Lastminute.com launches marketing firm Forward to boost in-housing April 10, 2019 Online travel site lLastminute.com has launched a new media company called Forward as it looks to expand its marketing business. Forward will bring together the company’s existing Travel People marketing service with Playbook, a new consultancy firm. Read more: UK's biggest travel booking app Trainline considers £1bn flotation The holiday booking site said Playbook will [...]
Game over? Competition watchdog to probe console video gaming autorenewals April 5, 2019 The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) today launched a consumer law investigation into the console gaming sector. The watchdog said the investigation would focus on the auto-renewal practice of Nintendo Switch, Playstation and Xbox. Read more: Astro Bot Rescue Mission is the PlayStation VR's killer app It said it was “concerned about whether some of [...]
PR agency Hanover snapped up by Canadian communications group Avenir April 3, 2019 Communications group Avenir Global has acquired London-headquartered public relations firm Hanover for an undisclosed sum. Hanover, which was founded in 1998 by John Major’s former press secretary Charles Lewington, posted revenues of £19m last year and has unveiled plans to double its size by 2022. Read more: Top financial PR firm cuts ties with Sir [...]
AI startup Onfido tops $100m investment as it closes $50m funding round led by Softbank and Salesforce April 3, 2019 Digital identity startup Onfido today closed a $50m (£38m) funding round led by Softbank, bringing its total investment above $100m. Read more: London fintechs dominate startup programme as they bid to scale-up Salesforce Ventures also co-led the funding round with Softbank Investments (SBI), while Microsoft’s M12 fund and existing investors also contributed. London-headquartered Onfido will [...]
Adobe and Microsoft team up to take on Salesforce’s marketing software March 26, 2019 Adobe and Microsoft are teaming up to strengthen their sales and marketing software offerings in a bid to take on rival Salesforce. The firms will partner to help users of Adobe’s marketing software identify potential customers on Linkedin, which is owned by Microsoft, the companies said today. Read more: Adobe invests £63.5m in UK as [...]
Nine UK shares that tick all of Warren Buffett’s boxes March 26, 2019 | City Talk By Kyle Caldwell from interactive investor. Looking for equity-based ISA inspiration? We run through the investment checklist of the Berkshire Hathaway chairman to identify UK shares that pass his stockpicking rules. American investor Warren Buffett is to the world of investment what Lionel Messi is to football: the greatest of his generation in the profession [...]
WPP hunts for replacement as last Chinese board member steps down March 25, 2019 WPP is on the hunt for a new Chinese board member after it emerged a long-serving director from the country will step down, Sky News reported. Ruigang Li, who founded venture capital giant China Media Capital (CMC) and has served on the WPP board since 2010, has reportedly told colleagues he will not stand for [...]
Google announces Stadia game streaming platform March 19, 2019 Google has announced a video game streaming service called Stradia as the tech giant attempts to challenge Sony and Microsoft in the $140bn gaming market. Stadia will allow users to play games on their internet browser without having to download any content or buy a new console, Google announced at the Game Developers Conference in [...]
Facebook hit with US criminal investigation over data-sharing deals March 14, 2019 US prosecutors have launched a criminal investigation into Facebook over a number of data deals it struck with other major tech firms. A grand jury in New York has ordered two smartphone manufacturers to hand over records, the New York Times reported, citing people familiar with the matter. Read more: Facebook to encrypt more messages [...]
WPP appoints Microsoft chief executive Cindy Rose to the board March 12, 2019 Advertising group WPP has appointed Microsoft UK chief executive Cindy Rose to its board as a non-executive director, the company said today. Rose, who has held a string of high-profile jobs in the media and technology sectors, will join the firm from the beginning of April and will serve as a member of the audit [...]