London is home to 60 unicorns after record levels of investment last year March 16, 2021 London is now home to 60 companies with unicorn status as the capital cements itself as Europe’s hub for tech investment. Despite the challenges of the pandemic, six London-based companies secured valuations of over $1bn in 2020: Octopus Energy, Arrival, Kazoo, infobip, Gousto and Hopin. And it’s been a strong start to 2021 with an [...]
Inovia Capital expands European presence with $450m fund March 16, 2021 Canadian venture capital firm Inovia Capital has closed its first transatlantic fund at $450m doubling down on its commitment to invest in European growth-stage firms. The firm opened in London two years ago and is led by investor Patrick Pichette, who also chairs Twitter’s Board of Directors. Early stage investment in European startups has hit [...]
Mark Carney comes out against proposed coal mine in Cumbria March 16, 2021 The former head of the Bank of England Mark Carney has come out against the planned coal mine in Cumbria because it risks derailing progress on climate change. Last week the local government secretary Robert Jenrick announced an investigation into the mine after “further developments” which reportedly included a report from the independent committee on [...]
BoE: ‘No interest’ in lowering capital requirements for insurers post-Brexit March 16, 2021 The review into Britain’s financial rules post-Brexit will not lead to any “radical departure” or a reduction in capital requirements, the Bank of England (BoE) said today. Brexit has prompted the government to look at insurance capital rules inherited from the EU, with hopes it could lead to fewer requirements. The bank’s Deputy Governor Sam [...]
Tech hiring surges as firms turn to government’s Kickstart Scheme March 15, 2021 The resilience of the tech sector has seen hiring return to pre-pandemic levels and now it is turning to the government’s kickstart scheme to recruit under-24s. The digital tech sector has seen hiring surge to pre-pandemic levels with 122,446 advertised roles in the IT sector alone. Firms are making use of the government’s Kickstart Scheme [...]
Astrazeneca calls on Biden to ship US-made Covid vaccine doses to the EU March 12, 2021 Astrazeneca calls on Biden to share US-made Covid vaccine doses to the EU
Richard Branson’s Virgin Orbit plots $3bn listing via Spac March 12, 2021 Billionaire Sir Richard Branson is continuing to pile into blank-cheque vehicles and is now seeking a public listing for his own satellite-launch company. Virgin Orbit has hired bankers to explore going public through a special purpose acquisition company (Spac) for up to $3bn, according to the Wall Street Journal. It has hired Credit Suisse and [...]
Private equity giant Apollo pulls out of talks with Greensill Capital March 12, 2021 US private equity firm Apollo Global Management has ended talks to buy parts of Greensill Capital’s business. The beleaguered finance firm filed for insolvency earlier this week after Credit Suisse suspended redemptions on a $10bn suite of Greensill-linked funds. Greensill specialises in supply-chain finance which provides short-term credit to businesses. It bundles the debt and [...]
Commission-free trading apps follow path of challenger banks by introducing fees March 12, 2021 Commission-free trading apps like Robinhood have soared in popularity for retail investors during the pandemic. Now their attraction is dwindling as they follow the path of challenger banks by introducing fees. Robinhood lured traders through its promise of no trading fees but has recently faced regulatory scrutiny after a year of significant market volatility. Then [...]
Why Greensill’s collapse could spell calamity for Gupta’s steel empire March 12, 2021 Australian financier Lex Greensill’s financial empire has collapsed just a year after seeking a $7bn valuation. On Monday Greensill Capital filed for administration and it risks taking Sanjeev Gupta’s steel empire down with it. What went wrong for the banker and the steel magnate and how will its demise affect thousands of British steel jobs? [...]
