It’s time to write the next chapter in the City’s story of technological innovation April 15, 2019 When I travel across the globe, there is an issue I get asked about time and time again: what is it about London that makes it such a successful global financial hub? And what is it about the UK that makes us stand out from the crowd? A key part of the answer is innovation. [...]
The Economist branches out with new Birmingham tech hub April 11, 2019 The Economist is set to launch a new technology innovation unit in Birmingham as it looks to boost in-house support for its digital services. The new hub, which will be the company’s first UK site outside London, will house roughly 45 members of staff focused on development and support for the magazine’s website, mobile apps [...]
Startups eye bigger slices of the pie as venture deals scale up April 11, 2019 Venture capital investment into UK startups in the first three months of 2019 was around the same level as last year, as investors turned their focus to later-stage deals. More than £1.2bn has been invested since the start of the year across 161 deals, according to data published today by KPMG. Comparatively Germany was hit [...]
Fintech unicorn N26 under scrutiny from German banking regulator April 11, 2019 Digital banking starlet N26 is under scrutiny from German banking regulator Bafin, after reports emerged of fraudulent transactions and problems with the bank’s communications structure. Concerns about N26 were first reported in October by German newspaper Handelsblatt, before further inquiries by Bafin were said to have revealed numerous deficiencies at the fintech startup. N26, which counts Monzo, [...]
Debate: Could financial services firms be better off basing themselves outside of London? April 9, 2019 Could financial services firms be better off basing themselves outside of the capital? Yes – Andy Mielczarek is chief executive at Chetwood Financial. Being based outside of London has such a raft of incentives that it seems like a no-brainer to set up outside of the capital. The overwhelming difference is operating costs. As we’re [...]
London startups to take fintech unicorn crown from San Francisco April 9, 2019 London is on track to become home to the same number of fintech unicorns as San Francisco, the world's current leader. Out of the 29 fintech unicorns globally – companies with a valuation of more than $1bn (£765.5m) – nine are based in the Californian hub, while seven are housed in the UK capital. Over a third [...]
London remains most popular investment target for European venture capitalists April 8, 2019 London secured its reputation as a global fintech hub as it attracted almost double the amount of venture capital funding compared to its closest European rival last year. The capital received 39 per cent of European venture capital funding last year, almost double that of runner-up Berlin, which took in 21 per cent in 2018, despite [...]
Mortgage and investment platform Lendinvest secures £200m funding from HSBC April 8, 2019 Mortgage marketplace and property investment platform Lendinvest has secured up to £200m in funding from HSBC in order to launch its home loan product this year. The new funding will allow the London-based firm, which launched in 2008, to enter the regulated home loan market for the first time as it targets becoming a whole-of-market [...]
If Brexit has taught us anything, it’s that we need to be bold when it comes to world trade April 8, 2019 A little over two years ago, the first direct rail freight service from China to the UK rolled into Barking’s 165-year old station to much fanfare. Of course, the completion of this mammoth 18-day, 7,500-mile trip from the Chinese city of Yiwu marked the moment that the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) reached the UK. [...]
Barclays plugs $6m into London financial tech startup Simudyne April 8, 2019 Financial simulation technology firm Simudyne will today announce the close of a $6m (£4.6m) series A funding round, led by Barclays. Early Snap and Lyft investor Graphene Ventures also joined the round, alongside Gauss Ventures which has previously backed digital banks Revolut and Tandem. The round raises Simudyne’s total amount of investment to date to [...]