What the peer-to-peer lending industry learnt from Lego October 26, 2017 Fidget Spinners are out. Loom bands are out. Pokemon Go? So out. What’s the latest craze sweeping the nation’s playgrounds this term? Lego. And more precisely, Lego figurines. These little Lego people have broken free to become one of the must-have tradeable toys this autumn. Lego is no longer just about the bricks, and the [...]
Barclays offers free housing to help with “shocking cost” of landing first job out of university October 24, 2017 Barclays will offer graduate job interviewees free accommodation in London, Birmingham and Manchester to help offset the “shocking cost” of landing a post-university position. Job hunters with interviews during November will be able to apply for two free nights’ accommodation. The banking giant said UK graduates spend an average of over £500 landing their first [...]
Pendragon profit warning: Share price in reverse after the car dealership warns on profits October 23, 2017 Shares in the UK’s largest car dealership Pendragon dropped as much as 23 per cent this morning after it became the latest UK firm to warn on profits. Pendragon said it expects pre-tax profit to be around £60m in 2017 compared with expectations of £75.2m, according to Reuters data. The firm blamed the downturn on [...]
Craft ale revolution: The UK now has the most breweries since the 1930s October 23, 2017 The number of breweries in the UK jumped almost 20 per cent last year, according to a new study, putting the total at its highest since the 1930s. The research, by UHY Hacker Young, found there were 1,994 breweries in the UK at the end of 2016, up 18 per cent from the 1,692 recorded [...]
Hiver beers founder Hannah Rhodes is turning bees to money October 23, 2017 Even the most hardened City hack might consider turning down the offer of a drink at 11am. But for you, City A.M. readers, this reporter went the extra mile. The Bermondsey Beer Mile, that is. I’m here to meet Hannah Rhodes, founder of Hiver beers. Following a decade in the drinks industry, including a spell [...]
Trading app Bux launches Seedrs round to create a “millennial financial brand” complete with cryptocurrency app October 23, 2017 Bux, a trading app designed for the younger generation, has today launched a crowdfunding round on Seedrs after completing a €10.6m (£8m) series C round from institutional investors. The company, which aims to be a “millennial financial brand”, wants to expand its current trading community while also launching a stock trading app and a cryptocurrency [...]
Editor’s Notes: Work on a trade deal has begun, even if the EU hasn’t noticed, Labour turns against the City of London Corporation and Art 4 Grenfell October 20, 2017 Another week, another round of the Brexit dance in Brussels. The Europeans are inching towards the next phase of talks, though with “sufficient progress” not yet being confirmed they’re talking about commencing internal discussions about preparing for the next round. While this slow pace is infuriating, it’s always worth looking behind the public statements to [...]
Cuts to pension allowances boost venture capital trust (VCT) fundraising to highest level in more than a decade October 19, 2017 Investors over the last year ploughed the most money into venture capital trusts (VCTs) in more than a decade, according to new data from HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC). The listed private equity-style investment funds, which give their investors tax relief on any money committed and tax-free returns, have seen increased interest from wealthy individuals [...]
Everything Under Heaven: Xi Jinping’s Belt and Road could cement China as the world’s superpower October 19, 2017 “Everything under heaven is in utter chaos; the situation is excellent,” wrote Mao Zedong in his little red book. With every crisis comes opportunity, he thought. The motto is as apt today as it was half a century ago. As an increasingly isolated America crawls from the world stage, the EU grapples with internal conflicts. [...]
Licence to innovate: Nine new cyber security startups chosen for GCHQ’s accelerator programme with Wayra | City A.M. October 18, 2017 An innovative programme launched to foster fresh technology and ideas that could help Britain’s intelligence agencies fight crime has chosen a second intake of startups. The accelerator from GCHQ and Wayra has picked nine cyber security startups for an expanded programme following the success of the first of its kind accelerator launched last year. Read [...]