Barclays is ditching telephone passwords for voice recognition August 1, 2016 Barclays is making passwords for telephone banking obsolete by rolling out voice recognition technology to all its customers. The use of biometric technology is being explored by several banks, but Barclays is the first UK bank to make the technology – which works in the same way as a fingerprint – widely available. Read more: Passwords are [...]
Nuffield Health bulks up with acquisition of 35 Virgin Active gyms, including 10 in London August 1, 2016 Nuffield Health has flexed its muscles with the acquisition of 35 Virgin Active gyms across the UK. The sites, which include 10 in London, will open their doors today as Nuffield Health fitness and wellbeing centres. The company will also take official ownership of the gyms today and will launch a multi-million pound rebranding programme. [...]
Royal Mint Court near the Tower of London gets planning permission for a redevelopment that includes space for a start up hub August 1, 2016 The capital is to get space for a new tech hub in the former home of the Royal Mint near the Tower of London. A proposal to remodel and refurbish the historic building, called Royal Mint Court, has received planning permission from the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. The plans by Delancey and the LRC [...]
Labour’s love affair with fantasy economics August 1, 2016 In a recent interview Jeremy Corbyn was asked to identify his successes of the past year. Alongside saying sorry for the Iraq war, the Labour leader said “turning the party into one that challenges the economic orthodoxy” comes high on his list of achievements. He may be challenging it, but he's far from forging a [...]
City Moves for 1 August 2016 | Who’s switching jobs August 1, 2016 Independent Oil and Gas Independent Oil and Gas has appointed David Peattie as chairman. David has 35 years’ industry experience and was most recently the CEO of Fairfield Energy, an oil & gas company owned by a syndicate of North American and European private equity investors, led by Riverstone and Warburg Pincus. David began his [...]
Small business M&A unaffected by Brexit fears August 1, 2016 Deal activity among SMEs flourished in the first half of 2016 and was higher than than the year before, despite Brexit fears. Private equity investors completed a total of 40 deals in British companies between the £10m and £100m mark in the first half of 2016, according to data released today by the Lyceum Capital [...]
Branding and buyouts: Brand Union’s Toby Southgate on corporate takeovers, Tesco’s farms and Tesla’s higher purpose August 1, 2016 Perceptions of brands change over time,” says Toby Southgate, worldwide chief executive of Brand Union. “And building them takes a long time. It’s not about the final push over the line.” A consultative arm of WPP, Brand Union specialises in brand strategy, and has shaped the identity of some of the world’s biggest names, including Vodafone, Absolut [...]
Mobile momentum: Why advertising on handheld devices will allow Google and Facebook to sustain their remarkable growth August 1, 2016 If there was any lingering doubt about the potential of mobile advertising, it was put paid to last week. Advertising’s two behemoths, Google and Facebook, beat analysts’ expectations for growth in the second quarter, thanks largely to the rise of mobile advertising. In its statement, Google’s parent company Alphabet said that not only were companies continuing [...]
David McCourt explains why micro-working is vital, and why he’s so disappointed by Trump and Clinton August 1, 2016 Do you mind always having to up sticks?” I ask David McCourt, founder, chairman and chief executive of telecoms and media investment firm Granahan McCourt, in regard to his likely move to London later this year. “No,” he replies. “I was only in the house my kids grew up in for 14 days last year; I’m [...]
It’ll be Clinton who destroys the transatlantic alliance – not Trump August 1, 2016 I will never vote for Donald Trump. In line with the classic modern American demagogic tradition – from Huey Long to George Wallace – the present Republican nominee often plays fast and loose with the truth. He either outright lies, as when he said large crowds of Muslims were cheering in New Jersey when 9/11 [...]