The gig economy should matter to professionals: Here’s why July 6, 2016 For anyone living or working in London, it is almost impossible to have missed the rapid emergence of the gig economy in recent years. You can’t move for Uber taxis, Deliveroo scooter drivers and Airbnb accommodation, which have spawned a generation of independent workers servicing on-demand markets. But, for those working in professional services, the trend [...]
Peter Thiel-backed “Airbnb for work space” eyes London July 4, 2016 Move over co-working spaces, there's a new way of working in town. A US startup similar to Airbnb but for renting office space and meeting rooms in the short-term that's backed by Peter Thiel's Valar Ventures has expanded to London. Targeting startups which often want to keep costs low, as well as those looking for a more professional alternative [...]
Addison Lee is buying rival Tristar as part of its US expansion strategy June 28, 2016 Addison Lee, the UK private car hire company owned by private equity giant Carlyle, is buying rival Tristar. The financial details of the deal were not disclosed, but City sources put the valuation at around £30m. Tristar, which operates the largest luxury car fleet in the UK, has revenues of £50m per year. Read more: Addison Lee is taking the [...]
Amazon who? Ocado shares jump as it delivers 14 per cent sales rise June 28, 2016 Everyone and their mum may be trying to get into the food delivery business at the moment (Amazon and Uber have both just launched offerings…) – but Ocado has suggested with experience comes wisdom, after it posted a juicy rise in sales. The figures Retail sales rose 13.9 per cent to £582.9m in the 24 weeks to the end of May, [...]
Good news for startups: The sharing economy is unfazed by Brexit according to PwC, and could bring £140bn to the UK by 2025 June 28, 2016 The UK's sharing economy could boom to 20 times its worth in just 10 years, according to PwC. The UK's sharing economy sector, which include peer-to-peer lending platforms and crowdfunding sites like Kickstarter, car sharing apps such as Uber, car rental firms and music streaming services like Spotify, is currently worth around £7bn. The audit firm said [...]
What will Brexit mean for the City? June 27, 2016 Online protest-petitions aside, the people have spoken and the UK is now facing an exit from the European Union. What might this mean for the City, and Britain’s businesses more broadly? The short term We are already in the midst of extreme political uncertainty, and thus it is unsurprising to see panic and volatility in the [...]
This unicorn is leaping on its IPO June 23, 2016 Tech bubble? What tech bubble? Twilio shares have surged on its IPO, leaping as much as 70 per cent on its debut on the New York Stock Exchange. Shares surged as high as $25.50 after pricing at $15 per share, giving it a market capitalisation of more than $2bn Read more: These are the seven [...]
These are the seven fintech startups being backed by Mastercard June 21, 2016 Mastercard is backing seven fintech startups hoping to change the way we use money and disrupt the finance world. London startups Revolut and Everledger are among the tech firms chosen for Mastercard's six month Start Path programme from among more than 500 applications from 60 countries. The startups, from as far afield as Israel and Argentina and announced at London [...]
UberEats has arrived in London June 16, 2016 Not only is Uber disrupting the way we travel, it's eyeing up the way we eat too. Now Londoners will be able to get food delivered from top restaurants straight to their door via an app in exactly the same way they now order a car. The separate UberEats app will let users order from a [...]
The workers’ Euros: Which side has won the argument on employment? June 16, 2016 The crucial game started well for the Leave team. They pressed the Remain team high up the pitch and, for at least the first half of the game, the Remain team were slow to respond. The Leave team said that there would be a “bonfire of Brussels regulations” and that this would free businesses from Brussels [...]