EU trade chief Phil Hogan considers bid for WTO top job June 9, 2020 European Trade Commissioner Phil Hogan has said he is considering a bid to become the director-general of the World Trade Organisation (WTO). The EU trade chief confirmed he is “exploring the option of being a candidate” for the role that will become vacant in September, according to Reuters. “I think that there is an important [...]
Government’s Future Fund approves just £55.9m of convertible loans to date June 9, 2020 The government’s Future Fund scheme has approved £55.9m of convertible loans despite receiving applications worth £515m on the first day of launching. The fund was set up as an alternative to the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loans Scheme (CBILS) for startups unable to demonstrate a turnover. It was designed to support startups through the coronavirus crisis [...]
The City View: The future of capital markets, with William Wright – founder of New Financial June 9, 2020 In this episode Christian is joined by William Wright, founder of the capital markets think-tank, New Financial, which works to promote bigger and better capital markets. Subscribe to The City View Podcast: Apple / Google / Spotify / RSS It also strives to explain the role and purpose of capital markets, and to focus the industry on how it can best serve [...]
Businesses urge Treasury to incentivise private investors to protect SMEs from collapse June 8, 2020 British businesses have called on the Treasury to incentivise private investors to invest in SMEs that have been badly affected by the coronavirus crisis. In a letter to the Chancellor, law firm Buckworths has asked the government to incentivise so-called angel investors to invest in startups to help them repay the debt that has mounted [...]
UK coronavirus death toll rises by 55, lowest since before lockdown began June 8, 2020 A further 55 people have died with coronavirus in the UK, but there were no recorded deaths in Scotland or Northern Ireland overnight. It brings the death toll to 40,597, according to figures published today by the Department of Health, and marks the lowest daily increase since lockdown began. The UK is only the second [...]
CoinCorner launches UK ‘Bitcoin cashback’ initiative June 8, 2020 One of the UK’s leading Bitcoin exchanges, CoinCorner, has launched a new ‘Bitcoin cashback’ service to reward customers when they shop online. CoinCorner has partnered with more than 400 top retailers to launch the first-of-its-kind service in the UK. Some of those who have partnered with the exchange include household names such as Burtn, Twinings, [...]
Lookers delays financial results further and warns of share suspension June 8, 2020 Car dealership firm Lookers has delayed publishing its financial results for the third time and has warned it may have to suspend trading. Lookers had been scheduled to report its 2019 financial results in March but had to delay publication until April after it had “identified potentially fraudulent transactions” and hired Grant Thornton to review [...]
Exclusive: Islington is the number one hotspot for new UK startups June 7, 2020 Islington is the UK hotspot for new startups, creating 18,590 new businesses in the last year, according to figures from UHY Hacker Young. Startups are turning to Islington as a cheaper alternative to the Silicon Roundabout, a popular tech hub in North-East London. Islington overlaps parts of the Kings Cross redevelopment, Dalston and on the [...]
Domino’s Pizza scolded by the IA over lack of gender diversity June 7, 2020 Domino’s Pizza has come under fire from the City over its lack of diversity on its board, which is due to become male-only by the end of the month. The Investment Association (IA) has issued a so-called red-top on the pizza chain, first reported by the Sunday Telegraph. It represents the strongest warning from the [...]
Small businesses could fail to pay back coronavirus loans, BoE governor warned June 7, 2020 The Bank of England governor Andrew Bailey has been warned that £36bn of emergency coronavirus loans to small businesses risk turning toxic. A report by industry body TheCityUK’s Recapitalisation Group that will be published tomorrow warns of “unsustainable” debts which could impede recovery. The report, chaired by Aviva chairman Sir Adrian Montague and supported by [...]
