Revealed: Britain’s best and worst parcel delivery firms January 27, 2017 Buying things over the internet from the comfort of our own home is great. But spending hours waiting for them to turn up, only for the delivery person to ring the doorbell just as we pop out, is more than mildly irritating. Yep, we've all been there. Some might say enduring such a debacle is [...]
Metro Bank boss: Branchless banking reduces customer choice January 25, 2017 Like Deliveroo and Uber, banks should mix the physical and digital according to Metro Bank chief executive Craig Donaldson. The challenger bank boss said not giving customers the opportunity for face to face interaction is taking away choice. Metro Bank has 48 branches at present, but Donaldson said its target is 250 or maybe 300 [...]
Now Londoners can get breakfast delivered from UberEats January 31, 2017 Lucky Londoners can get their hands on a free box of croissants this morning, thanks to UberEats and Paul. Uber's joined the breakfast club, adding a breakfast menu from several restaurants to its food delivery service. Purveyor of pastries Paul will be one of the six restaurants delivering a morning pick me up to Londoners [...]
Pimlico Plumbers loses appeal in employment status case February 10, 2017 Pimlico Plumbers has lost its court appeal over the employment status of one of its workers. The case was brought after a ruling in favour of one of the company's "self-employed" plumbers, Gary Smith. Smith had worked as a "self-employed" plumber for the Charlie Mullins-owned company for six years and in 2010, after suffering a heart attack, [...]
Hungry House is partnering with a startup to help takeaways deliver more January 24, 2017 Takeaway firm Hungry House is helping restaurants deliver more food to customers when they experience high demand at peak times. The firm, gobbled up by Just Eat in a £200m deal in December, has partnered with logistics startup Quiqup to offer additional delivery drivers to restaurants when they experience high demand. Read more: Just Eat snaps [...]
Uber goes on a charm offensive by offering drivers free English courses and tips on how to make more money February 16, 2017 Uber is making efforts to improve its app for UK drivers, as part of a new charm offensive, including offering free English courses. Transport for London (TfL) delayed its new English tests until September, but Uber has said it will offer free courses for its drivers ahead of then. The ride-hailing app will also now allow [...]
The UK sharing economy’s set to grow by billions this year despite scrutiny February 9, 2017 The popularity of on-demand services such as Uber, Deliveroo and Airbnb is set to boom, with the value of the UK's sharing economy predicted to grow my more than 60 per cent this year. Despite scrutiny from government, the desire for services at the tap of a smartphone app will continue according to the research from PwC, which has also [...]
London’s gig economy has grown 72 per cent since 2010 December 9, 2016 You might have suspected it given the influx of cyclists zooming by with Deliveroo boxes, and new research has confirmed it: the capital's gig economy is booming. In fact, it's grown 72 per cent, across the transport and storage sector, since 2010. The gig economy, driven by casual work, has become hugely popular in London, according to analysis [...]
Uber’s financials just leaked – here’s how much it lost December 20, 2016 Uber's losses clocked in at $800m in the third quarter of the year, according to leaked documents. It brings total losses to more than $2.2bn for the first nine months of the year, while revenues for the startup are expected to come in at $5.5bn for the year, according to the figures first reported by The Information, indicating [...]
Google parent Alphabet’s venture arm GV backs London fintech startup Currencycloud in £20m funding round March 9, 2017 Top London fintech startup Currencycloud has attracted Google as an investor in a fresh £20m funding round in a stamp of approval for the sector after Brexit. GV, Alphabet's high-profile venture arm formerly known as Google Ventures, which has backed the likes of Uber and Slack in the past, joins existing investors for the series D [...]