Protecting the crowd: Platforms must lead the due diligence charge November 16, 2016 The issue of due diligence could become a talking point again once the FCA completes its scheduled review of the crowdfunding rules it introduced in 2014. While we’ve not seen evidence that further regulation of investment-based crowdfunding will be recommended, as the industry matures, it’s time for crowdfunding platforms to step up and work together [...]
From crowdfunding to IPO in 16 months: Edinburgh tech company claims UK first with Aim flotation November 16, 2016 The London Stock Exchange’s junior market today welcomed its first company with roots in equity crowdfunding. Edinburgh-based tech company Freeagent Holdings began trading on the Alternative Investment Market (Aim) this morning, with the float raising £10.7m and valuing the company at £34.1m. Freeagent, a cloud-based software-as-a-service accounting software company, is believed to be the first [...]
Innovate UK announces £50,000 each for 15 female entrepreneurs to boost British innovation November 16, 2016 Government-backed Innovate UK has announced 15 female entrepreneurs who will receive £50,000 each. The investment was for the inaugural Women in Innovation campaign, aiming to address the disproportionately low numbers of women entrepreneurs in the UK. Innovate UK said the drive came about following analysis highlighting a disparity in the numbers of male and female applicants [...]
Online lasting power of attorney numbers are on the up, here are five things you need to know November 16, 2016 Government do-it-yourself kits for lasting powers of attorney have been criticised and called "risky", as new figures reveal public take-up is spiralling. Lasting powers of attorney (LPA) – which transfer the responsibility to make key life choices to another person in the event of mental incapacity – have increased threefold since 2010, according to data released by the government [...]
City A.M. Unregulated podcast: How I Made.com it – Julien Callede, the man behind the internet’s hippest furniture brand November 16, 2016 When Julien Callede was standing on the platform at Gare du Nord in February 2010 with a one-way ticket to London in his hand, he had no idea he was about to launch one of the internet's best-known furniture brands. Five years and several new markets later, he explains why he chose the UK to [...]
Speedy Hire shares soar as tool lender hammers expectations – “in spite” of Toscafund activism November 16, 2016 Speedy Hire’s share price shot up 15 per cent this morning after the lender of tools and construction equipment reported increasing revenues and profits – an improvement the company said came “in spite” of a high-profile attack from an activist investor. Group revenue for the six months to 30 September was £187.1m, up 13 per cent [...]
Oversubscribed investment trust and Scottish tech firm announce flotations November 16, 2016 A Scottish technology company floated on the London Stock Exchange this morning and is set to be joined by an oversubscribed new investment trust on Friday. City A.M. first reported that the investment trust, Civitas, which focuses on social housing, was planning to raise £250m through a float on 18 November. The IPO was oversubscribed [...]
Want to join Scotland’s £17bn data revolution? November 16, 2016 | City Talk Picture the scenario: you're located in a leading UK technology centre such as Scotland with a data sector worth a healthy £17bn. You need skilled and qualified data professionals – but where do you find 'em? The good news is that Scottish data innovation centre, Data Lab, is offering 90 MSc places for 2016/17 across seven Scottish universities, [...]
Why haven’t you invested in Scotland’s blockchain sector yet? November 16, 2016 | City Talk Can you hear it? That's the sound of the guys working on the chain. Blockchain to be precise. It's no longer a silent revolution in the UK financial world. It's moving fast. Really fast. In fact an amazing £634 per second fast. Or £70,000 by the time you've read this article. Scotland's rapidly-growing blockchain business is making a big noise in [...]
LendingCrowd thinks outside the bank using the power of the crowd November 16, 2016 | City Talk Peer-to-peer firm LendingCrowd was quick to attract investment to grow in Scotland's niche crowdfunding sector. The company also had the vision to appreciate the vast fintech potential here, which thrives on over 1,000 tech firms, together with 600 financial and business companies. It’s not hard to see why peer-to-peer lending has established such a strong foothold in just a handful of [...]
