These are the 100 most disruptive startups in the world (and a third are from the UK): Roman Abramovich-backed Storedot, AI chip maker Graphcore and cancer detection scientists at Grail top list June 1, 2017 A Bristol-based startup developing computer chips for artificial intelligence, an app for helping kids manage money, and a fintech just backed by Aviva, are among the UK startups to be named the most disruptive in the world. AI chip firm Graphcore was ranked second in the annual list identifying companies with the potential to “influence, [...]
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 [...]
Legal & General Investment Management to locate operations in Ireland May 30, 2017 On 26th May 2017, Legal & General Investment Management (LGIM) chose Ireland, subject to regulatory approval, for part of their investment management operations. The decision is part of LGIM’s strategy to ensure it can continue to serve its customers, both in Ireland and across the EU, after the UK leaves the European Union. Established in [...]
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 [...]
General Election 2017: Forget the outrage, Prime Minister Theresa May should not have U-turned on social care May 23, 2017 When is a U-turn not a U-turn? When it’s made by strong and stable Prime Minister Theresa May, of course, who insisted yesterday that her sudden pledge to cap the amount of money people will pay towards their social care was in no way a change of tack. The Tory leader put on an impressive [...]
Life expectancy remains as uncertain as any other part of our future May 22, 2017 Life expectancies are constantly being revised upwards as extrapolation take the most recent data into account. Kevin Murphy, author on The Value Perspective blog, highlights how dangerous making predictions from such a short amount of data can be. Along with taxes, death is famously supposed to be one of life’s two certainties – and yet [...]
Hong Kong food giant Lee Kum Kee could be buying London’s Gherkin skyscraper May 18, 2017 A Hong-Kong based food giant is mulling a bid to buy the City’s Gherkin tower. Lee Kum Kee, which sells oyster sauces and condiments, has approached the Brazilian owners of the group about snapping up the skyscraper. The group is considering an offer for at a yield of less than four per cent and is [...]
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 [...]
Divorce slices £3,100 off annual retirement incomes and makes it more likely you’ll be laden with debt May 11, 2017 Divorcees can expect substantially lower retirement incomes, according to a study prepared by insurance giant Prudential. Individuals who haven’t been through a divorce can expect pension pots to generate average annual incomes of £19,400, if retiring this year. This compares with divorcees, whose annual retirement income will average £16,300. Prudential pensions specialist Clare Moffat explained [...]