Toy subscription service Whirli raises £4m seed funding round December 15, 2020 A London-based toy sharing subscription service has raised £4m in its seed round led by Octopus Ventures just in time for Christmas. Rather than a usual subscription service, Whirli subscribers borrow toys instead of purchasing them and any unloved or outgrown toys can be sent back and swapped for another item. Whirli’s service, which starts [...]
Barclays fined £26m for mistreatment of customers in arrears December 15, 2020 The UK’s financial watchdog has fined Barclays £26m for failures in its treatment of customers who fell into financial difficulties. The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) found that Barclays had mistreated some retail and small business customers who fell into arrears between April 2014 and December 2018. Read more: Parlez-vous Français? Paris’ finance sector gets ready [...]
West End landlord Shaftesbury swings to £700m loss December 15, 2020 West End landlord Shaftesbury swung to a loss of almost £700m this year as the value of its retail and hospitality properties plummeted due to the coronavirus pandemic. The figures Shaftesbury this morning reported a loss after tax of £699.5m, compared to profit of £26m in the previous year, due to revaluation deficits. Net property [...]
Before the Bell: Coronavirus mutation unsettles the market as London faces Tier 3 December 15, 2020 European markets underwent a rather mixed session yesterday, with the FTSE100 underperforming after it was announced that London and a good part of the south east of England was being put into tier 3 restrictions at midnight tonight, due to a new strain of the coronavirus which was spreading at a faster rate. “This of [...]
Health on the high street December 15, 2020 This year has presented a new set of challenges to the high street, which have the potential to change the face of this British institution as we know it. Even before the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic, recent years have seen hundreds of thousands of retail jobs lost and a huge number of much-loved stores [...]
Exclusive: Tech Nation’s top London startups revealed December 15, 2020 Tech Nation has announced London’s top five early stage tech companies as part of its Rising Stars competition. In what has been a difficult year for small firms, Tech Nation has picked some of the most innovative startups from the capital. In its third year, the Rising Stars programme is a national competition for innovative [...]
Londoners walk or cycle to avoid public transport during pandemic December 14, 2020 Nearly half of all journeys in London were walked or cycled between April and June as the pandemic changed the way people travel.
Capital Punishment: London to enter Tier 3 on Wednesday December 14, 2020 London is set to enter Tier 3 from midnight tomorrow, as the government scrambles to contain a sharp spike in coronavirus cases in the capital. The capital will enter the highest level of restrictions at 0.01am on Wednesday morning, the health secretary has announced. Parts of Essex and Hertfordshire including Basildon, Brentwood, Chelmsford, Epping Forest [...]
Green and ESG bonds: what’s behind their rise? December 14, 2020 The green and social bond market continues to grow, evolve and diversify, remaining a helpful tool in driving sustainability. We look at what this means for investors. Green bonds have been attracting attention for some time, being a key element of the development and growth of sustainable or environmental, social and governance (ESG) investing in [...]
The week ahead, 14-18 December: Shaftesbury, SSP, Petrofac, and interest rates December 13, 2020 All eyes will be fixed firmly on Brussels this week, as businesses across the country hold their breath to see if the UK can finally reach a deal with the EU. With markets on edge as they await the outcome of the talks, there’s little to distract traders, with only a handful of firms reporting [...]