Crowdfunding website Indiegogo offers investors insurance in case projects fail December 3, 2014 Crowdfunding website Indiegogo will trial an insurance option for its users, in case the projects they invest money in fail to materialise. It's currently being tested on one project, a wearable band that helps manage stress called Olive. Potential investors can pay the $15 (£10) "optional insurance" fee in addition to the $129 required backing, as reported by TechCrunch. The [...]
Sir Clive Sinclair is crowdfunding a new ZX Spectrum computer December 2, 2014 If you were around in the 1980s, you will know how truly immense this news is. Sir Clive Sinclair is crowdfunding to create a new ZX Spectrum. For those who don't, Sinclair was behind the Spectrum range – one of the first mainstream home computers in the UK, which rivalled the likes of the [...]
Bermondsey-based DIY brewery launches crowdfunding campaign November 26, 2014 UBREW, a Bermondsey-based brewery that allows members to brew their own craft beer, has launched a crowdfunding campaign today. Set to open in the New Year on the Bermondsey Mile, Ubrew is looking to crowdsource £75,000 – in exchange for 10 per cent equity in the company – to purchase equipment, rented accommodation and a [...]
US private equity firm KSL Capital Partner buys De Vere’s Village resorts for £485m November 26, 2014 British hotels and leisure firm De Vere Group yesterday agreed the £485m sale of its Village Urban Resorts hotels chain to US private equity firm KSL Capital Partner. KSL – a Denver-headquartered firm focused on the travel and leisure businesses – acquires the Village’s 25 existing hotels along with three new properties under development in [...]
Private equity firms circle as P&G puts Braun in the window November 23, 2014 A number of Europe’s largest private equity firms are drawing up bids for Braun, amid speculation that parent company Procter & Gamble is looking to sell the German consumer goods brand. Procter & Gamble, the US consumer goods giant, is rumoured to be putting Braun up for the sale in a few months, with a [...]
Gimme 3: Startups crowdfunding this month November 17, 2014 Oak and Iron Target: £55,000 for 30 per cent equity The furniture company uses environmentally friendly processes and locally sourced materials. Owner Terry Facey has made furniture for Harrods. Raised: £44,700 www.fundingtree.co.uk Grub Club Target: £250,000 for 15.6 per cent equity A team on a mission to change how we dine by creating pop [...]
Taylor St Brewing a £3m crowdfunding November 12, 2014 TAYLOR St Baristas, a trailblazer in the City’s speciality coffee scene, plans to raise up to £3m through the launch of the UK’s first crowdfunded Coffee Bond. The bond is live on Crowdcube and Taylor St plans to double the size of its business over the next two years, with funds gained being used to [...]
Caterham F1 raises £1.2m in crowdfunding project as possible buyers begin to surface November 11, 2014 Potential buyers have emerged for Caterham F1, with the cash-strapped Formula One team having raised over £1m in crowdfunding in just 48 hours. The team is looking to raise £2.35m to allow it to race in the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix on 23 November. Finbarr O’Connell, a partner from Caterham’s administrator Smith & Williamson, launched the [...]
Prezzo gobbled up for £304m by American private equity firm TPG November 6, 2014 Prezzo yesterday agreed to a £303.7m cash bid by American private equity firm TPG, valuing the high street Italian restaurant chain at almost 10 times its operating profit. TPG, which saw off competition from buyout firm Advent to seal the deal, launched the offer via Papa Bidco, a newly incorporated company indirectly owned by the [...]
Peer-to-peer platforms need to mature – or risk innovation-stifling regulation November 6, 2014 IT’S NOT surprising that peer-to-peer lending is becoming so popular. After years of low interest rates and scandals, there is a feeling that financial services should get back to basics. And after all the upheaval in banking, there is a desire to look at new ways of lending – preferably ones that pay a decent [...]