A cradle-to-grave savings service will empower us all to grasp pension freedoms January 29, 2015 The pension reforms announced in George Osborne’s 2014 Budget gave savers new freedoms. They marked the end of a paternalistic system, where the government dictated how your money was used in retirement, and completed a shift in responsibility for pension savings and retirement income from the state and the employer to the individual. This, however, [...]
Third of pension savers in limbo about plans for retirement pot January 27, 2015 One in three Brits with a pension are still in limbo about how to use the cash, just two months before new rules giving them the freedom to do what they want come into force, a survey has shown. New rules in April will scrap the requirement of savers to purchase an annuity with their [...]
TransferWise hits $1bn milestone as London FinTech startups attract more cash January 26, 2015 Confidence in London’s financial technology (FinTech) startup community, and indeed its wider startup sector, was understandably at an all time high yesterday as another of the City’s rising tech stars completed a funding round reaching a $1bn (£663m) valuation. Raising growth-stage capital is often cited as a challenge for tech businesses with global ambitions in [...]
Pension funds complain about Ellison’s influence over Oracle January 26, 2015 TWO EUROPEAN pension funds yesterday published an open letter to US software giant Oracle complaining about the influence that key shareholder Larry Ellison wields over the company and demanding it allow outside investors a greater say over pay policies. The letter marks the latest attempt in a four-year campaign by Dutch pension group PGGM and [...]
Transferwise attracts $58m in new funding: Money transfer startup backed by Marc Andreessen and Ben Horowitz January 26, 2015 US tech magnates Marc Andreessen and Ben Horowitz have become the latest high profile names to throw their weight behind London money transfer startup Transferwise after leading a $58m (£38.7m) round of funding. Transferwise was set up three years ago by early employees of Skype with the aim of disrupting the transfer market by cutting [...]
The Supper Club founder Duncan Cheatle talks cowboys, venture capital and safe spaces January 25, 2015 If you ask Duncan Cheatle, founder of members-only entrepreneur networking group The Supper Club, to describe his formative entrepreneurial experience, you’re instantly transported. “Like lots of entrepreneurs, the first early thing I did was to sell tuck,” he tells me. “I guess there’s a limit to what you can do as a kid to show [...]
Why the smart data revolution creates opportunities for firms of every size January 25, 2015 We are witnessing a transformation of our economy, with data becoming one of the key drivers of every business. Increasingly, everything we do is digital, leaving a data trail that can be analysed to gain new insights and power innovative business ideas. This offers opportunities for entrepreneurs and startups that we have not seen since [...]
Gimme 5: Networks for entrepreneurs January 25, 2015 The Entrepreneurs Network Seated within the Adam Smith Institute, TEN is a think tank that supports entrepreneurs through research, events and a network of individuals who are keen to improve the public policy debate. Events are free and you can sign up for its weekly Entrepreneurs bulletin. www.tenentrepreneurs.org Business Because This handy networking [...]
TheTrainline.com boss Clare Gilmartin “delighted” as US private equity giant KKR snaps up rail ticket seller January 22, 2015 US private equity player KKR yesterday announced its acquisition of TheTrainline.com, the UK’s leading online platform for selling rail tickets, from buyout rival Exponent for an undisclosed sum. TheTrainline.com is the most downloaded travel app in the UK and ranks fifth by gross transaction value in the UK’s e-commerce sector. The company is licensed to [...]
London FinTech heads for NYC with Boris Johnson trade mission January 22, 2015 A delegation of London’s financial technology startups are joining Mayor Boris Johnson on a trade mission to New York next month. Digital Shadows, a cybersecurity firm whose clients include the Bank of England, and Azimo, a money transfer business which raised $10m (£6.6m) in funding last March, will go on the trip to showcase London’s [...]
