Leicester City owners agree to buy Belgian club OH Leuven as football’s multi-ownership trend grows May 17, 2017 Leicester City have become the latest English team to gain a sister club after owners after King Power completed the purchase of Belgian side Oud-Heverlee Leuven. The Foxes’ Thai owners have signed an agreement to buy the Belgian second division club once due diligence is completed, although it is not clear what future relationship the [...]
Catherine McGuinness replaces Mark Boleat as the City of London Corporation’s new policy chairman May 4, 2017 Catherine McGuinness is replacing Mark Boleat as the City of London Corporation’s new policy chairman. McGuinness, who was previously deputy chairman, will be responsible for taking a lead on policy issues affecting the UK’s financial and related professional services sector. She will also work towards ensuring the City remains a global financial centre after Brexit [...]
What Brexit: Venture capital investment in UK startups is up and the future “optimistic”, KPMG Venture Pulse Q1 2017 figures show April 11, 2017 Britain has apparently shaken off the Brexit vote, with fresh figures revealing a rise in investment from venture capitalists. It helps ease concerns that leaving the EU will make the UK an unattractive place to invest and potentially torpedo the technology sector. More than $1bn (£804m) was ploughed into startups in the first quarter of [...]
How banks are benefiting from fintech innovation March 22, 2017 Digital disruption powered by nimble startups has bitten at the heels of many large financial organisations, but now the banking behemoths are striking back. Fintech’s first wave was all about new names targeting businesses and consumers with services like money transfer, foreign currency exchange, and even loans. We now live in a world where Apple, [...]
Here’s why fintech will make banks stronger March 22, 2017 Fintech’s early stages have been all about small startups taking on the banking goliaths, but the next phase will see the more established players getting a piece of the innovation game. Brian McCabe, who chairs the fintech working group at the Fintech and Payments Association of Ireland, says existing banks and financial players won’t get [...]
Why banks should say thanks to fintech startups March 22, 2017 A perfect storm of financial crisis and technological advances paved the way for a flurry of fintech activity. The sector has seen growing investment and is maturing as traditional finance houses wake up to the challenge of digital rivals. Anna Scally, partner and head of KPMG’s fintech practice in Dublin, offers several explanations why the [...]
The Mitie short: Hedge funds including Marshall Wace and Old Mutual bet on more share price falls at outsourcing group March 19, 2017 Hedge funds are anticipating further falls in the share price of troubled outsourcing firm Mitie. Marshall Wace, Old Mutual and Henderson Global Investors are among the investors to have disclosed short positions on the company. Read more: Mitie flogs its healthcare business for just £2 Markit data, reported on by the Sunday Times, shows the [...]
Slew of insurance deals are on the cards for 2017 as Solvency II bites March 17, 2017 Dealmaking in the insurance sector will shift into top gear in 2017 as the need to set aside regulatory capital "forces companies to grow or go", according to a report by experts. Nearly all firms (94 per cent) surveyed by accountancy firm KPMG expect to make at least one divestiture during 2017, with the lion's share (84 [...]
HOLD: Hands off interest rates, City A.M.’s Shadow MPC tells Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee March 15, 2017 Economists expect the Bank of England to leave monetary policy unchanged at tomorrow’s meeting of senior policymakers, but pressure is slowly growing to begin pushing monetary policy back to more normal levels. City A.M.’s Shadow Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) voted in favour of keeping policy unchanged, but added another dissenter since February's meeting pushing for [...]
Chancellor Philip Hammond unveils Midlands Engine strategy with £392m investment and plans to cut congestion March 9, 2017 Chancellor Philip Hammond unveiled details of his Midlands Engine plans today, including £392m through the Local Growth fund to improve transport connections. This includes £151m for the West Midlands City region, the largest award for any area. There are also transport and infrastructure plans to improve the Midlands, including a commitment that by 2018, all [...]