Fintech startup Monese crashes a ‘Brexit meteorite’ in front of London’s King’s Cross station November 8, 2018 London-based digital banking fintech startup Monese today unveiled its Brexit warning to UK consumers, as its Meteorite sculpture smashes into the ground in front of King's Cross station. The installation is designed to pique the interest of passersby on what life could be like post-Brexit. It was claimed in September that the UK will be the last [...]
Former Vitality boss picks up £3m from Zoopla backer Localglobe November 8, 2018 Transferwise, Citymapper and Zoopla backer Localglobe will today reveal its latest investment into Yulife, a lifestyle insurance and rewards startup founded by Sammy Rubin, the former chief executive of insurance giant Vitality Life. Fintech investor Anthemis and Ourcrowd also joined the round, with AIG coming on board to underwrite all policies. Launching today in the UK, [...]
Peer-to-peer lender Zopa rakes in £60m fundraising round November 8, 2018 British peer-to-peer lender Zopa will today reveal the final close of its fundraising round at £60m, tacking on an additional £16m in investment to the £44m it raised earlier this year. Though no investor names have been disclosed, Zopa said both new and existing investors participated in the round. Some of its backers to date include [...]
Crowdcube raises £8.5m from Revolut backer Draper Esprit and Channel 4 November 7, 2018 Equity crowdfunding platform Crowdcube has today announced the close of a £8.5m fundraise, led by venture capital firm Draper Esprit and supported by Balderton Capital and Channel 4's commercial growth arm. Draper disclosed a £6m stake in the company as part of its investment, with the full round to be complemented by a crowdfunding campaign later [...]
Hammond’s digital tax is an illogical game of whack-a-mole November 7, 2018 The introduction of a new digital services tax was the most depressingly inevitable part of Philip Hammond’s Budget speech last week. Years of pressure from a pincer movement of corporate tax moralists and traditional retailers have paid off. Starting in April 2020, profitable digital businesses with £500m in global revenues would face a two per cent [...]
From artificial intelligence to quantum computing, Britain is a tech superpower November 6, 2018 Thousands of leaders from across the tech industry are descending on Lisbon this week for the annual international Web Summit. I’m excited to be here to champion the success of British tech to a global audience of investors and entrepreneurs. Britain is unmatched in Europe at producing tech-savvy, billion-dollar businesses. Last week, banking startup Monzo [...]
The UK remains ahead of the game in Europe’s tech sector November 6, 2018 The UK has continued to lead the way for funding activity in the European technology sector, both in terms of startups attracting investment and UK-based investors fuelling the continent’s exciting new talent. British startups secured almost a quarter of all early-stage tech investment in Europe in the last three years, according to new figures revealed [...]
Solving the shipping industry’s technological problems is a huge opportunity for the UK November 2, 2018 For decades, the business of moving goods across national borders has been hidden from the headlines. In ordinary times it is a rather dry subject, but Brexit has brought trade into sharp focus. One thing has become crystal clear: if goods cannot move freely through ports as a result of political agreement, a much greater [...]
For a rainy day: Monzo customers can now earn interest on their savings November 1, 2018 Fintech challenger bank Monzo is launching its first interest-earning savings pot. Customers will be able to create so-called savings pots within their Monzo account that will earn interest at one per cent per year, paid monthly, on savings of £1,000 and above. Customers can open up to 10 savings pots and can take money out [...]
Fintech star Monzo joins unicorn ranks with £85m funding round October 30, 2018 Digital banking startup Monzo will today announce the close of a fresh fundraising round at £85m, led by new US investors General Catalyst and Accel as the fintech firm prepares to leap across the pond. Existing investors Passion Capital, Thrive Capital, Goodwater, Orange Digital Ventures and Stripe also participated in the round. The news takes [...]