Lender owned by feared investor Elliott appoints ex Close Brothers chief as chair January 9, 2023 A specialist property lender owned by feared investment firm Elliott has snagged former Close Brothers chief executive Preben Prebensen as its chair, the firm announced today.
Bitcoin millionaires ‘drop like flies’ as FTX fallout shakes crypto market January 9, 2023 The number of bitcoin millionaires has plunged and scammers have filled their boots in the past year as the market is gripped by a ‘crypto winter’, brought on by soaring inflation and a string of high profile bankruptcies.
Comparethemarket owner backs London ‘insurtech’ Superscript in £45m funding round January 9, 2023 London-based insurance fintech Superscript announced it had bagged a £45m funding round led by the owner of Comparethemarket.com today, in a boost to the UK’s burgeoning ‘insurtech’ sector after a flurry of investment in the past two years.
Santander launches buy-now pay-later offering that could be a ‘game changer’ for cash-strapped corporates January 9, 2023 Santander has announced a push into the business-to-business (B2B) buy-now pay-later market today as it looks to tap into demand from a wave of corporate firms grappling with soaring prices.
Zopa Bank: Surviving recessions, battling digital banks and whether it will float in London this year January 9, 2023 Zopa is a firm that has weathered economic crises before. When the global financial crisis swept through the economy in 2008, the London-headquartered fintech was a little-known but early-moving peer-to-peer (p2p) lending shop connecting borrowers with willing investors. Banks had unsurprisingly reined in loans and hauled up the barricades, leaving consumers scrambling for cash through other [...]
BDO in the spotlight over Home REIT audit January 9, 2023 BDO is facing questions over its audit of troubled property investor Home REIT, after it was asked to look again at the social housing firm’s books amid accusations executives had been ‘round-tripping’ revenues and inflated the value of its property portfolio. Home REIT, which invests in housing for vulnerable groups, was forced to delay the [...]
UK fintech funding tumbles amid global slowdown, but London remains well ahead of global rivals January 9, 2023 Investment into the UK’s fintech sector slumped eight per cent last year as soaring inflation and the shocks of war in Ukraine brought an end to a decade-long global venture capital frenzy, figures shared exclusively with City A.M. reveal.
Hargreaves Lansdown’s shares appear to rally as founder rounds on trading platform’s bosses over hybrid advice plans January 8, 2023 The co-founder of trading platform Hargreaves Lansdown has launched a scathing attack on “unnecessary and irrelevant” programmes launched by its outgoing chief today, after a collapse in the FTSE 100 firm’s share price over the past three years.
Starling boss Boden marks quadrupling of bank’s profits with barbs at fintech peers January 6, 2023 Digital bank Starling said it expects to more than quadruple its profits to £120m and ramp up a hiring spree this year as it becomes the latest lender to be buoyed by rising interest rates and a surge in borrowing.
Just In-Time! Timpson saves watch repair firm from bankruptcy, and 110 jobs January 6, 2023 High street stalwart Timpson has swooped in to rescue watch and jewellery specialist In-Time from bankruptcy in a move that is set to save more than 100 jobs. Timpson, which provides repairs and engraving services, announced it had bought the firm in a pre-pack sale after administrators were called in to oversee the winding up [...]
