Softbank’s bet on Chinese app Didi falls $4bn into the red July 26, 2021 Softbank’s bumper bet on Chinese ride-hailing giant Didi has plunged $4bn (£2.9bn) into the red as authorities in Beijing crack down on the app following its New York stock market float. The Japanese conglomerate took a 2.1 per cent stake in Didi worth $11.8bn in 2019, but its shareholding is now worth just $7.8bn, the [...]
Just Eat delivery order growth in UK up 733 per cent on the same period last year July 15, 2021 Just Eat Takeaway saw orders rise across the globe in the last quarter as recent investments began to take off. Half year orders in 2021 are up 61 per cent, whilst newly-acquired subsidiary Grubhub saw 51 per cent growth. Delivery order growth in the UK for the same period grew a staggering 733 per cent. [...]
Collective raises £6m with Silicon Valley NFX, amid growing demands for gig worker benefits July 14, 2021 Collection Benefits, a UK insurance tech startup, have raised £6m in a round led by a Silicon Valley venture fund, as the demand for insurance and benefits in the gig economy continues. The year-old insurance provider also announced the appointment of Pete Flint OBE, the co-founder of Lastminute.com and a general partner at NFX, as [...]
The brands that won Euro 2020, from Volkswagen’s tiny ball-carrying car to Bud Light ‘box heads’ and ITV super-pundit Emma Hayes July 12, 2021 Italy were deserved winners of Euro 2020, which will be remembered as one of the best football tournaments all of time. Off the field brands have had their own competition for the hearts and wallets of consumers. Here are my thoughts on who emerged as the winners. EE EE is a long-standing sponsor of the [...]
London taxi numbers shrink to lowest in 40 years July 10, 2021 The coronavirus pandemic has sent the number of London cabbies down to its lowest level in 40 years, new stats from the Department for Transport (DfT) have shown. Over the last year, there has been a 29 per cent fall in the number of black cabs operating on London’s roads. As of the start of [...]
Collective: Feeling the benefit of the gig economy growing up July 10, 2021 Back in the halcyon days of the mid-2010s – a world before Brexit buses and a global pandemic – it was easy to find cheerleaders for the gig-ification of the capital’s employment scene. Uber and others were redefining work. Londoners were whizzing around in cheap cabs. Politicians were falling over themselves to champion the free-market [...]
Uber rival Ola raises $500m in funding round ahead of IPO July 9, 2021 Uber rival Ola today said it has raised $500m (£362m) from private equity backers as it gears up for a stock market float. The Indian ride-hailing giant, which is backed by Softbank, said the cash injection had been secured from Temasek and Warburg Pincus in the company’s first funding round for two years. Ola did [...]
Goodwood Festival of Speed 2021: Britain’s coolest car park July 9, 2021 Many of the most exciting machines at Goodwood Festival of Speed can be found in the car park. Join us for some Grade A supercar spotting.
Uber under pressure as Chinese rival Didi enters UK July 7, 2021 Uber will come under pressure from yet another ride-hailing rival as China’s Didi prepares to launch in the UK in the coming weeks. Didi is said to have secured its first licences in Manchester and Sheffield and is set to begin services as soon as this month, the Daily Telegraph reported. The arrival of the [...]
I’m not leaving this sofa: Takeaway orders soar during England goal-feast July 6, 2021 Football fans made over one million orders on JustEat over the course of Saturday evening as England waltzed past Ukraine in Rome. The match kicking off in the primetime slot of 8pm on a balmy Saturday evening encouraged 2,500 orders being placed per minute. The most popular order was burgers, followed by pizza. While the [...]