UK businesses look for international trading opportunities post-Brexit March 17, 2021 Britain’s vaccine rollout has triggered a wave of optimism among businesses as they look to new growth opportunities after the pandemic but Brexit concerns still linger. Business confidence is now at its highest level since the summer of 2018 as the government steps up its efforts to vaccinate the adult population by the summer. While [...]
More than half of PE and VC firms have all-white investment teams March 17, 2021 Private equity and VC firms are making great strides with gender diversity but the industry is still significantly lagging on ethnic minority representation, according to new research. Analysis by the British Venture Capital and Private Equity Association (BVCA) and Level 20 reveals all male investment teams have declined from 28 per cent in 2018 to [...]
Dija acquires Genie in bid to expand 10-minute delivery service March 17, 2021 London-based grocery delivery startup Dija has acquired Cambridge startup Genie as it expands its service across the UK. Dija, which was founded by former Deliveroo executives, launched earlier this month and promises to deliver groceries within 10 minutes. It is the latest player to join the ever-expanding food delivery space and already has four warehouse [...]
Female representation in finance improves despite pandemic March 17, 2021 Five years since the launch of a review into female representation in finance, the vast majority of firms have reached or are on track to meet their targets according to new research. The Treasury launched its Women in Finance Charter after a review led by Dame Jayne-Anne Gadhia in 2016 which called on firms to [...]
Aviva boss Amanda Blanc appointed Women in Finance Champion March 17, 2021 Amanda Blanc, chief executive of Aviva, has been appointed the Treasury’s Women in Finance champion. She succeeds Dame Jayne-Anne Gadhia, former chief executive of Virgin Money, who led the 2016 review into the representation of women in the industry. The Treasury launched its Women in Finance Charter after the review and it now has over [...]
London remains Europe’s major global finance centre despite Brexit hit March 17, 2021 London has held on to the second spot in a respected international study of financial centres, despite the double whammy of Brexit and the Covid-19 pandemic. London sits behind only New York and remains Europe’s only major global financial centre, remaining a number of spots ahead of Frankfurt and Zurich. But Asian competitors Shanghai, Hong [...]
Illuminate Financial closes $100m round with backing from JP Morgan and Barclays March 17, 2021 London-based VC firm Illuminate Financial has closed a $100m round with backing from JP Morgan Chase and Barclays. The fund, which is Illuminate’s second, was anchored by Deutsche Borse and IHS Markit, with additional backing from Draper Esprit and family offices. It was launched in early 2019 before closing in January 2021. “It has been [...]
White City’s flexible lab space opens up for London’s life sciences sector March 17, 2021 A lab space based in White City is releasing thousands of square feet of flexible office and lab space in a boost for London’s life sciences sector. Scale Space, a scaleup community which launched last summer, has announced plans to release 60,000 sq ft of space White City Innovation District reaches practical completion. The space [...]
Credit Suisse warns of financial hit from Greensill collapse March 16, 2021 Credit Suisse has warned it may book a charge following the collapse of Greensill Capital as scrutiny grows over its relationship with the firm. Earlier this month the Swiss bank closed a $10bn suite of supply-chain finance funds linked to Greensill, and it is also trying to recoup a $140m loan it made to the [...]
eToro confirms plans to merge with a Spac at $10bn valuation March 16, 2021 Investment platform eToro has confirmed plans to merge with a special acquisition company after years of speculation about going public. The London-based firm announced it had agreed to merge with Fintech Acquisition Corp. V in a deal which values eToro at around $10.4bn. The companies are raising approximately $650m in equity. Established in 2007 by [...]
