Pocket money app GoHenry secures $40m in funding round December 8, 2020 Children’s bank account app GoHenry has raised $40m as it looks to fund its expansion in the UK and the US. The UK fintech firm, which was founded eight years ago, provides children as young as six with a pre-paid debit card and app that can be controlled and topped up by parents. The funding [...]
Mark Zuckerberg ‘threatened to pull UK investment’ in meeting with Matt Hancock December 8, 2020 Mark Zuckerberg reportedly threatened to pull Facebook’s investment from the UK in a meeting with Matt Hancock amid a regulation row. Secret minutes from a meeting in 2018, obtained by the Bureau of Investigative Journalism, reveal Hancock, who was the Culture Secretary at the time, offered a “new beginning” for the government’s relationship with the [...]
Market Finance to make £5,000 grants available to UK SMEs December 8, 2020 Market Finance has announced an SME fund that will make grants available to businesses struggling amid the pandemic. The fintech lender has launched the Business Booster Fund which will make grants of £5,000 available to the UK’s small firms in a bid to help them “kickstart” 2021. The initiative is broad brush – any business [...]
Oligarch’s son embroiled in divorce case lost $50m in ‘risky’ trades December 8, 2020 The son of a Russian oligarch at the centre of a huge divorce case said he did not conceal assets and instead lost the money while trading at university. London oil trader Temur Akhmedov said $50m in funds from his father, Farkhad, did not disappear because he was hiding the assets from his mother Tatiana. [...]
Grocery sales on track for bumper Christmas after reaching record high in November December 8, 2020 November was the largest month ever for the UK’s grocery market as out of home socialising was restricted by a second national lockdown, figures show. Market researcher Kantar said grocery sales rose 11.3 per cent in the 12 months to 29 November and climbed 13.9 per cent year-on-year in the last four weeks. Last month [...]
Ashtead lifts full-year guidance after ‘resilient’ lockdown period December 8, 2020 Construction equipment hire firm Ashtead has raised its full-year guidance after a strong performance during lockdown. Ashtead benefited from its status as an essential business during the pandemic, meaning its revenues for the six months ending 31 October slipped just five per cent to £2.5bn. Operating profits dropped 20 per cent to £614m. “Based on [...]
Brexit: France reiterates veto threat over fishing rights December 8, 2020 France is still threatening to vote down a Brexit deal it considers to “sacrifice” its fishermen, in what is the latest barrier in trade talks. French European Affairs Minister Clement Beaune today said France would oppose any pact that “sacrifices” its fisherman. “On fisheries there is no reason to yield to Britain’s pressure. We can [...]
South African miner AngloGold Ashanti appoints Maria Ramos as chair December 8, 2020 Mining giant AngloGold Ashanti has appointed Maria Ramos as chair of the board following the resignation of Sipho Pityana. Ramos has been a director of the company since May 2019 and served as chair of the Remuneration and HR Committee, and as a member of the Social, Ethics and Sustainability Committee. Pityana has served as [...]
‘V-Day’: First Brits set to receive coronavirus jab December 8, 2020 The first people in the UK are expected to receive the first dose of the coronavirus vaccine later today. The UK is the first country in the world to start a national vaccination programme against coronavirus with the rollout of the Pfizer/Biontech jab. Fifty hospitals will administer the vaccine from this morning after medicine regulators [...]
Consumer spending rises ahead of Christmas but retailers still feeling the pinch December 8, 2020 Early Christmas shopping helped boost consumer spending last month but lockdown restrictions continued to hit retailers. Spending dropped 1.9 per cent last month as restrictions took effect but spending on essential items climbed 4.9 per cent, according to the latest data from Barclaycard. Supermarkets enjoyed a 17.9 per cent rise in sales with a staggering [...]
