Three UK chief exec Dave Dyson: Company focused on creating ‘genuine customer experiences’, not ‘hypothetical’ 5G launches July 2, 2018 In the race for 5G connectivity, many would assume that fast, and first, is best. But the head of one of the UK’s biggest mobile operators says he is not concerned with being first to the party when it comes to rolling out the faster network for consumers. Dave Dyson, Three UK chief executive, says [...]
Fortnum and Masons suffers major data hack, with 23,000 customers potentially affected July 2, 2018 British retail behemoth Fortnum and Masons has been the latest victim of a major data hack, it was revealed today. The personal information of some 23,000 customers is left at stake, exposed through a partnership the company had established with survey company Typeform for its food and drink awards. Specifically, those who voted through Typeform [...]
There’s a new Chinese tech venture in town, and it’s backed by the London investors that supported Softbank’s Vision Fund July 2, 2018 London-based global investment firm Centricus has announced it will be launching a Chinese tech venture fund in partnership with China Merchants Group (CMG) and SPF Group, for a total of 100bn yuan (£11.41bn). Labelled the 'China New Era Technology Fund', the partnership will see the state-owned CMG deploy 40bn yuan in capital alongside additional Chinese-based [...]
Last Week in the City: Amazon buys a pharmacy June 29, 2018 Garry White, chief investment commentator, looks at the market-moving events that have shaped the UK equity markets this week (25 to 29 June 2018). The FTSE 100 traded little over the week, despite a rally in oil prices. There was more bad news from the retail sector after The John Lewis Partnership warned on profits [...]
Trading places: Monzo co-founder takes a back seat to make way for a new CTO as international expansion plans get put on the backburner June 28, 2018 Monzo co-founder and soon-to-be former chief technology officer Jonas Huckestein is making way for a new kid on the block, as business printing house Moo’s CTO Meri Williams joins the team. Speaking to City A.M. ahead of the announcement, Williams explained that while there’s nothing at Monzo she wants to change or do differently, she’s [...]
Why did TfL strip Uber of its licence and what did it do to get it back? June 26, 2018 After months of deliberation, Uber was today granted a 15-month licence after persuading Westminster Magistrates' Court that it had changed its ways and was now a "fit and proper" operator in the capital. City A.M. looks back at why TfL took the dramatic decision last year and what Uber did to try and win it [...]
Uber admits TfL was ‘perfectly correct’ to revoke its London licence as company kicks off appeal to win it back June 25, 2018 Uber’s UK general manager Tom Elvidge has said he “absolutely accepts” TfL’s decision to revoke its licence on the grounds it was not a “fit and proper” private licence holder. Giving evidence at a three-day hearing in which the operator is seeking to persuade TfL it has changed and deserves a renewed licence, Elvidge said [...]
Mercedes-backed ViaVan launches weekly subscription following London launch June 22, 2018 Mercedes-backed ride sharing service ViaVan has launched its own weekly subscription service following on from its successful launch in London. The subscription, called ViaPass, starts at a launch price of £35 for a limited time only. New takers will also have access to four free shared rides daily for seven days, up to a value [...]
Just Eat shares plunge as Deliveroo’s new feature bites June 13, 2018 Shares in Just Eat dropped more than seven per cent this morning after Deliveroo announced dramatic expansion plans and a new feature. Deliveroo anticipates that it will add 5,000 new restaurants to its platform with the 'Marketplace+' feature, which puts it in direct competition with Just Eat. Restaurants which handle their own delivery will now [...]
SoftBank’s Vision Fund leads $250m series D investment into data storage tech firm Cohesity June 11, 2018 Californian data storage firm Cohesity has closed an oversubscribed series D round at $250m (£186.2m), led by SoftBank’s Vision Fund in its second ever enterprise investment after workspace messaging app Slack. The round also saw participation from Cisco Investments, Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE), Morgan Stanley Expansion Capital and Sequoia Capital. Cohesity’s chief operating officer and president [...]