Hundreds of new UK breweries open as craft beer boom continues January 28, 2019 Hundreds of new craft breweries opened in the last year as boozers defied Brexit fears to drive the growth in independent beer brands. A total of 430 new craft breweries opened in the year to the end of December 2017 as the market share of niche beers continues to rise, according to UHY Hacker Young. [...]
This is the year for businesses to find their purpose in life January 22, 2019 One year ago, BlackRock chief executive Larry Fink called on businesses to define their societal purpose, sending a message to the corporate world that working towards profit alone was no longer good enough. Last week, Fink’s push towards purpose was in the papers again, when a hacker concocted an elaborate hoax in the form of [...]
London fintech startup Jaja Finance picks up £5m with a boost from Celeres January 16, 2019 Credit card fintech startup Jaja Finance has today confirmed the final close of its £3.5m crowdfunding round, boosted by an additional £1.5m from Celeres Investments. The £5m intake adds to an earlier £4.4m raised in seed funding last year, backed by Blystad Group and Pollen Street Capital among others. More than 1,000 private investors took [...]
Monzo ‘absolutely not’ the next Wonga, says founder amid high-cost loan speculation December 5, 2018 Monzo is “absolutely not” going to be the next Wonga, its founder has said, amid speculation the digital bank was planning to move into the high-cost loan space. Tom Blomfield, whose up-and-coming challenger bank this morning completed a landmark £20m crowdfunding round powered by its own customers, told City A.M. he was “categorically not working [...]
Digital bank Monzo ‘to allow customers to go overdrawn’ to buy shares in £20m crowdfunding round November 30, 2018 Challenger bank Monzo will reportedly allow customers to borrow money to buy shares in its most recent fundraising round. The prospectus for the digital bank’s anticipated £20m crowdfunding lets account holders use their £1,000 overdraft to buy shares, but as shares are not openly traded they cannot then be sold to pay off overdrafts, according [...]
Monzo confirms record-breaking UK fintech crowdfunding round November 26, 2018 Digital bank Monzo has today announced it will be heading back to the crowd for the last chunk of its series E fundraising round, with a target of up to £20m. The raise, first reported exclusively by City A.M. in August, will be the largest fintech crowdfunding round in the UK to date. Going live [...]
Crowdfunding isn’t just about money, but communicating with customers – the best businesses are the best listeners November 22, 2018 Consumers are increasingly sceptical of industry leaders, disloyal to brands, well-researched in the products and services they need, and not willing to be talked at. Through social media, they listen to one another about which brands are worth caring about, and which are not. The brands that are the best communicators are also the best [...]
Crowdcube raises £8.5m from Revolut backer Draper Esprit and Channel 4 November 7, 2018 Equity crowdfunding platform Crowdcube has today announced the close of a £8.5m fundraise, led by venture capital firm Draper Esprit and supported by Balderton Capital and Channel 4's commercial growth arm. Draper disclosed a £6m stake in the company as part of its investment, with the full round to be complemented by a crowdfunding campaign later [...]
Returns from peer-to-peer lending look attractive, but is it a sensible sector to invest for retirement? November 1, 2018 Peer-to-peer lending (P2P) has long been deemed by many professionals in the conventional investment industry as too risky for retail investors. And yet, this technology driven form of lending has surged in popularity over the past decade, which is largely a result of the sector offering a decent return where other asset classes have struggled. [...]
Fintech star Monzo joins unicorn ranks with £85m funding round October 30, 2018 Digital banking startup Monzo will today announce the close of a fresh fundraising round at £85m, led by new US investors General Catalyst and Accel as the fintech firm prepares to leap across the pond. Existing investors Passion Capital, Thrive Capital, Goodwater, Orange Digital Ventures and Stripe also participated in the round. The news takes [...]