Fintech startup CommuterClub raises £2.3m to grow online season ticket financing from WGC and early-stage investors including tennis star Andy Murray October 30, 2017 A startup which provides financing for commuters to buy rail travel cards has landed a fresh injection of cash, City A.M. can exclusively reveal. The £2.3m for CommuterClub was led by Indian financial services firm Wadhawan Global Capital (WGC), an investor in Zopa and Goldman Sachs-backed fintech startup Neyber, with previous investors also participating. Read [...]
Pharrell Williams takes stake in British startup Roli and becomes creative chief October 26, 2017 A British startup which wants to reinvent musical instruments has attracted US music heavyweight Pharrell Wiliams to join its venture. Roli, the eight-year-old startup behind two new instruments – Seaboard and Roli Blocks – has named the producer and singer known for the song “Happy” as its creative chief and Williams will take a stake [...]
Investec and Banco Sabadell are backing hot UK fintech startup Bud with £1.5m October 24, 2017 Investec and Banco Sabadell, the owner of TSB, are backing a UK fintech startup which is creating platforms to help people manage their finances. Bud has raised £1.5m from investors, led by the FTSE 250 asset manager and InnoCells, the Spanish Bank’s digital venture arm. Also participating in the early stage round is Force Over [...]
UK GDP growth to edge higher as economists forecast a lacklustre end to 2017 as Brexit jitters curb investment October 23, 2017 GDP growth is set to come in at 0.3 per cent for the third quarter when figures are published on Wednesday. That would mark the third consecutive quarter at that rate, after the first and second quarters marked the weakest six-month performance since the first half of 2012. And economists are forecasting a lacklustre end [...]
UK fintech startups are on track for a record-breaking year of investment in 2017 October 19, 2017 Fintech startups in the UK are on track to attract a record amount of investment in 2017 new figures reveal, bucking concerns that Brexit could derail the star sector. More than $1bn (£760m) has already been ploughed into technology firms hoping to disrupt finance this year by venture capital investors, more than double the amount [...]
Personality clashes and the poisoned client: The inside story of Bell Pottinger’s collapse September 25, 2017 From the outside, the demise of iconic public relations firm Bell Pottinger appeared to unfold at a dramatic and surprising pace. On Monday 4 September, the company published the findings of a report by lawyers Herbert Smith Freehills (HSF) concluding that the firm’s campaign for the Gupta family’s Oakbay Capital in South Africa “was potentially [...]
Johnson Matthey (JMAT) share price soars on plans to invest £200m in battery materials business September 21, 2017 Chemicals firm Johnson Matthey’s shares soared after the firm said it would invest £200m into expanding its battery material technology business. The company will plough an initial investment of up to £200m from 2018 to capitalise on growing demand for electric vehicles. Johnson Matthey said the overall market could be worth more than $30bn (£22bn) [...]
Bell Pottinger faces client exodus: Top firms seek to distance themselves from disgraced PR firm | City A.M. September 5, 2017 Bell Pottinger is facing an exodus of clients as companies seek to distance themselves from the disgraced PR firm. The iconic company, which was kicked out of the Public Relations and Communications Association (PRCA) on Monday, is now scrambling to regroup. City A.M. understands Bell Pottinger wants to name a new boss this week, following [...]
Frosty exchange between Michel Barnier and David Davis over Brexit divorce bill triggers alarm in City of London August 31, 2017 Deadlock over the size of the UK’s so-called Brexit bill has triggered fresh alarm in the City as fears grow that crucial talks on a new UK-EU trade and transition agreement will be shunted into next year. Bosses are warning that financial services firms will need to begin moving jobs and operations if they do [...]
UK trade balance widens again a year after the Brexit vote August 10, 2017 Britain’s trade deficit with the rest of the world went up again in June, as the amount of goods and services being imported to the country grew. The UK’s total trade deficit widened by £2bn to £4.6bn, according to the Office for National Statistics. This marks the widest gap since September last year. Read more: [...]