Will Britain Lead the 4th Industrial Revolution? October 2, 2018 With the USA in isolationist mode, if not paralysis, who will lead the west, post-Brexit and as we enter the full flood of what the World Economic Forum’s Klaus Schwab dubbed The Fourth Industrial Revolution: “The possibilities of billions of people connected by mobile devices, with unprecedented processing power, storage capacity, and access to knowledge, [...]
How London can fend off the European hotspots vying for its fintech crown October 1, 2018 Flash back to the immediate aftermath of the Brexit vote. “London has committed suicide as a leading fintech centre,” tweeted Traxpay, a German payments platform. Catchy advertising urged startups to “keep calm and move to Berlin”. Read more: Meet the startups in the Treasury-backed Tech Nation fintech accelerator Over two years later, and it’s French [...]
London companies dominate list of UK startups where professionals most want to work, new analysis reveals October 1, 2018 London dominates the UK’s startup scene, new analysis from LinkedIn shows. All but one of the country’s 25 top startups are based in the capital, the social media site found. The analysis uses searches and company page views from LinkedIn’s half a billion users, over 25m of which are in the UK, and shows the [...]
Boss of £775m Royal Bank of Scotland competition payout confirms Santander UK is in running September 27, 2018 The head of a scheme to pay out £775m from Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) to boost banking sector competition today confirmed that Santander UK and other large lenders are in the running for multi-million-pound award, in spite of criticisms from rival banks. The scheme, designed by the Treasury but run independently by Banking [...]
Revolut to bid for fresh European licence as it reveals losses September 24, 2018 Fintech powerhouse Revolut has revealed its post-Brexit strategy amid the publication of its 2017 financial accounts, which put a heavy spotlight on the banking app’s operational losses. Primarily, a spokesperson for the London startup confirmed to City A.M. it had applied for a second e-money licence in Luxembourg, in addition to its 2017 application for a [...]
Africa deserves more optimism and attention from City investors September 21, 2018 In Johannesburg last month, the Prime Minister set a new ambition for the UK to be the largest G7 foreign direct investor in Africa by 2022. Achieving that ambition won’t be easy, but for UK investors who are prepared to change their attitudes and look beyond the easy choices, there are great opportunities. I was privileged [...]
Outdated research is driving markets towards a pedestrian investment environment September 18, 2018 The equity research industry has had to contend with a wave of changes over the past few years. The growth of passive investing, increased in-house research capabilities, and new fintech challengers have all placed significant strains on the business model of a traditional equity analyst. It was the implementation of the revised Markets in Financial [...]
There’s a bright, collaborative future ahead for the City and Northern Ireland September 17, 2018 Last week, I embarked on a visit to Northern Ireland to engage with its financial and professional services sector. With fewer than 200 days until the UK leaves the EU, and the Irish border proving to be one of the more contentious issues surrounding negotiations, this was an excellent opportunity to hear the views of [...]
British scaleups must leap the confidence gap to achieve growth September 13, 2018 It's a well-worn fact that small businesses are the backbone of Britain. It’s also well-known that they have a high failure rate, as four tenths of SMEs fail within five years. Far less well explored are the reasons behind this failure rate. To better understand the challenges facing these businesses as they attempt to scale, we [...]
Cryptocurrencies swimming in the mainstream September 5, 2018 | Sponsored Spending and exchanging digital currencies are two of the biggest challenges enthusiasts face when building a crypto portfolio. While some high-profile retailers such as Subway, Microsoft and Expedia accept Bitcoin as payment, retailers that have adopted crypto represent a tiny fraction of the market. Limited payment options, complex processes and expensive exchange fees are typical [...]