Chocfinger melts: Hedge fund famous for betting on chocolate shuts up shop December 11, 2017 Cocoa trading king Anthony Ward, the founder of Armajaro Asset Management, announced today he has closed down his cocoa- and coffee-focused CC+ fund. The legendary fund helped Ward earn the name “Chocfinger”, due to the massive bets he placed on cocoa seven years ago which helped drive prices to 30-year highs. The fund’s closure follows [...]
These are the UK’s 100 fastest-growing startups: Transferwise and Deliveroo top the list December 7, 2017 London can boast with renewed vigour of its startup credentials today, as new research has revealed that the capital is home to 71 of the UK's 100 fastest-growing startups. Investment platform SyndicateRoom has today revealed the UK businesses which grew most rapidly in terms of value between 2014 and 2017. With some well-known names on [...]
Facebook opens new London office and creates 800 new UK tech jobs December 4, 2017 Facebook has this morning cut the red ribbon of its new London office, home to the tech giant's biggest engineering hub outside the US. Located in Rathbone Place, Facebook has said its new building will be home to 800 new jobs – meaning the total number of staff working for Facebook in the UK will [...]
Challenger accountant CogitalGroup announces first acquisition for Blick Rothenberg December 1, 2017 Blick Rothenberg, the accountancy firm owned by CogitalGroup, has today made it first acquisition as its parent pursues plans to challenge the Big Four accountants. Shelley Stock Hutter, based in Marylebone, has been scooped up by Blick Rothenberg to strengthen its presence in the “owner-managed business” sector. With a team of more than 60 people, [...]
World’s largest interdealer broker TP Icap grabs rival Coex Partners November 30, 2017 Brokerage giant TP Icap, which was formed just last year in a £1.28bn deal, has hoovered up smaller Marylebone-based rival Coex Partners. TP Icap has paid an initial £7.1m for the firm, although this could rise over the next two years if performance conditions are met. In the first set of results since Tullett Prebon [...]
UK’s second listed law firm Gordon Dadds doubles profit in first results since IPO November 28, 2017 Gordon Dadds, which became the second law firm to list on London's public markets in August, has more than doubled its profit in the last year as it revealed its first results since the stock market float. The Aim-listed firm saw its revenue increase by 14.5 per cent to £12.89m, as adjusted profit before tax [...]
M7 cancels IPO of its real estate investment trust which would have been the largest this year November 24, 2017 M7 Real Estate, a firm which invests in commercial property around Europe, has today cancelled the planned float of its new investment trust on the London Stock Exchange. The M7 Multi-Let Real Estate Investment Trust (Reit), which was set to invest in UK commercial property, aimed to raise £300m in a stock market listing which [...]
Servelec shares shoot up as former Biffa owner Montagu Private Equity makes a £224m bid November 23, 2017 London-listed software company Servelec has seen its shares rocket by more than 20 per cent this morning, as it received a £224m offer from private equity firm Montagu. Servelec, which serves the healthcare, social care, education, oil and gas and energy and utilities sectors with hardware and software, has recommended that shareholders accept Montagu's offer. [...]
Rise of the robo-advisers? Online wealth manager Nutmeg breaks through £1bn in assets under management November 20, 2017 Nutmeg has today become the UK's first online wealth manager to reach more than £1bn in assets under management, after doubling its number of customers to 48,700 in the last 12 months. Year-on-year, the business's assets under management have ballooned by 93 per cent, trampling over the sector's average increase of 17 per cent over [...]
UK fund managers not willing to pay brokers for corporate access post-Mifid II November 14, 2017 UK fund managers are not willing to pay brokers to set up corporate meetings when new EU rules come into force next year, a survey from Capital Access Group (CAG) has found. From January, the second Markets in Financial Instruments Directive (Mifid II) – a piece of regulation designed to increase transparency across all asset [...]
