Fintech challengers like Square, ApplePay and Funding Circle could undermine banks’ credit ratings in 2016 according to Standard & Poor’s December 16, 2015 The rise of fintech is challenging traditional banks, and could even undermine their credit rating, according to Standard & Poor's. The ratings agency expects global investment in 'non bank' financial service to be worth $24bn (£16bn) this year, double the figure in 2014. Traditional banks are still trying to adapt to the low interest rate, and [...]
Ladbrokes Coral merger: The Competition and Markets Authority launches its investigation December 16, 2015 The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) today announced it may carry out a 'fast track' investigation into the proposed merger between Ladbrokes and Coral. Today is the first day of the CMA's investigation to explore the effects on market competition if the two bookies merge as planned. The process normally takes 40 days, but the CMA said [...]
St Pancras’ Sourced Market beats £750,000 funding target with a minibond series on Crowdcube December 16, 2015 Sourced Market, the artisan food market based in St Pancras station, has raised £765,000 in a mini bond series on crowdfunding site Crowdcube. The shop/cafe offers a range of artisan food and fresh produce curated from across London's markets and local delicatessens, and will use the investment to fund its expansion with new sites in Victoria and Marylebone planned for next year. [...]
Crowdcube and Deliveroo join Tech City UK’s rising stars in the Future Fifty programme December 16, 2015 London-based restaurant delivery app Deliveroo is among the 15 new entrants to the Tech City UK Future Fifty programme. The Future Fifty, part of UK Trade and Investment, celebrates, and supports, 50 of the UK's rising tech stars, and this year's entrants are a testament to the growing force of e-commerce. Also joining Deliveroo on [...]
Shrimps, Farfetch, Lyst, Emilia Wickstead and Roksanda are some of the companies to benefit from growing venture capital interest in the London fashion scene December 15, 2015 London's fashion scene has caught the eye of the venture capitalists. A number of Vogue favourites, from faux-fur designer Shrimps, to catwalk darlings Emilia Wickstead and Roksanda, all received seed or venture level funding in 2015, according to venture capital data provider Beauhurst. Wickstead’s three-year-old business received £1.57m investment in July in return for a [...]
Pod Point’s mini bond fundraiser on Crowdcube gets turbocharged and beats £250,000 target December 15, 2015 Pod Point, the company that manufactures charging points for electric vehicles, has raised £267,750 from mini bonds on crowdfunding platform Crowdcube. The bonds, which have an eight per cent annual yield and mature after three years, will be used to fund the initial roll out of Pod Point's new public charging network, Open Charge. Erik [...]
From the UK general election to Greek debt fears it was an obstacle course for cross-border IPOs in 2015 December 15, 2015 It may have been the year of the mega deal, but the capital markets have suffered in 2015, and it’s been a decidedly poor year for cross-border IPOs. Fears over China’s growth, elections, referendums, and defaults in Europe, as well as uncertainty over the Fed’s rate hike all contributed to a 39 per cent drop [...]
UK small businesses aren’t prepared for foreign exchange volatility if the Federal Reserve raises rates in December December 14, 2015 UK SMEs are unprepared to deal with currency volatility if the Federal Reserve raises rates in December. While 88 per cent of small business owners said they understood the potential impacts of a US rate rise on currency markets, 70 per cent felt their business needed to be better prepared to deal with exchange rate [...]
Bad news for miners but good news if you want to go jewellery shopping for a ring, diamond prices are down 28 per cent according to Moody’s December 14, 2015 Diamond prices are set to fall further, as low consumer demand continues to put pressure on miners, according to Moody’s research. The price of rough diamonds dropped 18 per cent in the first 11 months of 2015, and are now down 28 per cent from their peak in the summer of 2014. Prices are now at a three [...]
The skills shortage and access to funding is holding back the UK’s entrepreneurs December 14, 2015 The UK's entrepreneurs are being held back by a lack of financing and the skills shortage. Over two-fifths, 42 per cent, of start-up businesses surveyed by the Institute of Directors’ 99 network said they struggled to hire people with the right skills, and 39 per cent said they had difficulty accessing financing, which was preventing the [...]
