Forget Silicon Valley and Silicon Roundabout: Birmingham’s Silicon Canal is the future of the UK’s technology sector July 23, 2015 For years now we've been told that London could rival the Silicon Valley with its own tech hub. But five years after launching my business, I’m a bigger advocate for Birmingham's Silicon Canal than I have ever been. There is an incredible talent pool in Birmingham that offers a wealth of brilliant software engineers. These [...]
Cisco is making $1bn investment in UK tech including $150m IoT startup venture backing July 9, 2015 Cisco is making a major long-term investment in UK tech with $1bn of investment and the creation of hundreds of jobs. The tech company which already employs 7,000 people in the UK – its biggest market – is also eyeing up acquisitions here, continuing a spree that has seen the company buy up five tech [...]
Former Apple exec Jeff Martin joins London smart city startup Pavegen as crowdfunding reaches £2m July 5, 2015 London-based tech startup Pavegen which creates hi-tech flooring with the potential to power cities has announced that Jeff Martin, formerly a senior executive at Apple, will join its advisory board. The news came as the firm announced it has smashed its crowdfunding target, raising nearly £2m from online investors. Martin worked with iconic Apple founder [...]
UK tech sector receives record funding, and it’s largely thanks to London FinTech July 2, 2015 UK technology startups received a record amount of funding in the first six months of the year, according to figures from London & Partners. Read more: It's official – London's the capital of European tech Between January and June, the sector managed to attract almost £900m in venture capital investment, which compares to a [...]
Airports Commission report: Heathrow runway expansion by 2025 will be too little, too late for London’s tech sector July 2, 2015 It cannot be denied that the announcement of Heathrow’s runway expansion is a step in the right direction for the capital’s business community. According to Andrew Macmillan, operations director at Heathrow Airport, direct air connections between airports lead to a twentyfold increase in trade between destinations. Equally for Declan Collier, chief executive of [...]
Grant Thornton makes multimillion-pound investment in London tech startup Geniac July 2, 2015 Grant Thornton has made a multimillion-pound investment in a startup which manages services such as HR and compliance for small businesses. The advisory firm has splashed £22m on London-based Geniac, its first investment in a tech startup. "The Geniac proposition to fast growing small businesses is exciting," said Grant Thornton’s head of audit Mark Cardiff. “When you’re [...]
Banco Santander and Monitise partner on a London-based £20m FinTech fund July 1, 2015 One of Europe's biggest banks and one of London's most successful Financial Technology startups are joining forces to invest in technology companies that will disrupt the global financial services sector. Banco Santander and Monitise are partnering on a new fund worth up to £20m that will seek out investments in the burgeoning FinTech sector. The equally [...]
“Upmarket Airbnb” Onefinestay beds $40m funding from hotel group Hyatt, Intel Capital and others June 29, 2015 A London startup which offers Airbnb style rentals with the full service of a top end hotel has bedded $40m (£25.5m) in funding to fuel expansion. Global hotelier Hyatt has invested in the London-founded startup, along with Intel Capital, Quadrant Capital Advisors and angel investors Joss Kent, Richard Chen, and Mark Dempsters, in the series [...]
New York provides a better environment than London to foster innovation June 24, 2015 New York is the city that best fosters innovation and entrepreneurship, closely followed by London, according to a report that has just been launched. The city initiatives for technology, innovation, and entrepreneurship (CITE) report analysed 40 world cities to see where policy has created the best environment for entrepreneurship and disruption. The cities were tested [...]
London FinTech startup Currency Cloud raises $18m series C funding from Rakuten, Sapphire Ventures and other investors June 23, 2015 One of London’s FinTech stars has landed a new round of funding as investors scramble for a piece of London’s booming financial technology sector. Currency Cloud has landed $18m (around £12m) from investors, including ecommerce giant Rakuten, in its latest funding round, just a week after London cemented its status as the tech capital of [...]