Richard Branson pulls out of $1bn investment talks with Saudi Arabia over missing journalist October 12, 2018 Virgin's Richard Branson said he had scrapped talks with Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund about a $1bn (£755m) investment into its space ventures late last night, in light of the disappearance of a prominent Washington Post journalist. "What has reportedly happened in Turkey around the disappearance of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, if proved true, would clearly change [...]
Nico Rosberg on his new life as a tech investor: “I struggle to invest in some boring s**t. For me it’s important that they’re cool.” October 11, 2018 His racing days might be behind him but the competitive fire still burns inside Nico Rosberg – only now the ex-Formula One world champion has an altogether different outlet. Since his sudden retirement in 2016, Rosberg has embarked on a second career as an investor, with a particular focus on tech-leaning companies such as Uber [...]
Chilango offers big investors a free burrito every week as it launches crowdfunder to help fund five new London restaurants October 11, 2018 Chilango is offering investors the chance to get a free meal a week, as it looks to raise £1m from its new ‘Burrito Bond’. The Mexican restaurant chain plan to add five more establishments to its 10 in London by 2020. Read more: Protein powerhouse Glanbia shakes things up to buy Slimfast for $350m It [...]
Softbank mulls majority stake in Wework October 10, 2018 Softbank is reportedly in talks to take up a majority stake in co-working giant Wework, despite the firm tripling its losses last year. Sources told Reuters the pricing and valuation of the deal has not been confirmed, while the Wall Street Journal earlier reported the investment could be between $15bn (£11.4bn) and $20bn from Softbank's Vision Fund. The fund [...]
YouGov profits soar after shift towards real-time consumer data attracts McDonald’s, Uber and Vodafone October 9, 2018 Pollster YouGov said a shift in focus to real-time data analysis was paying off as its profits climbed 49 per cent. The market research firm reported pre-tax profits of £11.8m in the year to 31 July, up 49 per cent on the previous 12 months. Revenue also climbed nine per cent to £116.6m as its [...]
Last call: Uber drivers to stage 24hr strike in London today October 9, 2018 Hundreds of Uber drivers are set to stage a 24-hour walkout across London today, in addition to protests in Nottingham and Birmingham, over workers' rights and demands for increased wages. The strike is being organised by the Independent Workers Union of Great Britain (IWGB), and is scheduled to begin at 1pm. A separate demonstration is also expected to be [...]
Forget Brexit, there’s a reason India’s top tech entrepreneurs are flocking to Britain October 9, 2018 Trade between Britain and India looks like it is about to take an almighty hit. Both sides are in a state of stalemate over a trade deal, and huge Indian companies are issuing warnings about investing in the UK post-Brexit. But scratch beneath the surface, and trade between the country of my birth and the country [...]
Property bosses clamp down on the white van man in bid to protect London business October 7, 2018 London’s landlords are declaring war on vehicle deliveries, amid fears that overcrowded and polluted streets are jeopardising business. Property heavyweights fear that worsening congestion is driving commuters, shoppers and tourists away from major destinations in the capital, as the rise of online purchasing leads to ever more delivery vans, motorbikes and lorries. Moves to pedestrianise [...]
Uber revenue driven up but company warns over driver employments rights court battle October 7, 2018 Uber drove its revenue up by 61 per cent last year but warned an ongoing court battle over the employment status of its drivers could hurt its future finances. The private hire firm, which claims its drivers are self-employed, is fighting against an Employment Appeal Tribunal decision that drivers should be classed as workers with [...]
Elastic, the open-source tech startup behind Uber and Tinder, scores $252m IPO October 6, 2018 Shares in Dutch open-source search startup Elastic skyrocketed as much as 106 per cent in its first day of official trading on the New York Stock Exchange yesterday, bucking the trend for tech stocks on Wall Street. The search and data analytics software firm, whose main product Elasticsearch powers technology behind big names such as Uber [...]