Business confidence falls amid warnings Brexit uncertainty is holding back investment August 30, 2018 Business confidence fell significantly in August as firms batten down the hatches for a bumpy year, according to a closely followed survey of British companies. The balance of firms expecting stronger trading prospects in the coming year fell by five points to 29 per cent, according to the Lloyds Bank survey of more than 1,000 [...]
British business leaders demand ‘people’s vote’ on Brexit deal November 4, 2018 Over 70 City grandees including the former chairmen of Lloyd’s of London and Standard Chartered have joined calls for a “people’s vote” on the final Brexit deal between the UK and the European Union. Ahead of the launch of ‘Business for a People’s Vote’, a new campaign group, the group warned in a letter published [...]
Towergate to merge with four UK insurance firms, Autonet, Chase Templeton, Ryan Direct and Price Forbes, forming an “independent market leader” May 9, 2017 Insurance firm Towergate is to join forces with four other firms in a shake-up of the UK insurance sector. US private groups HPS and Madison Dearborn (MDP) will merge the firms they already own into one company. Autonet, Chase Templeton, Ryan Direct and Price Forbes will join Towergate. Read more: City watchdog fines Towergate and [...]
Bill Gates and Jeff Bezos among backers of £4.5m Wagestream start-up fund September 9, 2018 The founders of Amazon and Microsoft have backed a London start-up that allows workers to access their wages before payday. "Get-paid-as-you-go" platform Wagestream has received £4.5m of funding from supporters including technology billionaires Jeff Bezos and Bill Gates. Read more: Wonga goes under: Controversial payday lender placed into administration Wagestream, which aims to end the "payday poverty cycle", allows [...]
World Bank sells record-breaking £1.25bn bond using ‘Libor-killer’ benchmark September 27, 2018 The World Bank has sold a £1.25bn bond using Sonia, the Bank of England-backed interest rate benchmark designed to replace the scandal-battered Libor. The record-size sale, which arrived shortly after the alternative benchmark’s first use by a lender, marks its continued emergence as an alternative to Libor, the London Inter-bank Offered Rate, its tarnished forerunner. [...]
First-time buyers in London struggle to keep up as north east offers most affordable house prices | City A.M. July 25, 2018 London has been the least affordable region for hopeful first-time buyers in 14 of the last 19 years, according to new statistics out today. Buyers looking to get onto the property ladder in the capital last year could have expected to spend 13 times their earnings on property. However, that stands in stark contrast to [...]
Serious Fraud Office ends Lloyds Libor probes because of “insufficient evidence” July 4, 2018 The Serious Fraud Office (SFO) has dropped a criminal investigation into Libor manipulation at Lloyds Banking Group, removing a cloud over the lender. The SFO dropped the case because it lacked evidence, despite the Financial Conduct Authority’s previous assertion that 16 individuals at Lloyds knew about the Libor fixing. Some lines of inquiry in the [...]
London cyber security startup Callsign, used by Lloyds and Deutsche Bank, has raised a huge $35m series A led by Accel and PTB Ventures July 27, 2017 A security startup focused on digital identity which helps keep Lloyds and Deutsche Bank protected has raised a huge round of funding from venture capital investors. London-based Callsign has landed $35m in a series A round of funding led by Spotify backer Accel and PTB Ventures a New York-based early-stage investment firm specialising in digital [...]
Robert Tchenguiz accuses Grant Thornton of conspiracy over fraud office probe October 8, 2018 Lawyers for property mogul Robert Tchenguiz today accused audit firm Grant Thornton of conspiring to persuade the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) to launch an investigation into his business dealings with the Icelandic bank Kaupthing. The flamboyant millionaire was in a packed London courtroom to hear his Queen’s Counsel Stephen Rubin of Fountain Court accuse the [...]
Pinter at the Pinter: Stagings of the great playwright’s short plays and poems offers a rare chance to see these unmissable works October 5, 2018 Harold Pinter was prolific, with more than 30 stage plays, almost as many screenplays and dozens of works of prose and poetry to his name. But while revered masterpieces such as The Birthday Party, No Man’s Land and Betrayal are regularly staged, there are fewer opportunities to see his equally brilliant shorter works. Director Jamie [...]