A virtual reality education company is listing on Aim today for £19.3m Virtual reality may soon hit the classroom, as a company called VR Education (VRE) listed on London's junior market today for a market value of £19.3m. VRE, which has raised £6m through the initial public offering (IPO), focuses on using virtual reality to improve digital learning and corporate training. The money raised in the float [...]
Industry heavyweights from Barclays, RBS and Coutts back new personal investment robo-adviser Pia Big-name former executives from institutions such as Barclays, HSBC and Coutts are behind a new startup aiming to help consumers navigate the world of investing. Pia, an online "personal investment assistant" scheduled to begin its launch in summer, counts advisory board members such as T Rowe Price Global Investment Services' former chief executive Todd Ruppert, [...]
Rathbones confirms it’s in talks to acquire Speirs & Jeffery as Tilney owner Permira elbows in Another asset manager merger is on the cards, as Rathbones today confirmed it is in talks to acquire Glaswegian firm Speirs & Jeffrey. City A.M. understands that private equity firm Permira, which owns fund manager Tilney, is also sniffing around the firm. Permira has previously helped Tilney complete a number of acquisitions, from when it [...]
Hedge fund tycoon Alan Howard brushes off poor performance with impressive rally in the AH Fund June 6, 2018 Hedge fund billionaire Alan Howard, the co-founder of Brevan Howard, has made an impressive comeback after a lengthy spell of lacklustre performance. Brevan Howard's $2.3bn (£1.7bn) AH Fund, managed by Howard, rose 36.7 per cent in May to bring total year-to-date returns to 44.3 per cent, according to a source close to the firm. The [...]
The Sultan of Brunei has made the country’s first investment in a UK listed company, ploughing £20m into Graze backer Draper Esprit June 5, 2018 The Sultan of Brunei, Hassanal Bolkiah, has made the country's first investment in a UK listed company, writing a £20m cheque through the sovereign wealth fund Brunei Investment Agency (BIA) for venture capital firm Draper Esprit. Draper, which has backed businesses including snack box delivery firm Graze and digital bank Revolut, announced last week that [...]
Morgan Stanley’s CEO calls Soros’ prediction of a global crisis ‘ridiculous’ May 31, 2018 The chief executive of Morgan Stanley, James Gorman, has hit out at doom-mongering comments which billionaire investor George Soros made earlier this week. At a think tank conference on Tuesday, Soros said the EU was in an "existential crisis" and may be "headed for another financial crisis". But Gorman played down the economic risks raised [...]
London airspace property developer Apex Housing hits new heights with £6.25m investment from the Business Growth Fund May 29, 2018 Apex Housing, a business which creates flats above London's rooftops, has today nabbed a £6.25m investment from the Business Growth Fund (BGF). Founded in 2008, Apex purchases unused "airspace" above residential, commercial and public building rooftops and converts the space into homes. It uses modular construction methods to build the properties in an offsite factory [...]
Online wealth manager Moneyfarm raises £40m in round led by Allianz as FCA scrutiny fails to deter investment in robo-advice May 29, 2018 Digital wealth manager Moneyfarm has today grabbed £40m in a funding round led by the asset management arm of insurance giant Allianz. The funding round – which saw contributions from new parties Endeavor Catalyst and Italy's Fondazione di Sardegna, as well as existing investors United Ventures and Cabot Square Capital – is the largest to [...]
In-demand shared office firm IWG rejects offer from US investor Prime Opportunities May 29, 2018 Shared office space firm IWG has rejected an offer from Los Angeles-based property investor Prime Opportunities, just two weeks after it confirmed it had received offers from a trio of other firms. Prime Opportunities said that it had led a consortium which made a cash offer for the entire business, but that IWG had dismissed [...]
Invesco is embroiled in a row with its former fund as it refuses to lower management fees May 29, 2018 Invesco is embroiled in a row with one of its former funds, London-listed investment trust Invesco Perpetual Enhanced Income (IPE), after it refused the independent board's request to lower management fees. Invesco announced in April that it was quitting as the investment manager of IPE, after the trust's independent board – headed by chairman Donald [...]
