Prince Harry’s start-up BetterUp heads for London and Munich July 26, 2021 BetterUp, a virtual coaching platform that promises to democratise professional coaching across an entire business enterprise, is heading for Europe as it announced an expansion into London and Munich. The firm, which was co-founded by Alexi Robichaux in 2013 and where Prince Harry is the Chief Impact Officer, has gone from strength-to-strength this year. The [...]
Philips exceeds forecast earnings as pandemic increases demand July 26, 2021 Health tech firm Philips beat expectations in the second quarter after a pandemic-fuelled demand spike saw profits hit £455m, the firm confirmed to markets this morning. Analysts had expected profit to come in around £10m shy of that figure. The third wave of the pandemic across much of western Europe resulted in personal protection and [...]
Bezos-backed plant food firm NotCo secures unicorn status July 26, 2021 A plant-based food firm backed by Jeff Bezos has nabbed unicorn status after raising $235m (£170m) in a star-studded funding round. NotCo, which makes plant-based milk, burger patties, meat and ice cream, was valued at $1.5bn following the round, which was led by Tiger Global. Venture capital firm DFJ Growth Fund also took part in [...]
Podcast: Matthew Halstead, Trustee and Co-Creator of sidekick, on mental health, the importance of community and reaching a ‘career pivot’ July 26, 2021 Listen now on Spotify, Apple podcast, Soundcloud or the ICAS website. Matt lives in Hampshire with his wife and daughter. Previously a Samaritans volunteer, he loves an open and honest mental health chat which lead him to co-create the sidekick charity, because he believes mental health support should be accessible to all. He runs Noctis, a small consultancy offering commercial [...]
Covid-19 cases fall for fifth day in a row raising hopes that ‘Freedom Day’ catastrophe has been averted July 26, 2021 Hopes are increasing that Britain may have passed the peak of its third wave of the pandemic as cases fell for the fifth day in a row yesterday. The trend is borne out of the seven-day average, which has seen a significant fall. Last week cases were at 46,558, they currently fall at 29,173, the [...]
Wine lovers to save £130m as Brexit red tape cut July 26, 2021 Ministers are set to give British wine-lovers something to celebrate with red tape adding £130m to the naion’s booze bill set to be scrapped. VI-1 certificates, a post-Brexit document importers were set to be required to fill in when shipping to the UK, will no longer be launched. Food and Drink Minister Victoria Prentis said, [...]
Admiral Taverns acquires NewRiver’s community pubs for £222m July 26, 2021 Retail and leisure property investor NewRiver is selling its Hawthorn Leisure community pub business to pub company Admiral Taverns for approximately £222.3m. Admiral boss Chris Jowsey said it was an “exciting” time for the pub brand, despite hospitality’s struggles during the Covid-19 pandemic. The portfolio comprises 674 leased, tenanted and operator-managed community pubs across England, [...]
S4 Capital snaps up Salesforce specialist Destined July 26, 2021 S4 Capital has snapped up a marketing firm specialising in Salesforce as Sir Martin Sorrell’s ad firm targets further expansion in the aftermath of the pandemic. The London-listed company said it will merge with Australia-based Destined with its data division Mightyhive in a bid to bolster its presence in Asia Pacific. Destined, which is a [...]
Tencent shares fall after Beijing orders end to exclusive music rights deals July 26, 2021 Shares in Tencent have fallen after China ordered the company to end exclusive music licensing agreements with record labels across the world. The move is said to be aimed at tackling the technology giant’s dominance of online streaming in the country. They must cease engaging in any of these deals in the future and any [...]
Credit Suisse settles spying case with former executive banker July 26, 2021 Credit Suisse has reached an out-of-court settlement with its former star banker Iqbal Khan whose explosive allegations of corporate espionage led to the resignation of chief executive Tidjane Thiam, the Swiss bank said on Sunday. “All involved parties have agreed to settle,” said Credit Suisse, according to the Financial Times. “This matter is now closed.” The [...]
