London property managing platform Plentific bags $100m in fresh funding August 24, 2021 London-based Plentific, which operates a property management platform, has pulled in $100m (£72.8m) in its latest funding round. The Series C fundraiser, led by fresh investors Highland Europe and Brookfield Technology Partners, is set to finance its expansion plans across the US and the rest of the world. Investors old and new piled into the [...]
Mervyn King: Central banks cannot solve most of society’s problems August 24, 2021 A former governor of the Bank of England has warned that central banks cannot be relied on to solve most of society’s problems. Writing for Bloomberg, Mervyn King said there are “serious challenges to our societies. But the gravity of an issue is not the sole, nor even the most important, criterion for central-bank involvement. [...]
IHG announces new luxury hotel collection Vignette August 24, 2021 IHG Hotels & Resorts has announced its new luxury and lifestyle brand Vignette Collection. The Holiday Inn owner hopes the Vignette brand will attract more than 100 hotels across the world over the next ten years. It marks the sixth addition to IHG’s portfolio in the past four years with other luxury and lifestyle brands [...]
London property managing platform Plentific bags $100m in fresh funding – CityAM : CityAM August 24, 2021 London-based Plentific, which operates a property management platform, has pulled in $100m (£72.8m) in its latest funding round. The Series C fundraiser, led by fresh investors Highland Europe and Brookfield Technology Partners, is set to finance its expansion plans across the US and the rest of the world. Investors old and new piled into the [...]
Former Amazon vice president poached for Ocado board August 24, 2021 Online retailer Ocado has poached a former Amazon vice president and robotics expert for its board, as the supermarket looks to broaden its market share. Incoming independent non-executive director and board veteran, Nadia Shouraboura, is set to join Ocado at the turn of September. Shares lifted 2.43 per cent by the afternoon, taking the group’s [...]
DEBATE: Are overseas private equity bids good news for the UK? August 24, 2021 Morrisons has accepted a £7bn bid from US private equity firm Clayton Dubilier & Rice. The fierce competition from US investors to buy the British supermarket giant has prompted concerns over what an injection of foreign money would mean for the high street stalwart. Ewan MacKinnon and Fraser Thorne take on the debate: Ewan MacKinnon, [...]
Wood boss hails ‘momentum’ despite revenue dive as order book swells to $7.7bn August 24, 2021 Energy infrastructure group Wood has seen its orderbook swell to $7.7bn in the past six months, while revenue has taken a tumble. Shares had slipped 0.64 per cent to 232.1p per share, following the announcement. Revenue sank 22.9 per cent in its interim results for the six months to 30 June, which the group put [...]
Lloyd’s losses set to swell to £2bn as surge in business interruption claims squeezes bottom line August 24, 2021 Insurance market Lloyd’s is set to swing to a £2bn loss, triggered by a surge in claims on business interruption policies, according to fresh analysis. Research from Insurance DataLab shows the London market nursed losses that were £1.6bn higher than 2019’s figure last year. Lloyd’s abysmal performance last year was driven by a poor performance [...]
Exclusive: Almost half of London SMEs planning to hire this year August 24, 2021 Just under half (42 per cent) of London SMEs plan to hire in the next 12 months. This is more than anywhere else in the country bar the North West (54 per cent), according to Barclaycard research. Firms are looking forward to a sales boost this weekend with one in 10 London businesses (11 per [...]
Baidu-backed AI voice assistant firm Xiaodu racks up $5.1bn valuation August 24, 2021 Chinese tech giant Baidu has confirmed its artificial intelligence voice assistant firm Xiaodu Technology has racked up an eyewatering $5.1bn valuation today. Following the artificial intelligence (AI) firm’s Series B fundraiser, Baidu will remain a majority shareholder. The lofty valuation comes in amid a local regulatory clampdown, spearheaded by Beijing, which has locked eyes on [...]
