Golden age of tech: Value of European tech firms soar to €618bn October 29, 2020 The value of Europe’s tech firms has soared in the past five years signalling the start of a golden age of tech entrepreneurship on the continent. Technology has become somewhat of a safe haven for investors during the pandemic but figures from Dealroom indicate it is part of a longer trend. European tech companies are [...]
Blackstone earnings rise as it cashes out on investments October 28, 2020 US investment giant Blackstone reported a nine per cent rise in distributable earnings in the third quarter as it took advantage of market uncertainty and cashed out on some of its investments. Distributable earnings for the year-to-date came to $772m, up from $710m a year earlier, which translated into earnings per share of 63 cents. [...]
Aston Martin capital raise subscribed after Mercedes deal boosts shares October 28, 2020 Aston Martin has said all shares available in its £125m capital raise have been placed or subscribed, as it looks to turnaround its business. The capital raise, which represents approximately 13.7 per cent of the company’s shares, comprised 250m shares at a price of 50p per share. Shares in the beleaguered carmaker jumped 6.24 per [...]
Government issues sustainable finance standards for fund managers October 28, 2020 The UK has issued a set of standards for asset managers within the sustainable investment sector as it shores up its green credentials. Interest in environmental, social and governance-related investing has taken centre stage in recent years. Inflows into active ESG funds reached a record £392m in September, taking the quarterly total to £1bn, according [...]
Octopus Ventures ‘extremely optimistic’ about investment landscape October 28, 2020 Investors have spent most of this year looking inwards as they sought to shore up their portfolio companies in the face of the coronavirus pandemic. But even as the UK continues to grapple with uncertainty amid another round of lockdowns, some investors are starting to look for opportunities to expand their portfolio. London-based VC firm [...]
UK maintains position as leader of Europe’s fintech community October 28, 2020 The UK continues to reign as the leader of Europe’s fintech community as investment among its peers lags behind. Investors in the UK’s fintechs remain bullish even as the country heads towards a no-deal Brexit, according to new figures from the Association for Financial Markets in Europe (AFME). The AFME’s ranking is based on a [...]
Octopus Ventures leads seed funding round in pet-tech firm Katkin October 28, 2020 London-based pet food company Katkin has secured £4.5m of funding in a seed round led by venture capital firm Octopus Ventures. Katkin was set up by siblings Brett and Nikki O’Farrell to produce healthy cat food after realising the options available didn’t provide cats with the nutrition they needed. The wet food contains 95 per [...]
Brewdog targets £50m investment after beating initial funding goal October 27, 2020 Brewdog has set its sights on raising £50m by January in its last equity crowdfunding effort, after hitting its initial target of £7.5m in just six weeks. The craft brewer and bar operator launched its Equity for Punks Tomorrow programme on 10 September, reaching £1m in less than 48 hours. The money raised in this [...]
Investment into UK ‘tech for good’ surges amid climate crisis October 27, 2020 UK impact tech firms have received nearly ten times more investment in the past five years as European investors turned their attention to issues such as climate change. Investment into these ‘tech for good’ startups has increased 9.5 times between 2014 and 2019, according to the latest research by Tech Nation and Dealroom. An impact [...]
St James’s Place net inflows slow amid ‘challenging’ environment October 27, 2020 Wealth manager St James’s Place (STJ) has recorded a rise in funds under management even as the pace of inflows slowed in the third quarter. As at 30 September, total funds under management increased to £118.7bn compared with £112.82bn in 2019. St James’s Place reported net inflows of £1.33bn in three months ended 30 September, [...]
