Koovs share price drops as Lord Waheed Alli steps back as executive chairman July 21, 2015 Koovs' share price fell this morning as Lord Waheed Alli revealed he was bringing in a chief executive and stepping back from his role as executive chairman. The India-focused etailer has appointed internet of things expert Mary Turner to head up the business ahead of a new round of fundraising. Alli will become chairman. [...]
Marks & Spencer leading the FTSE losers: Why clothing boss John Dixon’s departure gives M&S two major headaches July 17, 2015 Marks & Spencer is leading the FTSE 100 losers this morning, after it confirmed its executive director of general merchandise John Dixon had quit. M&S' share price opened down, and has continued to tumble throughout early trading. At pixel time, itwas down 1.3 per cent. When Dixon took up the role in [...]
Asos shrugs off last year’s woes as sales soar 20 per cent July 7, 2015 Asos is surging ahead in the UK – but international growth and currency headwinds are still dampening the etailer's earnings. The figures: Retail sales were up an impressive 20 per cent for the four months to 30 June, with the UK up 27 per cent, while international sales were up 16 per cent. International sales [...]
A healthy office space is fundamental for success July 7, 2015 Over one million people in the UK suffer from work-related illnesses every year, according to a recent study from the Institute of Health and Care Excellence (NICE), and the resulting cost to the economy is huge. Read more: London’s new crisis: A shortage of offices will do immense damage While the influence of office [...]
The UK’s latest unicorn: Sophos prices its $1bn IPO June 26, 2015 Shares in Sophos, one of the UK's few tech "unicorns", launched its IPO today, valuing it at £1.01bn. Read more: The hunt for London's unicorn tech startups Shares in the cyber security giant began conditional trading at 225p each this morning, raising $125m (£79.3m), with an over-allotment option that could net it another £52.8m. The [...]
London Stock Exchange Group buoyed by rise in volumes – but Aim still suffering June 25, 2015 Things were looking up for London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG) in the five months to the end of May – although volumes were less encouraging on its junior market. The figures New issues on LSEG's main markets were up 29 per cent in the period, while average daily UK equity value traded was up eight per [...]
Happy birthday Aim: How 20 years of London’s junior market stacks up June 19, 2015 Today is the 20th anniversary of the UK's junior market: despite the fact Aim is currently sitting 24 per cent below its opening price, it has enjoyed some remarkable success stories. The market started with just 10 components at its launch back in 1995; these days, 1,074 companies are listed on Aim. Its value has [...]
The whole country can celebrate the Aim market’s twentieth anniversary June 18, 2015 Twenty years ago today, on 19 June 1995, London Stock Exchange launched Aim, a new market for ambitious growing businesses. With only 10 companies admitted on the first day of trading, with an aggregate value of just £82m, few might have envisaged it would be celebrating its twentieth anniversary this year. Since its inception, [...]
London Technology Week: Tech City is an awesome success story combining the best of Silicon Valley, Wall Street, New York and DC June 16, 2015 I emigrated from Silicon Valley a little more than ten years ago to work at a very young startup at the time, Skype. It was so new then that I spent months correcting friends’ pronunciation of the company name from Skype-ee to Skype. At that time I was exasperated at the dearth of candidates for [...]
Start it in your late 30s, and keep your founding team in place: How to create a $1bn tech startup “unicorn” – and why London has created eight in the past year June 15, 2015 Want to own a $1bn (£644m) tech firm (yep, us too)? Get some experience, and start the business when you're in your late 30s, new research has suggested. The research, by investment banking firm GP Bullhound to mark London Tech Week, provides a step-by-step guide to getting that $1bn tech "unicorn" off the ground. Here's [...]