Barclays unveils £14bn lending fund to help businesses through Brexit uncertainty March 27, 2019 Barclays has unveiled a £14bn lending fund to help small and medium-sized businesses through the uncertainty of Brexit. The bank, which has held more than 100 “Brexit clinics” for businesses in recent weeks, said the fund would provide loans, commercial mortgages and cash flow funding for investments. Read more: Barclays: No-deal Brexit would 'significantly' hurt [...]
City Moves for 27 March – who’s on the move at Wiggin, Coverys Managing Agency and Kirkland & Ellis? March 27, 2019 Who’s switching roles today? Wiggin Media, technology and IP law firm Wiggin has promoted Sarah MacDonald (digital entertainment) and Matthew Dando (litigation) to the partnership. This reflects the firm’s impressive growth and investment and an overall 30 per cent increase in partner numbers over the last two years. John Banister, chief executive, said: “Both Sarah [...]
Mining giant ENRC sues UK fraud office for £70m over long-running corruption investigation March 26, 2019 Eurasian Natural Resources Corporation (ENRC) is suing the UK's fraud agency for £70m over its conduct during a long-running probe into alleged corruption at the Kazakh miner. ENRC, which was delisted from the FTSE in 2013, has accused the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) of “arbitrary, oppressive and unconstitutional conduct” in relation to its investigation into [...]
The war of words at Superdry should focus investors’ minds March 26, 2019 All eyes are on Theresa May as she mulls the prospect of a third vote on her withdrawal deal, but for City watchers there's another ballot next week that promises fireworks of its own. Julian Dunkerton, founder and former CEO of Superdry is determined to win back a seat on the board. Despite leaving the [...]
Thames Water unveils £1bn tech investment in bid to boost efficiency March 26, 2019 Thames Water has unveiled plans to invest £1bn in new technology for its water and waste operations in a bid to boost efficiency by 20 per cent. The investment, which will be rolled out over the next six years, will help boost the utility company’s data management for a range of issues such as fixing [...]
Ex-Uber boss Travis Kalanick’s new venture snaps up UK ‘dark kitchens’ business March 26, 2019 The food delivery company run by Travis Kalanick snapped up London ‘dark kitchens’ firm Foodstars last year, as the former Uber boss looks to expand his new venture in the UK. City Storage Systems, which trades as Cloud Kitchens in the US, quietly bought the startup up last year, according to documents filed to Companies House. [...]
Spotify makes latest podcast acquisition as it looks to cash in on true crime March 26, 2019 Spotify has snapped up its third podcast company of the year as it looks to double down on the format amid a boom in on-demand listening. The Swedish streaming service today said it had acquired Parcast, a podcast studio specialising in true crime series. Read more: Apple hits back at Spotify in App Store war [...]
Wirecard shares soar as head office cleared of wrongdoing following fraud allegations March 26, 2019 Shares in payment firm Wirecard soared today after a law firm cleared the company’s head office of wrongdoing following allegations of fraud and false accounting. An independent investigation by law firm Rajah & Tann found that local staff at the company’s Singapore office may have committed crimes but these were not material to the German [...]
Former Lib Dem minister Michael Moore takes top job at British Private Equity and Venture Capital Association March 26, 2019 Former Liberal Democrat MP and front bench minister Michael Moore has been appointed as the director general of the British Private Equity and Venture Capital Association. Moore, who is currently a senior advisor at PwC, will succeed Tim Hames at the industry organisation later this year. Read more: Sir Vince Cable to step down as [...]
Adobe and Microsoft team up to take on Salesforce’s marketing software March 26, 2019 Adobe and Microsoft are teaming up to strengthen their sales and marketing software offerings in a bid to take on rival Salesforce. The firms will partner to help users of Adobe’s marketing software identify potential customers on Linkedin, which is owned by Microsoft, the companies said today. Read more: Adobe invests £63.5m in UK as [...]