Innovation Diary: Why one company has chosen crowdfunding over venture capitalists October 20, 2013 HOW CAN you decide on the best method of financing your business’s growth? The Harvard academic Paul Gompers, in his prescient The Rise and Fall of Venture Capital (first published in 1994), explained the close interplay between the most suitable type of investment and the model of the firm concerned. Bank loans will be useful [...]
Inside Track: Let’s not overstate London’s appeal for tech flotations October 17, 2013 There’s nothing wrong at all with recently-floated technology companies like Macromac, Netscientific or Centralnic. These three groups, plus 18 others, have all floated on the London stock market over the course of the year and form part of the backdrop to a generally improving climate for flotations and fund-raisings in this city. But they do [...]
Don’t fear free: Candy Crush Saga is the future of the profitable product October 17, 2013 YOU CAN’T make money on the AppStore. Everything is free and you can’t get consumers to pay for anything.” That’s what I often hear from companies that have dipped their toes into the Apple ecosystem, failed to understand that it’s a new way of doing business, and drowned in the turbulent waters. It’s a common [...]
Tech champion says London is equal to New York for flotations October 16, 2013 LONDON has reached parity with New York when it comes to opportunities for companies seeking to float, according to Tech City chief Joanna Shields, despite UK gaming giant King’s decision last month to list in the US. “I think the conditions are right… I think we have parity. In many ways we’re competitively advantaged over [...]
Don’t fear free: Candy Crush Saga is the future of the profitable product October 16, 2013 YOU CAN’T make money on the AppStore. Everything is free and you can’t get consumers to pay for anything.” That’s what I often hear from companies that have dipped their toes into the Apple ecosystem, failed to understand that it’s a new way of doing business, and drowned in the turbulent waters. It’s a common [...]
Inside Track: King’s New York flotation will be a Saga worth watching October 3, 2013 EXCITEMENT about the flotation of one of the UK’s hottest internet companies, King, is increasing by the day. Sadly the listing will not be in London, which robs the City of a fantastic opportunity to demonstrate that our public markets are fully recovered, even for high-flying growth companies. That aside, the growth of King, the [...]
King hires Brunswick to steer it to NY flotation October 1, 2013 POWERSCOURT, the ambitious financial public relations group founded by ex-Goldman Sachs spin doctor Rory Godson, has become the first casualty of the decision by King, the UK-based mobile gaming company, to list in New York rather than London. King, best known for its hit game Candy Crush Saga, has hired Brunswick, which has a US [...]
Candy Crush saga claims London victim as King opts for New York float October 1, 2013 Powerscourt, the ambitious financial public relations group founded by ex-Goldman Sachs spin doctor Rory Godson, has become the first casualty of the decision by King, the UK-based mobile gaming company, to list in New York rather than London. King, best known for its hit game Candy Crush Saga, has hired Brunswick, to handle its upcoming [...]
Candy Crush developer plans US float September 26, 2013 THE LONDON company behind the addictive Candy Crush Saga game is preparing for a potential IPO in New York, it emerged last night. King, which is based in Soho, has filed a confidential filing with US authorities noting its intention to float, according to the Daily Telegraph. King makes its money by giving its games [...]
The Long View: Computer games have grown up – and they’re an economic powerhouse September 19, 2013 COMPUTER games are serious business. Grand Theft Auto V took $800m (£497m) in 24 hours this week, a record-breaking achievement that rivals the success of blockbuster films. Warner Brothers’ Man of Steel, the third-best box office earner this year according to Variety, only took in $663m. Some are predicting sales for the latest installment in [...]