QuadReal pumps nearly $1bn in London property January 12, 2021 Property group QuadReal has spent nearly $1bn to acquire a majority stake in seven London-based assets owned by Realstar UK. The Canadian asset manager partnered with Realstar to invest in four rental properties in New Cross, Stockwell and a 45-story tower in the heart of Elephant & Castle. Realstar CEO Ryan Prince said, “Far [...]
Fintech Curve closes $95m Series C round as it eyes US expansion January 12, 2021 London-based fintech Curve has secured $95m in its latest fundraising round to fuel its expansion into the US and launch a new credit product. Founded in 2015, the startup allows users to consolidate all their credit and debit cards into one smart card and app. The Series C round was led by IDC Ventures, Fuel [...]
Checkout.com valuation reaches $15bn after latest fundraising round January 12, 2021 London payments firm Checkout.com has tripled its valuation to $15bn following a $450m Series C fundraising round. The round, which makes Checkout the fourth largest fintech globally, was led by New York-based Tiger Global Management, joined by Greenoaks Capital and existing investors including Insight Partners and DST Global. Payments has been one of the leading [...]
Rathbones names ex-Phoenix boss Bannister as chairman January 12, 2021 Rathbone Brothers has appointed ex-Phoenix Group CEO Clive Bannister as its new chairman. Bannister will take over from Mark Nicholls at the wealth manager, who will retire from the role at the company’s annual general meeting in May. The news comes as Rathbones reports a nearly 9 per cent jump in total funds under management [...]
Life after lockdown: Negotiating our way to herd immunity January 8, 2021 Former Google strategist Paul Alexander, founder and president of London-based Alexander & Associates, argues negotiation principles could play a role in achieving herd immunity via a comprehensive Covid-19 vaccination programme. Two vaccines are being rolled out across the UK as we speak. Care homes, once the frontline of the pandemic, are now rapidly becoming [...]
The case for investing in financials January 7, 2021 | Sponsored Entire tomes have been devoted to investing in the financial services sector – hardly surprising when you consider its size, and therefore its significance to the world’s capital markets. To say the financial sector is large doesn’t do it justice. Of the total market capitalisation of the S&P 500, the world’s largest stock market index, [...]
Yoga, colouring books and maths lessons: How to survive home-schooling (again) January 5, 2021 Homeschooling is back – with all the stresses that can sometimes entail. City A.M. asked the experts at Quizlet for their guide to delivering the best learning experience for children – whilst keeping parents and teachers sane. These are anxious times, but they are also hopeful times: countries are sharing knowledge and know-how; politicians are [...]
Sustainability investing: what does the future look like? January 5, 2021 | City Talk ‘Future of Sustainability in Investment Management: From Ideas to Reality’ is a newly published CFA Institute report. The 60-page publication was informed by the views of more than 7,000 industry participants, including 3,500+ retail investors, 920+ asset owners and 3,050+ investment practitioners. Research included virtual roundtables across 31 markets. Here we summarise its findings. The [...]
Sunday Talk: Mark Ridley, CEO of real estate giant Savills January 2, 2021 In a wide-ranging interview, City A.M. discusses fundraising challenges, Brexit and the shift to home working with Mark Ridley, who has been the group CEO of Savills since 2019, the London-based, LSE-listed real estate services giant which had a revenue of £1.93bn in 2019 and currently employs around 40,000 people in the UK and across Europe. The [...]
Data-hungry fintech firms urge FCA to ‘break’ banks this year January 2, 2021 A coalition of London startups is calling on the Financial Conduct Authority to end the dominance of banking institutions over the use of consumer data this year. The firms argue it would increase competition in the savings, credit, mortgages and pensions markets. The Coalition for a Digital Economy (Coadec), an advocacy group that represent a [...]
