Facebook seeks Swiss licence for Libra cryptocurrency September 11, 2019 Facebook’s cryptocurrency project Libra has applied for a payment licence from Switzerland’s financial watchdog, following a widespread backlash from politicians and regulators. The Libra Association announced today that it intended to apply for a licence from Switzerland’s Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA) to be regulated as a payment systems operator and had “submitted a request [...]
Williams Formula One team owner considering sale of engineering arm August 31, 2019 The owner of the Williams Formula One team, Williams Grand Prix Holdings, is exploring the possibility of selling its engineering arm. The company has been approached by several parties looking to acquire Williams Advanced Engineering (WAE) and a sale could raise tens of millions of pounds for the racing team, according to Sky News. Read [...]
Lloyds shareholders lose £385m HBOS High Court case November 15, 2019 Lloyds shareholders today lost a £385m High Court case against the bank’s acquisition of HBOS at the height of the financial crisis. England’s highest court rejected a claim from a group of 5,803 investors that they were “mugged” when the bank recommended the 2009 deal without revealing the state of HBOS’ finances. Read more: First [...]
Heathrow Airport sees April passenger numbers soar to 6.8m as May 10, 2019 Heathrow Airport had its busiest ever April last month with a 3.3 per cent increase on the year before as passenger numbers soared to 6.79m. It was the 30th consecutive month of growth for the airport as it averaged 226,600 passengers per day. Read more: Fuel and currency costs hit profit at British Airways owner IAG A [...]
Top 10 Just Eat shareholder to vote against £9bn merger deal with Takeaway.com September 3, 2019 Just Eat’s proposed merger with Takeaway.com was dealt a setback this morning after a top 10 shareholder revealed it plans to vote against the tie-up. US asset manager Eminence Capital, which holds a 4.4 per cent stake in Just Eat, is set to oppose the British food delivery firm’s £9bn deal with Amsterdam-based rival Takeaway.com. [...]
City travel startup Duffel bags $21.5m round from Benchmark June 19, 2019 Travel booking software startup Duffel today closed a $21.5m (£17.1m) in a series A funding round led by Snap and Uber-backer Benchmark. Blossom Capital also participated, as well as existing investor Index Ventures. The startup has raised $26.2m to date. “The travel industry is underpinned by archaic software and processes that are fundamentally prohibitive for [...]
Softbank launches new $108bn Vision Fund for AI investment July 26, 2019 Softbank has unveiled its second mammoth Vision Fund, which it said will have $108bn (£87bn) to invest in AI-focused tech firms. Read more: Softbank earns $11bn for selling some of its huge Alibaba stake Softbank said it has received backing from a string of companies including Apple, Foxconn, Microsoft and Standard Chartered, while the Japanese [...]
Sadiq Khan’s minicab congestion charge is not discriminatory, court rules July 24, 2019 Sadiq Khan’s decision to impose a congestion charge on private hire vehicles (PHVs) was lawful and appropriate, the High Court has ruled. The Independent Workers’ Union of Great Britain (IWGB) challenged the London mayor’s decision to lift the congestion charge for PHVs, arguing that the policy disproportionately affects female and black and ethnic minority drivers. [...]
Luxury car imports jump as super-rich look to swerve Brexit costs August 12, 2019 The number of luxury car imports has risen sharply over the last year, as wealthy individuals rush to bring high-end motors to the UK ahead of a potential no-deal Brexit. A total of 3,830 cars were imported in the last financial year, up 16 per cent on the previous 12 months, according to law firm [...]
Wework delays IPO plans amid investor caution September 17, 2019 Wework has pushed back plans for its highly-anticipated initial public offering (IPO) amid cooling investor appetite. Following a number of setbacks over its ambitions to go public, the fast-rising parent owner of real estate group Wework is expected to postpone its listing until the end of the year. Read more: Wework considers cutting founder’s voting [...]