The great liquidity squeeze: How to get SMEs to market December 17, 2015 Asset Match’s Stuart Lucas explains why investors must put pressure on firms when it comes to exit plans. Investors in private businesses – whether they are angels, high net worth individuals, institutions or even sophisticated retail investors – are always, ultimately, looking towards the potential payout that an exit (traditionally an IPO or trade [...]
City Moves for 17 December 2015 | Who’s switching jobs December 16, 2015 L&G Legal & General Investment Management (LGIM) Real Assets has announced the appointment of Tony Doherty as head of product development in its business development team. Tony takes over from Dan Batterton who has moved into the new role of build-to-rent fund manager . Prior to joining LGIM Real Assets, Tony spent 15 years at [...]
City Moves for 16 December 2015 | Who’s switching jobs December 15, 2015 DOLLAR UK Steve Dukes has been appointed by consumer finance company Dollar UK as its new chief product development officer, reporting directly to chief executive Stuart Howard. Steve joins from Wonga where he was vice president of customer proposition. GFT UK GFT, a provider of business, design and technology consulting to the investment banking community, [...]
We’ve reached peak Christmas jumper: How to predict 2016’s must-have fashion December 15, 2015 What would you buy Jeremy Corbyn for Christmas? Printable answers only, please. But somehow a Christmas jumper seems appropriate. First, it would match the 1980s-style shell suit he wore the other day. Second, he might like one featuring a portrait of Stalin and the slogan “Teacher, Leader, Friend”, a phrase in widespread use in the [...]
Britain needs to up its game on broadband – or creaking digital infrastructure will hit growth December 15, 2015 The UK is in the middle of a digital revolution. Over the last decade, the internet has emerged as the lifeblood of the modern world. In towns and cities across the country, businesses, governments and residents are becoming ever more dependent on an abundance of digital services and, consequently, on the wires and cables under [...]
Shrimps, Farfetch, Lyst, Emilia Wickstead and Roksanda are some of the companies to benefit from growing venture capital interest in the London fashion scene December 15, 2015 London's fashion scene has caught the eye of the venture capitalists. A number of Vogue favourites, from faux-fur designer Shrimps, to catwalk darlings Emilia Wickstead and Roksanda, all received seed or venture level funding in 2015, according to venture capital data provider Beauhurst. Wickstead’s three-year-old business received £1.57m investment in July in return for a [...]
Carpetright shares rally as half-year profits jump by a third December 15, 2015 Shares in Carpetright leapt this morning as the floorings and beds specialist revealed a 34 per cent rise in underlying pre-tax profits in the first half of the year. The retailer said efforts to win over my customers through its revamped website, stores and better product ranges were bearing fruit, with group revenue rising by 1.4 per cent to £231.2m, and [...]
Amazon pulls hoverboards from sale over safety fears December 14, 2015 Amazon has reportedly pulled hoverboards from sale on its site, over safety concerns. The online retailer has asked sellers of the gadget to prove they conform with safety standards in a bid to weed out fakes which could be dangerous, the Verge reported. A search on Amazon UK shows there are none for sale, only accessories. Amazon had not responded [...]
Fielding expertise: WeFarm founder Kenny Ewan on mangoes, peer reviews, and foot and mouth December 14, 2015 Look on the We Farm home page, and you’ll see a feed of questions like, “please, I need a reason as to why my coffee leaves are changing into yellow”. Answer: “It’s mainly due to lack of nitrogen. Foliar spray with a good foliar fertiliser like Omex will help clear this.” Or, “what is the [...]
High street suffers Black Friday blues as footfall slumps in November December 14, 2015 UK high streets suffered a massive slump in footfall in November as shoppers abandoned the high street in favour of bagging a Black Friday bargain online. The number of visitors making shopping trips to their local high streets, retail parks and shopping centres fell by 2.1 per cent year-on-year. This was significantly below the 0.2 per cent fall [...]