Edinburgh’s entrepreneurial ecosystem encouraging start-up activity July 26, 2017 The secret of a great recipe lies in having the best local ingredients to work with. The same lesson applies when building an entrepreneurial ecosystem – to be truly successful, cities must evolve their own unique recipe based on the best local ingredients. A talented workforce, public sector and academic support, a culture of innovation, [...]
Sage Group share price dips after $850m deal to acquire US software firm Intacct July 26, 2017 Shares in Sage dipped more than four per cent in morning trading on Wednesday morning after it splashed $850m (£653m) on US financial software company Intacct. The deal is the FTSE 100 firm’s biggest ever acquisition and will be funded via cash and share options. “The acquisition of Intacct supports our ambitions for accelerating growth [...]
UK IPO: Bakkavor – which supplies Tesco, Sainsbury’s and Waitrose meals – gears up for London float worth up to £2bn July 23, 2017 Bakkavor, supplier of supermarkets including Waitrose, Tesco and Sainsbury’s, is readying itself for a stock market float that could value it at up to £2bn. The pizza and ready meal supplier appointed Rothschild to examine its options in January, and has now brought in advisers from HSBC and Morgan Stanley to lead the IPO later [...]
Bank of England gives fintech startups direct access to the UK’s RTGS payments system in latest innovation move July 19, 2017 The Bank of England has opened up the UK’s payments systems – the “plumbing” which facilitates same day money transfers between banks – to organisations that are not banks, giving fintech startups another step up in their challenge to traditional banks. Tech companies will no longer have to go through selected banks and other providers [...]
Connection Capital raises £8m from private investors for Volkswagen and Lloyds Bank litigation funder Therium July 19, 2017 Connection Capital, a specialist syndicator of investment funds from private investors, has raised £8m for litigation funder Therium. This largest ever fundraise from Connection Capital, and its third commitment to Therium, will bring the total invested by the firm in litigation funding to £16m. Read more: Woodford-backed litigation funder Burford Capital stands to profit from [...]
Connection Capital raises £8m from private investors for Volkswagen and Lloyds Bank litigation funder Therium July 19, 2017 Connection Capital, a specialist syndicator of investment funds from private investors, has raised £8m for litigation funder Therium. This largest ever fundraise from Connection Capital, and its third commitment to Therium, will bring the total invested by the firm in litigation funding to £16m. Read more: Woodford-backed litigation funder Burford Capital stands to profit from [...]
Barclays bPay, a £20 contactless pay wristband, given away for free in latest sign bank’s wearable has flopped July 19, 2017 Barclays has started giving away a contactless payments device normally costing £20 in the latest signal that its technology efforts have failed to take off. The bank is offering the bPay wearable band or key fob, used to pay for things with just a swipe, for free in a push to get them into people's [...]
Open Banking’s a step closer with these 20 fintech startups, but the clock is ticking on the CMA’s deadline July 19, 2017 The UK’s progress toward making banking more open has taken another step forward after 20 fintechs were chosen to test out a new way of sharing banking information for the benefit customers. A call for startups was put out as part of the competition watchdog’s ambitious plans to disrupt the big four banks’ hold on [...]
Sector charge for more women to get top jobs in finance gathers pace as firms shake up succession planning and hiring practices July 9, 2017 A push to secure more women top roles in the finance sector is gathering pace, as a fresh batch of firms have signed up to a charter devised by the Treasury to build the pipeline of female talent for leadership positions. Some 25 new firms have signed up to the Women in Finance Charter, taking [...]
Top City figures Andrew Bailey, John McFarlane, Xavier Rolet and Catherine McGuinness fire back at Brussels hard talk over post-Brexit trade and clearing July 6, 2017 Some of the biggest names in the City were out in force on Thursday demanding a Brexit deal that maintains free trade between London’s financial sector and the rest of Europe, and allows the market to determine where trillions of pounds worth of daily transactions are cleared. Their comments jarred with a warning from EU [...]