Snoop Dogg in drug delivery deal with Eaze April 15, 2015 RAPPER Snoop Dogg will be hoping for high returns as one of the backers of a marijuana delivery start-up that raised $10m (£6.8m) in a funding round yesterday, under his company Casa Verde Capital. Silicon Valley firm DCM Venture is also backing Eaze – dubbed the “Uber for weed”. It does not directly supply marijuana, [...]
Profits soar for Carlyle Group’s Addison Lee February 8, 2015 DESPITE increasing competition from smartphone apps like Uber and Hailo, minicab company Addison Lee continued to grow last year as its revenue and profits surged. The group, which was snapped up by private equity firm Carlyle Group in April 2013, said revenue rose 11 per cent to £196.6m during the year to the end of [...]
My mid-life crisis over technology stocks – CNBC Comment June 22, 2015 Nostalgia is a dangerous thing. A couple of years ago I broke a golden rule of mine. I went to a LIFFE market reunion. It was a big mistake. There is nothing worse than a bunch of greying, balding, slightly tubby middle aged men (mostly) banging on about how great times were “back on the [...]
Uber vs Lyft: Battle over false order claims escalates August 13, 2014 The bitter battle between ridesharing apps Uber and Lyft has been driven to new levels of intensity with both sides accusing the other of foul play. The gloves came off last week when San Francisco start-up Lyft, famous for its eccentric pink moustaches on car bonnets and recommendation that passengers greet their driver with a [...]
Facebook makes new friends as it doubles its London HQ March 31, 2015 Silicon Roundabout? What Silicon Roundabout? Far from fleeing to the east, Facebook has just doubled its capacity at its Euston Road headquarters, signing a lease for the top seven floors of Regent's Place. The Evening Standard reported the social media company has taken 65,000 sq ft – which is also the London base of Manchester City [...]
Uber ban suspended: Berlin court upholds opposition to taxi app prohibition August 18, 2014 Uber has received some welcome news from Berlin's Administrative Court. Last week, the Berlin State Department of Civil and Regulatory Affairs said Uber risked passenger safety through the use of “unverified drivers in unlicensed vehicles” and consequently banned the popular taxi app. The company had been threatened with fines of up to €25,000 for each [...]
London mayoral hopeful Andrew Boff’s radical plan for housing and transport August 16, 2015 London Assembly member Andrew Boff may be trailing in the polls behind his fellow Tory mayoral hopefuls. However, sitting down with City A.M. last week in his office in City Hall, the leader of the Greater London Authority Conservatives said he is confident he can win the open primary to be Tory candidate. “Of course [...]
Uber finally launches native Windows Phone app July 24, 2014 Uber has at last re-launched its Windows Phone app after it was pulled last year. In 2013, the official Uber app was withdrawn from the Windows Phone Store after customers realised the app simply offered access to Uber's mobile site. The San-Francisco based firm said: "Previously, Windows Phone users accessed Uber through our mobile site, but [...]
The evolution of mobile: From bricks and dumbphones to iPhones in 30 years September 1, 2015 You can’t even walk down the street without bumping into dozens of people talking, tweeting, taking Snapchats and hailing Ubers, all from the 5-inch smartphone screens they carry. London didn’t always look like this. In fact, it was 30 years ago this year that the very first British mobile phone call was made on [...]
London should embrace new technology to make car ownership pointless April 8, 2015 London could lead a revolution in car use and car ownership over the next decade, by divorcing the two. It may soon be unnecessary to own a car to secure the full benefits of car ownership, due to a combination of continued improvement in public transport, the surge in app-based car hire services, and the [...]