it lists next month. Nevertheless, for a company that is burning cash at the rate it does and with no obvious path to profitability, it’s still asking rather a lot from [...]
