Entrepreneurial spirit alive and kicking in UK September 15, 2014 ENTREPRENEUR of the year The City A.M. Entrepreneur of the Year award recognises those individuals or groups who set up a successful new venture and are now growing it as a profitable business. According to campaign group Startup Britain, more than 410,000 new businesses launched in the UK in 2014 so far – up from [...]
Photobox boss Stan Laurent: The man driving Moonpig’s growth story September 14, 2014 By the end of April, it became clear to Stan Laurent that London’s doors were effectively closed to new consumer-facing internet companies. There had just been the perfect storm of disastrous market debuts from Just Eat and AO World, along with two profit warnings from Asos that triggered a sell-off in shares of fellow fashion [...]
London Report: Scotland and MPC minutes the main focus for the City September 14, 2014 ALL EYES will be on the result of Thursday’s Scottish referendum, with market watchers keen to know whether or not the 300-year-old union will continue. As far as more normal risk events are concerned, the main one will be Wednesday’s release of the latest set of MPC meeting minutes. That will be complemented by the [...]
Boohoo share price soars after reporting accelerating sales growth September 12, 2014 Boohoo's share price soared six per cent this morning after revealing revenues will be up nearly a third for its first half. The etailer, which went public in March, is expecting revenues to rise 31 per cent to £67m for the six months to August 31, it said in a trading update this morning, [...]
We’ve discovered the UK’s tech unicorns – now we must nurture their growth September 7, 2014 After creating its first product in the 1970s, it took Apple years to become one of the world’s most valuable companies. But in today’s technology sector, a new breed of tech firm is emerging – the unicorn. The unicorn is a startup that grows exponentially to reach a billion-dollar valuation within a few years of [...]
Germany’s €6bn mega-float puts London on notice September 3, 2014 Europe’s biggest online fashion player Zalando, a rival to Britain’s Asos, plans to raise more than €500m (£399m) to fund its expansion by listing a stake on the Frankfurt stock exchange. The announcement comes as London’s tech community launches a fight back to maintain its lead over its European rivals. Yesterday, the Coalition for a [...]
Asos share price surges on reports of US buyout August 27, 2014 Shares in online fashion retailer Asos soared yesterday on unconfirmed reports that a US company is eyeing a stake in the business. Asos shares, which have fallen by almost two-thirds this year after two profit warnings and a fire at its main warehouse, jumped 17 per cent to 2,751p, pushing up other online players, including [...]
Lansdowne takes a stake in luxury online retailer Achica August 10, 2014 Lansdowne Partners, one of the world’s largest hedge funds, has bought a stake in online luxury lifestyle store Achica. Lansdowne’s investment was disclosed in documents filed at Companies House, which also said that the company is considering an initial public offering at some point in the future. Achica’s chief executive Steve Robinson, who previously headed [...]
Asos slumps to 18-month low August 5, 2014 SHARES in online clothing retailer Asos hit an 18 month low yesterday after Liberum said it expected shares to fall a further 38 per cent in coming months as its first mover advantage was eroded by market competitors. Asos’ shares have fallen 62 per cent since the start of the year in the wake of [...]
In a field of his own: FarmDrop’s Ben Pugh talks crowdfunding and the future of our food July 27, 2014 In the time it’s taken FarmDrop founder Ben Pugh to discuss his company with me, it crowdfunded £13,000. After just eight days on crowdfunding platform Crowdcube, FarmDrop raised more than its £400,000 investment target. A new way of doing food is, it seems, quite popular. The FarmDrop concept is simple: it streamlines the food [...]