It’s Hillary v Rubio: The race for the White House has finally become clear February 8, 2016 Iowa, as ever, was full of surprises. On the surface, the most amazing thing about the state’s 2016 caucus was how easily conservative senator Ted Cruz beat his fellow Republicans, and what a nail-biter Democrats Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders engaged in. But beyond these surface atmospherics, Iowa did its traditional job: it winnowed out [...]
Just Eat takes a bite out of businesses in Italy, Spain, Mexico and Brazil February 5, 2016 Just Eat has taken a bite out of online takeaway rivals in Spain, Italy, Brazil and Mexico. The four businesses – La Nevera Roja in Spain, PizzaBo/HelloFood in Italy, Hello Food Brazil and Hello Food Mexico – cost the UK-listed firm €125m (£94.7m), which will be funded from cash resources, and gives Just Eat huge reach as it [...]
Billy Zane talks Zoolander 2, the future of Hollywood and having the ghosts of Picasso and Hemingway hanging over him February 4, 2016 Billy Zane is drawing me a diagram of his Theory of Everything. He’s on his fourth draft and a little pile of crumpled sheets of paper are piling up beside his Bloody Mary. It’s a kind of business model for the creative industries, a way to bring together media, advertising, luxury goods and philanthropy, dotted [...]
Five things entrepreneurs and founders need to know before joining a growth business accelerator programme February 4, 2016 British entrepreneurs have a lot to be excited about at the moment. With over half a million businesses started in the UK in 2013 alone – helped by a business environment with the fewest barriers to entrepreneurship in the world – and the number growing, it’s a good time to be a British-based business. Unsurprisingly [...]
Zanzibar for adventurers: Stay in Dr Livingstone’s palace off the East African coast February 4, 2016 I wandered into Dr Livingstone’s old quarters in Zanzibar, overlooking the indigo Indian Ocean, where he planned his journey into the dangerous heart of Africa in search of the source of the Nile. It was an ill-fated trip, and within weeks his assistants had begun to desert him; some even returned to Zanzibar and reported [...]
Index Ventures has a new $550m VC investment fund and its eye on London tech startups February 3, 2016 Europe's biggest venture capital investor and the backer of star startups such as Just Eat, Asos and Transferwise has raised millions of pounds in new funds to invest in tech startups across Europe, the US and Israel. Index Ventures has raised a new $550m (£377m) fund from its existing long-standing investor base which includes endowments, pensions and insurance funds, among [...]
Tech startups have transformed the UK: Backing Britain’s scale-ups is the next challenge February 3, 2016 The growth of the UK’s digital industries has been nothing short of extraordinary, and it has had a profound effect on the wider economy. Statistics from last year’s Tech Nation report show that more than 1.46m people are currently employed within the sector. The UK is increasingly underlining its digital credentials on the global stage. [...]
George Osborne is playing a dangerous game with the new Help to Buy London February 1, 2016 George Osborne is playing a dangerous game with the new Help to Buy London Back during the Autumn Statement, George Osborne announced with great pleasure that he would be introducing a London-specific Help to Buy scheme. The government are going to give a hand to struggling homeowners, to get on the first rung of a [...]
How Tyrrells aims to be the big cheese (and onion) of the crisp world January 28, 2016 Six years ago, David Milner received a phone call from private equity firm Langholm Partners, the former owners of Tyrrells Crisps. They needed help. After an eight-year growth spurt, sales at the posh crisp brand had turned rather stale and Langholm wanted the former Mars and Campbell’s Soup executive on board. “The first thing I [...]
The Guardian falls into taxing spot on Google January 25, 2016 Of all the hand-wringing and outrage over Google’s £130m tax payment, some of the most vociferous has come from everyone’s favourite loss-making publication the Guardian. An opinion piece from firebrand Labour MP Margaret Hodge appeared on the paper’s website calling the gesture from Google “pitiful”, while resident cartoonist Martin Rowson published a doodle depicting George [...]