Michael Spencer-backed fund raises $130m for B2B fintech push August 2, 2021 Fintech-focused venture capital firm Element Ventures has announced a $130m (£93.5m) fund to invest in b2b financial enterprise technology businesses. Michael Spencer, City grandee and founder of interdealer broker Icap, was the fund’s cornerstone investor. It comes after Spencer contributed at least £25m to the fund upon launching last year, via his investment vehicle IPGL. [...]
SoftBank-backed Policybazaar files for IPO amid Indian digital economy boom August 2, 2021 Online insurance marketplace Policybazaar is to embark on an initial public offering that could rally $809m if it secures the loftier end of its price range. The SoftBank-backed startup follows a string of other tech-based emerging companies preparing to ride India’s booming digital economy wave. Policybazaar will sell off new shares, according to a public notice published [...]
Tory donors warn Boris Johnson that tax rises will kill off economic recovery August 1, 2021 Prominent Tory donors have urged Boris Johnson not to implement tax rises this autumn as they fear it could hamper the post-Covid economic recovery. Johnson and Rishi Sunak are expected to soon announce a 1 per cent increase in National Insurance in a bid to fix gaps in the health and social care sectors. Sunak [...]
Paying tax sooner – HMRC wants its money faster July 30, 2021 What are the challenges and advantages of paying tax closer to real-time? HMRC calls for evidence and ICAS responds. Nobody is likely to volunteer to pay tax sooner, unless it would earn interest at a competitive rate perhaps. But knowing what your tax liability is, and when you need to pay it, as close to [...]
German insurance watchdog forecasts €5.5bn worth of flood damage claims July 28, 2021 German insurance industry association GDV has forecast around €5.5bn worth of claims due to extreme flooding earlier this month. The insurance watchdog has upped its estimates from between €4bn and €5bn last week. Germany’s biggest insurer Allianz issued its first damages estimate of more than €500m yesterday from the storm known as storm Bernd. The [...]
Coutts secures B Corp ethical status July 28, 2021 Coutts has secured the sought-after B Corp status, the bank announced on Twitter. The certification attests companies uphold certain social and environmental performance standards, public transparency, and legal accountability to balance profit and purpose. The private bank and wealth manager has a history spanning over three centuries and is known to be the banker for [...]
Tesco Bank pulls plug on all personal current accounts July 28, 2021 Tesco Bank is to close all of its personal current accounts at the end of November after it found that the vast majority of its customers were not using it for their main account. Customers will soon receive a message asking them to withdraw all their money from the accounts before 30 November, and change [...]
Q&A: What is “natural capital” and why should investors care? July 28, 2021 The last few hundred years of human activity have stored up changes in climate that threaten human existence. Climate change is not the only ecological threat. It’s widely agreed that damage to the natural environment and loss of biodiversity pose a comparable risk. Natural resources are the single most important input to the global economy. [...]
Self-employed: women lost almost double the income than men during the pandemic, survey shows July 28, 2021 Self-employed women lost around 20 per cent of their income during the course of the pandemic, compared to 11 per cent for self-employed men. This is according to a new survey by the insurance provider for small and medium-sized enterprises Superscript, shared with City A.M. The poll surveyed 2,015 male and female sole-traders, freelancers and [...]
The £46,250 Toyota Corolla: cult-classic AE86 smashes auction record July 27, 2021 A one-owner 1987 Toyota Corolla GT has sold for a staggering £46,250 at auction. But what makes this AE86 model so sought-after?