Allica lands £350m in British Business Bank scheme aimed at fintechs Fintech Allica Bank has bagged lending backing from the UK’s state-owned economic development bank, in a scheme designed to bolster high-growth challengers that lend to small businesses. The London-based fintech – which sealed its status as a $1bn unicorn earlier this year – has landed £350m in the British Business Bank’s ENABLE Guarantee scheme, City AM [...]
Wayve lands AMD, Arm and Qualcomm cash as UK self-driving push gathers pace Tech British autonomous driving firm Wayve has secured a further $60m (£44.2m) from chip giants AMD, Arm and Qualcomm Ventures, as it pushes to get its AI driving software into production vehicles. The fresh backing adds more heavyweight silicon names to Wayve’s investor roster and comes just weeks after the London-based company raised $1.2bn at a [...]
Public finance bodies need more clarity, says boss of Reeves’ wealth fund Economics The boss of Rachel Reeves’ flagship wealth fund has admitted British entrepreneurs want more clarity across public finance bodies as concerns rise over the growing number of institutions. Former RBS boss Oliver Holbourn, who the Chancellor appointed last July to lead the National Wealth Fund (NWF), said “people want more confidence in who they’re going [...]
Investor hits out at Peter Kyle for ‘picking winners’ January 24, 2026 Business secretary Peter Kyle has come under fire over his admission the government would be “picking winners” across the UK economy. The former Gail’s and Pizza Express investor Luke Johnson hit out at Kyle’s “arrogance and equal measure” for comments on the Labour government’s approach to investment. On Friday, Kyle spoke out about the government’s [...]
Greg Jackson: London IPO a ‘no brainer’ if capital flows reverse January 19, 2026 Octopus chief Greg Jackson has said choosing London as the destination for the blockbuster IPO of tech spin-off Kraken would be a “no brainer” if the exchange maintains its world-leading performance in 2025 and demonstrates it can lure fresh capital into the UK. In the biggest signal yet that the firm may select London over [...]
Hackney tops London’s entrepreneurial boroughs for startup loans January 12, 2026 Startup founders in Hackney racked up the highest volume of loans in London as fleets of British entrepreneurs launched their business in the capital. Some 1,309 loans were taken out by founders in Hackney through the Start Up Loans initiative since its launch in 2012 topping £11.4m in value. The borough has benefitted from being [...]
Reeves’ £28bn wealth fund under fresh scrutiny November 13, 2025 Rachel Reeves’ flagship National Wealth Fund has come under scrutiny after an audit identified “weaknesses” in the multi-billion pound vehicle’s risk controls. An audit of the National Wealth Fund (NWF) pointed to potential failures in the effectiveness of risk, management, governance and internal controls. Whilst the findings from the report confirmed “improvements have taken place”, [...]
Government-backed bank fuels entrepreneurship for unemployed Brits November 4, 2025 The British Business Bank has announced that nearly £150m in loans has been handed to unemployed people to help them start their own businesses since 2012. The figure represents 22 per cent of all finance issued through the government-backed ‘start-up loans’ programme, which aims to support entrepreneurs who may find it difficult to secure funding [...]
Reeves’ National Wealth Fund faces ‘very challenging’ growth goal October 28, 2025 Rachel Reeves faces an uphill battle as she looks to use her National Wealth Fund to ramp up the government’s economic growth mission, top MPs have warned. The Chancellor has touted the new unit as a growth-focused initiative that would unlock over £70bn in private investment. But in a new Treasury Select Committee report, the group’s [...]
High street banks’ SME lending comeback inches forward September 11, 2025 High street banks’ return to small- and medium-sized enterprises (SME) inched onwards in the second quarter. The big banks have turned back to the area as the government clamps down on smaller firms’ difficulty accessing finance. Top bosses were summoned earlier this year for talks with ministers covering how to improve lending to SMEs. In [...]