Index Ventures has a new $550m VC investment fund and its eye on London tech startups February 3, 2016 Europe's biggest venture capital investor and the backer of star startups such as Just Eat, Asos and Transferwise has raised millions of pounds in new funds to invest in tech startups across Europe, the US and Israel. Index Ventures has raised a new $550m (£377m) fund from its existing long-standing investor base which includes endowments, pensions and insurance funds, among [...]
Online farmers market Farmdrop receives funding boost from Skype’s co-founder February 3, 2016 Farmdrop, a grocery website that allows consumers to buy directly from producers, has secured £3m of investment in its latest round of funding led by Skype co-founder Niklas Zennström. His investment firm Atomico was joined by a consortium of backers including JamJar Investments, run by Innocent entrepreneurs, Richard Reed, Jon Wright and Adam Balon. Farmdrop was founded by ex-Morgan Stanley stockbroker Ben Pugh with the aim of putting more [...]
Business people take greater smartphone risks than kids or millennials February 3, 2016 People using their smartphones for business are taking greater risks when it comes to the devices' security than kids or millennials. A new study has revealed 79 per cent of businessmen and 67 per cent of businesswomen use potentially risky apps every day. That compares with 65 per cent of young people, while just 23 per cent of women of [...]
Tech startups have transformed the UK: Backing Britain’s scale-ups is the next challenge February 3, 2016 The growth of the UK’s digital industries has been nothing short of extraordinary, and it has had a profound effect on the wider economy. Statistics from last year’s Tech Nation report show that more than 1.46m people are currently employed within the sector. The UK is increasingly underlining its digital credentials on the global stage. [...]
This is how addicted we are to our smartphones: One in three millennials have walked into something while looking at their phone February 2, 2016 Ever walked headfirst into a lamp post because you were focusing less on your surroundings than on following an unfolding Twitter debate on your phone? If you’re under 30 years old, chances are your answer is yes, according to a new study on millennials’ smartphone habits which reveals the (terrifying) full extent of our phone [...]
UK Waspi pension campaign: Minister says women born in the 1950s who are affected by transitional state pension arrangements should use “other benefits” like jobseekers allowance February 1, 2016 An MP has said today that women who are losing out from changes to the state pension age can rely on other benefits, such as jobseeker's allowance. The comment was made during a debate in Parliament over whether women born in the 1950s were properly notified by the government that the age at which they could retire would [...]
Draft Investigatory Powers Bill: “Snooper’s Charter” puts UK tech sector in jeopardy, MPs warn February 1, 2016 A group of MPs has warned that the cost of implementing new legislation designed to give the government greater surveillance powers could put the UK's thriving technology sector in jeopardy. The cross-party group of MPs has warned that a lack of clarity in the so-called Snooper's Charter risks undermining UK tech by adding burdensome costs to businesses and potentially [...]
UK Pensions: FTSE 100 companies slice over £20bn off defined benefit (DB) pensions deficit but overall funding level in private sector remains bleak February 1, 2016 The total deficit for defined benefit (DB) pensions schemes for FTSE 100 companies has been slashed by £21bn over the course of a year. According to figures released today by JLT Employee Benefits, the total deficit across FTSE 100 companies stood at £77bn at 31 January 2016, down from £98bn at the same time the year [...]
Cordant Group’s Phillip Ullmann talks to Harriet Green about looking after 52,000 workers and turning teal February 1, 2016 When I met Phillip Ullmann, head of Cordant Group and employer of over 52,000 people, he had just lost his job title. It wasn’t that someone had taken it from him – rather that he’s shed it. “Job titles are nonsense. What does it mean to be an executive chair, chief executive, managing director? Titles [...]
People, planet and profit: How to build sustainability into your business February 1, 2016 Every business wants to be sustainable – this is, by definition, about being set up to succeed over the long term. For a business to be truly sustainable, it is important to balance three priorities: people, planet and profit. We all rely on people and natural resources, and we’re looking to achieve a profit. If [...]
