Monica Vinader-backer Beringea leads £6.5m round for data startup Exonar January 21, 2019 London-based venture capital firm Beringea has led a £6.5m funding round into UK data privacy and cybersecurity startup Exonar. The round was completed by Beringea alongside Downing Ventures, and existing investors Amadeus Capital Partners and Winton Ventures. Exonar aims to help firms comply with the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation and other legislation by creating an overview [...]
Hacking Wall Street: Are tech unicorns about to disrupt stock market flotations? January 21, 2019 Tech companies have changed the way we chat, bank, travel and date. Are they about to disrupt capital markets too? “In [Silicon] Valley there’s always been that mentality: how do we hack Wall Street?” says Rob Kniaz, a founder of tech-focused venture capital firm Hoxton Ventures. Two weeks ago reports broke that Slack, the workplace [...]
FTSE risers and fallers: US-China breakthrough gives markets a pre-weekend boost January 18, 2019 The FTSE soared upwards today as China signalled it would be willing to break the impasse in relations with the US. The markets reacted well to reports that the country was offering to go on a six-year buying spree to ramp up US imports to over $1tn a year. Officials made the offer, which would [...]
Toy retailer The Entertainer posts bumper sales growth in Christmas trading January 18, 2019 The Entertainer toy group has reported strong sales growth over the Christmas period despite retailers facing the most challenging festive trading season in a decade. The family-owned retailer, which sells online and through its stores, said sales for the five weeks to 29 December were up 22.4 per cent on the same period in the [...]
London fintech startup Jaja Finance picks up £5m with a boost from Celeres January 16, 2019 Credit card fintech startup Jaja Finance has today confirmed the final close of its £3.5m crowdfunding round, boosted by an additional £1.5m from Celeres Investments. The £5m intake adds to an earlier £4.4m raised in seed funding last year, backed by Blystad Group and Pollen Street Capital among others. More than 1,000 private investors took [...]
The Drinks Master: How Brexit could affect the wine industry (spoiler – it’s not good news) January 15, 2019 Howard Marks once said “there are no facts about the future, just opinions”. Has this ever been more true of a topic than of Brexit? Even after last night’s vote, it’s entirely unclear what’s going to happen. Many of us take solace in a glass of wine – but even that simple pleasure is under [...]
Digital marketing agencies Forward3D and PMX Agency to form global brand January 15, 2019 Digital marketing firm Forward3D is merging with PMX Agency to create a new global brand, the company said today. London-based Forward3D, whose clients include Asos, Virgin and Calvin Klein, will merge with US firm PMX to form ForwardPMX. Read more: Unlimited Group unveils alliance with German and Japanese agencies The combined agency will have a pool [...]
Christmas sales grow at St Pancras International despite retail gloom January 15, 2019 Commuters choosing to do their Christmas shopping at St Pancras International station grew 6.3 per cent in 2018 compared to the year before, according to figures released by the station's operator today. The rise was driven by growing passenger numbers and strong growth in non-food sales, the company said. St Pancras has welcomed a number of [...]
For heaven’s sake, just pay your interns January 14, 2019 It is 2019, and workplace inclusion, diversity, and equality remain key conversation topics for leading businesses. But many young people are still being put at an unfair disadvantage by the extensive number of unpaid internships that still exist. A recent survey from the Sutton Trust found that one in four graduates has completed an unpaid [...]
There’s only one way to fix the housing crisis: build more January 9, 2019 From free marketeers on the right to proponents of central planning on the left, cries to fix Britain’s broken housing market have become deafening. The solutions, of course, differ greatly depending on where along the political spectrum you stand. Yesterday, for example, Shelter issued its latest call to action, proposing three million new social homes [...]