London votes: London awaits results of mayoral and Greater London Authority elections May 5, 2016 Counting got under way in London’s mayoral and Greater London Authority elections last night – although results are unlikely to be announced until late this afternoon or this evening. The last opinion polls were forecasting a win for Labour’s Sadiq Khan over his Tory rival Zac Goldsmith in the mayoral race – in what is [...]
Knowing me knowing Kew: your guide to buying and living in this greenest of London areas May 5, 2016 For a capital city, London is pretty green – not environmentally, of course – but aesthetically, coming in at number three for green space globally. Kew, however, is pretty green even by London’s standards and its 75 acre botanical gardens are world-renowned. This, coupled with an underground and overground line and good schools, make it [...]
London fintech star Azimo lands millions from Rakuten May 5, 2016 More money is pouring into London fintech as one of its star startups has landed new investment from Japan's biggest ecommerce firm Rakuten, among others. Digital money transfer firm Azimo has raised $15m (£10.3M) in a new round, bringing its total investment to $47m. The new cash will be used to fuel expansion in Asia. “We serve a growing community of hardworking migrants who are [...]
BT to invest £6bn in fibre, 4G and customer service May 5, 2016 Telecoms giant BT has pledged to invest "around" £6bn over the next three years to ramp up the UK's superfast broadband and 4G coverage. The group, which revealed strong results this morning and the promise of double-digit dividends for the next couple of years, said the investment would lift the country's coverage beyond 95 per cent of the country [...]
Tesla Motors beats expectations in first quarter results and primes for the launch of its Model 3 vehicle May 4, 2016 Tesla Motors has beaten analyst expectations in its first quarter results and ramped up production as demand for its mass-produced Model 3 electric car has sky-rocketed. The figures Tesla posted revenue of $1.15bn (£793m) for the first quarter of 2016, a 22 per cent increase from the same period in 2015, while sales climbed 45 per cent year on [...]
Charter Court Financial Services auction sunk by Brexit fears May 4, 2016 The auction of Charter Court Financial Services has collapsed due to concerns over the impact of a Brexit on the UK housing market. Bidders were told the sale process has been abandoned in recent days, it was first reported by Sky News. BC Partners, Varde Partners and Warburg Pincus were among the buyout firms interested [...]
Advertising watchdog to crack down on broadband pricing after finding customers were often left confused May 4, 2016 The advertising regulator, the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA), is cracking down on broadband price claims. The changes, which will come into force on 31 October 2016, force companies to include line rental in the final price shown to customers. Earlier this year the ASA found many customers were confused by the way prices were presented, with [...]
Hedge fund boss Paul Marshall to make Brexit donation May 3, 2016 Hedge fund boss Paul Marshall is set to make a large donation to the campaign for the UK to leave the European Union. Marshall, a co-founder of one of the City’s most successful hedge funds Marshall Wace, will donate in excess of £100,000 to Vote Leave. Marshall only decided to hand over the cash in [...]
TalkTalk reveals plans to scrap separate line rental charge in UK industry first May 3, 2016 TalkTalk, the telecoms company that was last year the victim of a high profile data leak, has announced it will soon stop separating out line rental from broadband prices. The move, which will come into force in the Autumn this year, comes ahead of a crack down by the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) on price transparency this week. The fiercely competitive [...]
Failure to tackle the scourge of rising rents will undermine London’s startup renaissance May 3, 2016 Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales once said that “in the US, Washington is politics, LA is Hollywood, San Francisco is tech, New York is advertising and finance, but London is all of those things.” If anything, he is selling our city short; throw in the culture of the city that shaped creative geniuses such as Charles [...]