Veteran venture capitalist Jon Moulton is set to power a new £400m energy infrastructure fund July 2, 2017 A sustainable energy and infrastructure investments firm backed by veteran venture capitalist Jon Moulton is set to launch a new £400m fund. Greensphere Capital is considering setting up a new fund that will work on projects including solar farms and power lines. Moulton, the founder of Better Capital, is a non-executive director of Greensphere Capital [...]
BorrowMyDoggy: The firm matching dogs with people who want to borrow them May 17, 2017 A dog is for life, not just for Christmas.” Not any more, thanks to Rikke Rosenlund, founder of BorrowMyDoggy. As we discovered at a recent Leap 100 breakfast, now a dog can just be for Christmas. Or even a weekend. Rosenlund came up with the idea for BorrowMyDoggy on a summer’s day in 2012, when [...]
Fitness when you’re over 40: Age is no excuse for not hitting your fitness goals May 10, 2017 What’s stopping you getting fit? This is one of my favourite questions in my consultations with clients. Lots of people say: “Well, I’m not as young as I used to be, the weight just won’t come off” – this is not a valid answer. Age is purely an excuse, not a barrier. Yes, you [...]
Here’s a new Tube map for scooters showing how long it takes to travel between London Underground stations May 8, 2017 Scooters aren’t just the weapon of choice for young children zipping down pavements. In fact, they’re also a handy way to get around the capital as an alternative to walking, cycling and the Tube. So says Micro Scooters (naturally), which has put together a London Tube map for scooting, showing how many minutes it takes [...]
Fitness advice: How to avoid the health myths that can stand in the way of your new body April 24, 2017 The health world is full of quacks and pretenders, snake-oil salesmen who latch onto the latest buzz-words without understanding the science – or lack thereof – behind them. Rarely a day goes by without me picking up a client – or even a fellow trainer – spouting some half-truth they probably read on the [...]
Trouble in store: More pain on the way for UK retail April 10, 2017 A triple-blow of tax hikes, rising costs and a squeeze on consumer spending is threatening to wipe out thousands of British retailers, with a string of familiar high street names expected to fall into administration this year. Nearly 23,000 retailers were under significant financial stress at the end of the first quarter according to insolvency [...]
Roboshop: How Morrisons is using artificial intelligence to stock its shops March 20, 2017 Morrisons is using artificial intelligence to stock its stores in a bid to improve efficiency and customer service. The supermarket is rolling out a system from tech firm Blue Yonder that uses artificial intelligence and machine learning to predict exactly what is needed in each of Morrisons' 491 stores. Read more: Amazon is looking for [...]
Riverbed Technology’s Jerry Kennelly on turning over $1bn a year making products named after fish March 20, 2017 When I meet Jerry Kennelly, the least aggravating part of the eight-hour journey he’s just made was on the tube between Westminster and Bond Street. His flight from Stockholm to Gatwick had been fraught with issues, it’d taken him the best part of two hours to get into London from Gatwick and, having stopped off [...]
Next expected to reveal first profits slip since financial crisis March 19, 2017 High Street retailer Next is expected to post the first fall in its annual profits since the financial crisis this week. The company is likely to announce that pre-tax profits fell to about £792m when Next releases its results for the year to January 2017 on Thursday. This number could range between £785m and £799m [...]
House of Fraser is opening champagne bars in stores and getting rid of clothing brands Episode, Therapy, Grey & Willow and Dickens & Jones March 17, 2017 House of Fraser is attempting to reinvigorate its in-store experience by installing champagne bars and trimming the number of clothing brands it offers. The department store, which has spent £90m on store refurbishments in the past two years, is ridding itself of 30 clothing brands. Read more: House of Fraser CEO Nigel Oddy resigns as Christmas trading [...]