H&M takes a $20m stake in fintech startup Klarna October 8, 2018 Swedish fintech startup Klarna has today announced a global partnership with fashion powerhouse H&M, which included a $20m (£15.3m) investment in the business. The deal will see Klarna integrate its digital payments technology into H&M's physical and online stores via its payment programme H&M Club1. Klarna allows shoppers to pay securely for products online with flexible payment options [...]
The Gym Group appoints former Tesco and Asos finance director as chief financial officer October 3, 2018 Low-cost exercise chain The Gym Group has appointed former Tesco director Mark George as its chief finance officer. George was most recently the deputy at car dealing company Auto Trader and has also held senior finance positions at Tesco and fashion house Asos. He will join The Gym Group at the end of the month. Gym Group chief executive [...]
AIM high as daily share trading on alternative market hits record highs September 30, 2018 The value of traded shares on alternative exchange AIM more than tripled in two years, a new report has found. Spurred by success stories like ASOS, Boohoo and Fever-Tree, the average value of daily trading per company on the market grew to £328m, up from £109m in 2015/16, accountants UHY Hacker Young said. The growth [...]
London coding security startup Snyk lands $22m series B from Accel September 25, 2018 Open source security startup Snyk today closed a $22m (£16.7m) series B funding round, led by Accel with participation from GV. Existing investors such as Boldstart Ventures and Heavybit also joined the round. With big names such as ASOS, Skyscanner and Auth0 among its clients, enterprise developers use Snyk to vet the security of [...]
What’s Next? Questions remain over autumn results after retailer’s summer boost September 25, 2018 There’s been no shortage of negative headlines surrounding UK retail in recent weeks with the woes of the sector hitting some high profile names in recent months including House of Fraser, Moss Bros last week, and John Lewis surprising the markets in reporting huge drops in profits. Earlier this year Next warned that trading conditions [...]
Blistering summer puts the heat on Zalando September 18, 2018 Online shopping giant Zalando suffered a 17 per cent drop in its share price this morning, as the firm cut its 2018 outlook for the second time in as many months. The German-based retailer now expects adjusted earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) between €150m and €190m (£133m-£197m), compared with the previous guidance at the low [...]
Blistering summer puts the heat on Zalando September 18, 2018 Online shopping giant Zalando suffered a 17 per cent drop in its share price this morning, as the firm cut its 2018 outlook for the second time in as many months. The German-based retailer now expects adjusted earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) between €150m and €190m (£133m-£197m), compared with the previous guidance at the low [...]
Boohoo snaps up Primark exec John Lyttle as new chief executive September 17, 2018 Online retailer Boohoo has announced it has snapped up Primark's chief operating officer John Lyttle to be its new chief executive. Lyttle will take on the role from 15 March 2019. Over his eight years at Primark, Lyttle oversaw a turnover growth of 158 per cent to £7bn, and has boosted operating profit by 116 per [...]
Boohoo snaps up Primark exec John Lyttle as new chief executive September 17, 2018 Online retailer Boohoo has announced it has snapped up Primark's chief operating officer John Lyttle to be its new chief executive. Lyttle will take on the role from 15 March 2019. Over his eight years at Primark, Lyttle oversaw a turnover growth of 158 per cent to £7bn, and has boosted operating profit by 116 per [...]
Danish billionaire to anchor £2bn float of p2p lender Funding Circle September 2, 2018 Billionaire Anders Povlsen – a stakeholder in fashion retailer Asos and City broken Numis – has agreed to anchor an up to £2bn floatation of the peer-to-peer lender Funding Circle. The Danish tycoon has agreed to buy a minimum 10 per cent of shareholding into Funding Circle during its floatation this autumn, when it plays [...]