Neil Woodford blasts “appallingly bad” funding for UK startups September 19, 2016 The UK's most famous investor has said the UK's funding system is "appallingly bad" at helping startups reach their full potential. Neil Woodford, who heads up Woodford Investment Management, told the BBC: "We have been appallingly bad at giving those minnows the long-term capital they need". Woodford is a vociferous advocate of taking a long-term approach [...]
Debrett’s Ask the Expert: I only own an ill-fitting, loud suit. Will it cost me a job offer? September 19, 2016 Q: I’ve just graduated from university and I’m applying for training schemes with a few different investment banks. My only suit barely fits me and I haven’t got the cash to buy an expensive new one. Given all the recent press about “brown shoes and loud ties”, I’m afraid I’ll be called out on my [...]
What3Words co-founder Chris Sheldrick explains how his company is creating Mongolian addresses and helping the UN in disaster zones September 19, 2016 Back in November 2014, advertising executive Rory Sutherland called What3Words “the best navigation idea [he’d] seen since the tube map”. The idea is simple: take the globe, divide it into 57 trillion 3m by 3m squares and ascribe three common words to each square. To cover the globe, What3Words needs to use 40,000 words – [...]
Getting VC funding right: Why you need to think about pre-built networks, IP and evolving the whole team September 19, 2016 So you've built the next tech unicorn. The platform is solid, your product fits the market and all you need now is scale. However, someone needs to help pay for all the free sugary drinks, table tennis tables and office space that the army of growth hackers, developers and sales people are going to need. [...]
Premier listing: Fund manager plots London Stock Exchange flotation September 18, 2016 Fund management company Premier Asset Management is considering a float on the London Stock Exchange this year. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods and Numis are advising the firm on the possible initial public offering (IPO). The flotation discussions come nine years after Guildford-based Premier was taken private by Electra Partners. Read more: Another London Stock Exchange strike: Hollywood [...]
Five things we learned about Mark Carney when schoolchildren grilled him on live TV September 16, 2016 Bank of England governor Mark Carney is used to being grilled by journalists, but today he faced questions from schoolchildren and they didn't pull their punches. The children were putting the Canadian on the spot as part of a Q&A session hosted on the BBC. Jay, 13, went straight for the jugular, asking Carney: "Who is easier to work [...]
Ozwald Boateng’s guide to success and being the best-dressed man in London September 15, 2016 The designer’s rise to the top of the fashion world is a true rags to riches tale, writes Helen Cahill If you measure a man by the cut of his suit, then Ozwald Boateng is the most successful man in London. Boateng started making suits at the age of 16. He was the first black tailor [...]
How women can break through the glass wall separating them from career success September 15, 2016 FTSE firms face tough targets for women in top jobs. But is that what it takes to fix the current situation? Last October, the Davies report came out, proclaiming good news: the target for women on FTSE 100 boards had been exceeded at 26 per cent. On closer scrutiny, the news was much more mixed. [...]
Blockchain startup Ripple raises $55m from Standard Chartered and Accenture September 15, 2016 Blockchain startup Ripple, one of several groups working with banks to create standards for the distributed ledger technology, has landed millions more in funding, with Standard Chartered and Accenture among new investors jumping on board the blockchain bandwagon. The venture arm of Siam Commercial Bank, SCB Digital Ventures, and Japan's SBI Holdings also participated in the $55m [...]
Bankers went bonkers for bonuses last year – but payments across the economy hit a record level September 15, 2016 UK employers went on a bonus frenzy last year, as payments hit a record £44.3bn – finally beating the pre-recession record set in 2008. Naturally, the finance sector was the biggest contributor. Bonus payments in the financial year ending 2016 were six per cent of total pay, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said today – that's [...]
