Want a more future-focused government? Climate action is just the start February 19, 2019 The reaction was predictable. Last week’s Climate Strike by schoolchildren was met with an inane debate about whether or not the pupils were right to “play truant”. This dialogue of the deaf was a missed opportunity. Politicians should take seriously the protesters’ demand that they “recognise that young people have the biggest stake in our [...]
The Labour splitters won’t redraw the political map, but they do raise awkward questions February 18, 2019 After years of infighting, threats, and a couple of failed coups, seven Labour MPs have taken the difficult and courageous decision to quit the party, sitting in the Commons as a new “Independent Group”. Their disillusionment with Labour has many sources, from a failure to confront antisemitism to the party’s muddled stance on Brexit, from [...]
Salary and location beat office perks for job candidates, survey reveals February 18, 2019 If somebody were to ask you what are the most important aspects of a job description, you would probably have a good idea – a better salary, a fancier job title, and the potential for a promotion. Pretty straightforward, right? You would expect that employers would know this best of all. But almost half are [...]
Berlin banking tech startup behind N26 and Oaknorth nabs €30m from Skype-backer Bessemer February 18, 2019 Software-as-a-service startup Mambu, which provides banking rails to the likes of N26 and Oaknorth, has raised €30m (£26.3m) from the world's oldest venture capital firm. Bessemer Venture Partners, which has backed the likes of Skype, Linkedin and Pinterest, led the round with participation also coming from Acton Capital, the venture arm of Commerzbank, Point Nine Capital [...]
Twitter is great, just don’t make an Elon Musk-sized mistake February 18, 2019 Despite a staggering $20m personal fine from the US finance watchdog the SEC and the loss of his chairmanship at Tesla for an errant tweet, we learned last week that Elon Musk’s 280-character updates have won the approval of Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey, aka @Jack. “He’s focused on solving existential problems and sharing his thinking [...]
Google and Salesforce inject $75m into London’s Gocardless February 18, 2019 City fintech firm Gocardless has raised $75m (£58.1m) in a series E funding round, led by new investors Adam Street Partners and the venture capital arms of Google and Salesforce. The company aims to fix the way businesses collect invoices and make recurring payments by building debit technology on top of the world’s existing banking systems. Chief [...]
Should investors be more concerned about China’s slowdown? February 18, 2019 The rise of China has been astonishing and its growing influence on the world is one of the economic forces discussed in our inescapable investment truths for the decade ahead. But economies don’t grow in a straight line. China is facing a transition period. It is a country we monitor closely and we believe its [...]
Business lender Iwoca rakes in £150m financing from Augmentum Fintech and NIBC February 18, 2019 Small business lending challenger Iwoca has closed a total fundraise of £150m, led by an earlier £7.5m investment from London-listed fund Augmentum Fintech. City A.M. understands the raise was made up of a £20m series D equity funding round and £130m in debt capital. Existing investor Prime Ventures also participated, alongside NIBC Bank. A person [...]
The Dragon Awards are on the hunt for London’s most responsible businesses February 18, 2019 In an uncertain time for business and society, it is encouraging to know that so many London-based firms remain dedicated to going the extra mile for their local communities. Businesses are increasingly doing more to benefit society and have the greatest possible impact through their working practices. I regularly meet companies that are championing responsible recruitment [...]
Make your business spark joy using Marie Kondo’s KonMari approach to tidying up February 15, 2019 When Marie Kondo released “The Life-changing Magic of Tidying Up” in 2011, it soon became a bestseller. Clearly, the KonMari approach – the notion of removing anything from our homes that doesn’t bring us happiness – resonates. Kondo is now taking Netflix by storm with her TV show, encouraging more people to get purging. Whether [...]
