Not many tax rules deserve a birthday party – but the EIS is an exception September 18, 2024 Over the last 30 years the Enterprise Investment Scheme (EIS) has provided £32bn of private investment into 56,000 businesses, says Christiana Stewart-Lockhart This year marks 30 years of the Enterprise Investment Scheme (EIS), the tax relief that encourages investors to back risky early-stage companies that might – just might – go on to change the [...]
Innovate UK cuts prove women are still being told entrepreneurship isn’t for them September 6, 2024 As half the promised number of female founders are awarded funding from Innovate UK, women are still facing too many barriers in tech, says Camilla de Coverly Veale Heist movies are famous for the double cross reveal – but last weekend we weren’t at the movies when a heist was revealed and 1450 female founders found themselves [...]
Venture capital firm launches UK’s only fund for British pensions September 2, 2024 A venture capital firm has launched the first-ever fund devoted to helping UK pension funds invest in British start-ups and scale-ups. Future Planet Capital’s new British Co-Investment Fund (BCF) will channel pension investment into some of the UK’s fastest growing and most innovative businesses in a move that has been praised as “much-needed” by start-ups [...]
Reddit backer funds weapons start-up focused on ‘budget missiles’ August 26, 2024 Start-up incubator Y Combinator, which has backed companies such as Airbnb, Reddit and Coinbase, has made its first ever investment in a weapons company, which plans to produce “budget missiles” for the US military. Ares Industries, which is based in California, aims to produce “smaller, less expensive cruise missiles” for the US Department of Defence [...]
University spinouts could be the answer to the UK’s growth problem August 20, 2024 University spinouts are vital to retain the UK’s innovation crown, writes Simon Bumfrey, tech chief at HSBC Innovation Banking UK.
Worst corporate jargon of the week: Disruptor July 25, 2024 Offender: Disruptor Every one of us has been an email chain which is borderline unintelligible for the amount of corporate lingo thrown in there. At City A.M., we’re taking a stand and calling out the worst jargon which travels around the City faster than you can drink an overpriced pint. This week: disruptor. What does [...]
‘Green shoots all around’ for the UK venture capital scene but challenges remain July 16, 2024 "We are seeing green shoots all around," principal at Atomico, Sarah Guemouri, said. "Despite a slow start to the year, we expect capital invested as a whole to exceed last year’s figures."
HSBC: UK’s AI startups on track to raise record-breaking £3.4bn this year July 16, 2024 The UK continues to be the premier European hub for startup innovation and investment, outpacing France and Germany combined in the first half of 2024.
VC firm Index Ventures raises £1.8bn to back UK start-ups and unicorns like Revolut July 10, 2024 The VC firm believes that rapid advancements in artificial intelligence (AI), a deep talent pool and proven hyper-growth playbooks are driving big opportunities.
Start-ups and spin-outs: The secret ingredients to growth July 3, 2024 In the US, start-ups create 3m jobs in their first year and employ 2.6m workers five years later. Britain is lagging way behind when it comes to innovation and entrepreneurship, says Paul Ormerod Going into the election tomorrow, the two main parties agree on a crucial issue. Economic growth is needed to achieve their respective [...]