2021: Best year ever for UK tech sector with £26bn in VC, 116 unicorns, record London listings and more jobs December 28, 2021 The UK tech sector looks back on its best year ever, raking in £26bn in venture capital, record London listings, more jobs and the number of British unicorns climbing to 116. Success feeds cities outside London as Cambridge has become the leading regional tech city in the UK thanks to its combination of high levels [...]
London tops European fintech occupier index with £15bn funding December 10, 2021 London has beaten European capitals for the top spot in a new ranking table of the most attractive cities for fintech occupiers in Europe, according to reports. The capital, which has brought in over €18bn (£15.4bn) of fintech venture capital funding over the last five years, has kept its place at the top of the rankings compiled [...]
Expenses fintech Pleo rakes in $200m, tripling valuation to $4.7bn December 9, 2021 Fintech Pleo has raised $200m in an extended Series C round at a valuation of $4.7bn, hot on the heels of its last cash injection in July that saw it pass the unicorn threshold at lightning speed. Pitching itself as the “largest spend management company in Europe”, Pleo provides expense management subscriptions to businesses that [...]
Fintech Equals surpasses profit goals early as its pivot pays off December 8, 2021 Fintech payments group Equals announced that it significantly exceeded full-year revenue expectations this morning, with a 51 per cent boost to £40.4m, compared to a previous £26.8m for the same period in 2020.
Blue Prism agrees £1.24bn takeover offer from US fintech SS&C December 1, 2021 Software group Blue Prism agreed to a £1.24bn takeover offer from SS&C Technologies this morning, withdrawing its backing for a bid from rival suitor Vista.
New ‘purpose-built’ $1bn UK clearing bank launches in London November 30, 2021 London gets its second new clearing bank in 250 years today, as The Bank of London launches in the city to approve and process cross-border payments. Founded by Anthony Watson, a former chief information officer at both Nike and Barclays, The Bank of London is taking on the four banking giants HSBC, Lloyds Banking Group, [...]
Wise interim revenue gains by a third as money transfer customers surge November 30, 2021 Shares in Wise surged as much as 14 per cent today, after the money transfer fintech said this morning that its first half revenue jumped by a third to £256.3m, driven by increasing customer numbers as it invested in faster transaction processes. The company, which specialises in cross-border money transfers and is one of the [...]
Exclusive: ‘If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it’ no longer applies as tech-daring UK companies are hungry for risk November 25, 2021 Enthusiasm for experimenting with new technologies is growing fast across UK businesses, largely because many companies are increasingly prepared to take more risks. Given the increased risk appetite and firms embracing tech, organisations are pumping more cash in new technological applications and platforms. In fact, 77 per cent of businesses with headcounts over 250 said [...]
China hands out new fines to tech giants in anti-monopoly crackdown November 20, 2021 Chinese tech giants including Alibaba Group and Tencent Holdings have been fined for failing to report corporate acquisitions, adding to an anti-monopoly crackdown by the ruling Communist Party. The companies failed to report 43 acquisitions that occurred up to eight years ago under rules on “operating concentration”, according to the State Administration for Market Regulation. [...]
Founder of tech firm where David Cameron chaired advisory board steps down after sexual assault claims November 19, 2021 The founder of a tech group at which former prime minister David Cameron was an adviser has stepped down amid allegations of sexual harassment. Zia Chishti, who founded Afiniti, was accused this week of pressuring a former employee into having sex with him on a business trip, when it was also alleged he beat her. [...]