Halo Top ice cream defrosted from the startup doldrums to become a retail success December 17, 2018 Junk food is, rightly, under assault. This year, we’ve seen the introduction of a sugar tax on soft drinks, and last month London mayor Sadiq Khan announced a ban on junk food advertising on the capital’s public transportation network. This comes after tougher TV advertising rules introduced last year, which meant that ads for food [...]
As the warning signals flash red, now is the time to back business December 14, 2018 When thinking of the great moments of British enterprise, you would be forgiven for being consumed by nostalgia. The golden age of manufacturing, Victorian industrialists, Alan Turing, the internet, Concorde, the discovery of DNA – what then of today, the Brexit Blues? Think again. This is the age of the entrepreneur – 99 per cent [...]
It’s about time: Revolut secures a full European banking licence December 13, 2018 Fintech banking startup Revolut has finally secured a full European banking licence, more than a year after first applying for authorisation in Lithuania. As such, the banking-app-turned bank has today unveiled plans for full current accounts in Europe, as well as future efforts in developing its own consumer lending product. The startup will launch with the [...]
City hedge fund giant Crispin Odey backs emerging fintech startup Jumo December 13, 2018 City veteran and hedge fund titan Crispin Odey has backed UK-based fintech startup Jumo with a $12.5m (£9.9m) funding injection through his firm Odey Asset Management. The investment today marks the final close of Jumo’s most recent funding round, which raised $52m from Goldman Sachs as its lead investor. Other participants included the French Development [...]
UK fintech startup Weswap pulls the plug on 2018 London IPO plans December 11, 2018 Peer-to-peer currency exchange platform Weswap has scrapped plans to list on London’s Alternative Investment Market (Aim) this month, after investor interest fell flat. Sources told City A.M. that the initial public offering, which had been mooted for a December launch, had failed to garner sufficient attention in what was promised to be a relatively small [...]
London’s shared workspace market is helping women to become business leaders December 11, 2018 London's flexible office market is growing. The last 18 months have seen a huge influx of startups and scaleups moving into these spaces, which cater to people who want more than just a part-time desk in order to be productive. To learn more about the appeal of shared workspaces, we commissioned an Economic Impact Report [...]
Culture and creativity will drive a new golden era for the UK and China December 6, 2018 The strength of Britain’s technological and creative industries, combined with the longstanding value of its archetypal brands, has given rise to a growing desire among Chinese companies to invest in the UK. This follows on from the strong trade ties between the two nations. The UK exported £22bn worth of goods and services to China [...]
UK investors warn tech giant regulation could harm startups December 5, 2018 UK investors are concerned legislation aimed at tech giants could have a damaging impact on startups, a new survey has revealed. A report published by the Coalition for a Digital Economy (Coadec) found 86 per cent of UK investors believe the principle of designing policy and legislation to target global giants could inadvertently hurt tech [...]
Digital Withdrawal: How Britain’s fast-growing tech sector can flourish in the face of Brexit December 2, 2018 The last five years have seen an extraordinary phenomenon. The powerhouse that is the UK tech sector has boomed to a value of more than £180bn, outpacing the sluggish UK economy as a whole. Want to buy clothes online? Asos and FarFetch are leading the world. Play games on your smartphone? You’ve probably enjoyed one made [...]
Qualcomm unveils $100m AI startup fund as tech companies race to invest in sector November 29, 2018 US telecoms firm Qualcomm has launched a $100m (£78.3m) fund to invest in AI startups in a bid to promote new technology for self-driving cars and robots. The Qualcomm Ventures AI Fund will focus on firms that are developing “on-device AI”, as the telecoms company looks to spread the use of the new technology on [...]