KKR drives off with Q-Park after £2.6bn offer puts the firm in exclusive talks, beating an offer from Macquarie May 31, 2017 Car parks are more valuable than they look, if KKR’s latest deal is anything to go by. The behemoth investor is set to acquire Q-Park, a network of multi-storey car parks operating across northern Europe, after making a near-€3bn (£2.62bn) offer. Netherlands-based Q-Park, which owns more than 70 UK car parks, is currently owned by [...]
Aviva just backed insurance focused fintech startup Neos and will probably acquire one soon, says CEO Mark Wilson May 25, 2017 Aviva is splashing cash on a startup focusing on insurance for connected homes in the latest signal of the insurers intent when it comes to technology – and it may even stretch to buying a small tech firm in future, it has revealed. The venture arm of Aviva has led a £5m series A funding [...]
Insurer Ageas has started processing claims using artificial intelligence from London startup Tractable May 18, 2017 One of the biggest car insurers in the UK has started automating the way it's processing claims with the help of artificial intelligence. Ageas will start using technology which can asses images of vehicle damage, and even flag potential fraudulent claims, to make the process more efficient by performing assessments within seconds. Read more: How [...]
Brunch in Dubai is luxurious in the extreme. Just be careful not to eat the golden macarons – they’re purely decorative… May 12, 2017 Visiting a destination for the first time is like being on a first date. You want to go to a nice restaurant, you’d like him to be charming, but arriving with six dozen roses and a list of potential baby names is probably overkill. Dubai is like the most try-hard of bunny boiler boyfriends, the [...]
Six things we learned from Warren Buffett after Berkshire Hathaway’s annual meeting: From AI and driverless cars to what happens if the sage of Omaha dies May 7, 2017 The sage of Omaha Warren Buffett took to the stage at the Berkshire Hathaway annual general meeting along with right hand man Charlie Munger. And the ever straight talking star investor did exactly that, discussing how he missed out on some of the biggest tech bets in recent years and what happens when he’s no [...]
Driverless cars will leave a big dent in the insurance industry according to the Bank of England March 17, 2017 The adoption of driverless cars will leave a massive dent in the car insurance market, according to the Bank of England, forcing insurers to team up with car firms as they transform their business. Economists at the Bank say their central forecast is for the UK motor insurance market to contract by 21 per cent [...]
Don’t panic – but remember Brexit will be a tough political process March 15, 2017 Everyone benefits from free trade. For years now the UK has had a persistently large trade deficit with the EU, which by rights should make Europe more amenable to doing a “business as usual” Brexit deal with us. If only life were so logical our Brexit negotiations would run smoothly and full future access would [...]
LV= mulls merger or disposals as its profit takes a hit from capital rules March 14, 2017 One of the largest financial services mutuals in the UK has held secret talks over a potential merger with Royal London. LV=, which has nearly 6m UK customers across insurance, pensions and income protection products, has now called off the talks as the firms couldn’t agree on the structure of a deal, reported Mark Kleinman, [...]
Innovation never stops: What’s next for the tech startups in Bird & Bird’s Digital Innovators showcase pushing boundaries? March 14, 2017 When Bird & Bird and City A.M. sought to unearth, and then celebrate, the most innovative digital companies shaking up the worlds of finance, health, education, media and security, we knew the collective 20 companies we found were an outstanding demonstration of the UK’s leadership in cutting edge technology. Now, just four months on, the visionary founders [...]
UK motor industry shifts down a gear as inflationary sentiments creep in March 14, 2017 Britons are expected to put the brakes on their spending for new cars in 2017 as inflation bites, new data by consumer research company GfK finds. In research out today, it forecasts that car sales will slide by 5 per cent this year, following last year’s record. Joe Staton, head of market dynamics at GfK, [...]