London is home to 60 unicorns after record levels of investment last year March 16, 2021 London is now home to 60 companies with unicorn status as the capital cements itself as Europe’s hub for tech investment. Despite the challenges of the pandemic, six London-based companies secured valuations of over $1bn in 2020: Octopus Energy, Arrival, Kazoo, infobip, Gousto and Hopin. And it’s been a strong start to 2021 with an [...]
JP Morgan pushes ahead with UK digital bank plans November 22, 2020 US investment bank JP Morgan has reportedly promoted one of its top London employees to spearhead the launch of its digital consumer platform in the UK. It has appointed Sanoke Viswavathan, previously chief administrative officer of technology and operations in its corporate and investment division, as the chief executive of its challenger bank. The company [...]
Rolls-Royce: What to expect from the FTSE blue chip’s results March 10, 2021 Rolls-Royce will tomorrow reveal the full extent of the damage the coronavirus pandemic has caused the aerospace engineer when it posts its full year results. It comes at the end of a harrowing 12 months for the engine maker, which has seen its revenue collapse due to the worldwide grounding of planes. In the first [...]
AI-Powered Ubiquitous Investing April 22, 2021 Have you noticed that your bank statements are now a succession of Netflix, Uber, Spotify, Deliveroo, Apple and Amazon payments? All of them offer us all types of services at our fingertips. No more wasting time sourcing or waiting to access the best way to get an amazing selection of food, music, films, transport or [...]
Goldman Sachs ‘to name fewer than 60 partners’ in 2020 October 6, 2020 Goldman Sachs will reportedly name no more than 60 partners this year, but partners will be given more financial perks as the investment banking giant seeks to make its partnership more exclusive. The bank’s new class of partners, due to be promoted next month, is likely to be Goldman’s smallest cohort since the 1990s, the [...]
Shakespeare: Aldi’s click service sees them set to collect January 6, 2021 Discount supermarket chain Aldi announced in December that it would be expanding its click and collect grocery service to more than 200 stores across the UK in the run-up to Christmas. The service was already in high demand across the country after beginning the first trial in the Midlands in September, and was brought in [...]
What will the new tech visa rules mean for UK fintechs? March 4, 2021 Among a raft of new measures announced in the Budget the Chancellor has launched a new visa scheme to retain and attract the tech industry’s top talent. Announcing the Budget on Wednesday Rishi Sunak laid out plans to introduce “fast track” visa applications for people with a job offer from a recognised UK scale-up, together [...]
CMA chair Tyrie was ‘forced to step down’ after row with directors June 28, 2020 The chairman of the UK’s competition watchdog was forced to step down three years early after a stand-off with the firm’s chief executive, according to reports. Lord Tyrie, who last week announced he would stand down as chairman of the Competition and Markets authority (CMA) in September three years earlier than planned, had fallen out [...]
Lord Hill: I’m no cheerleader for Spacs but UK should leave door open March 25, 2021 Lord Hill, who recently published a review into London’s listing rules, has said he recognises concerns over Spacs but fears the UK may regret paying attention to the vehicles in a few years time. Special acquisition companies – Spacs – have risen to prominence during the pandemic in the US and in parts of Europe. [...]
Aldi and Lidl sales growth slows as discounters struggle to compete with Big Four’s online capabilities March 2, 2021 The growth of the discount supermarkets Lidl and Aldi has slowed as the Big Four UK grocers benefitted from their more established online presence during the pandemic. German budget grocers Lidl and Aldi reported that sales were up 10.9 per cent and 5.6 per cent respectively in the 12 weeks to 21 February. However, three [...]