UK tech startups will create 20,000 jobs this year as VC investment rockets June 1, 2015 Rocketing venture capital investment is set to boost hiring at tech startups in Britain, with the creation of 20,000 jobs expected this year. Tech startups across the country are currently advertising 12,000 positions, 40 per cent growth in the last six months and 80 per cent on last year. London and the south east, home [...]
These are the FinTech startups being backed by Citi May 29, 2015 Four FinTech startups have won $100,000 (£65,400) backing from Citi after a search for new technology and innovation to transform banking and business. London-based Swave, an app that encourages users to monitor spending and make saving easier, trading platform Trade It, a supply chain solution created by Umati Capital and textbook subscription app Kytabu were [...]
Bring forward the EU referendum: The UK’s tech sector can’t wait two years May 11, 2015 As the dust settles on one of the most extraordinary General Election campaigns in generations, a new battle looms on the horizon for Tech City. The nation now faces a war over “Brexit”. David Cameron’s promise to hold a referendum by 2017 on the UK’s EU membership will have major repercussions for the economy and, [...]
Britain can produce world-beaters – if business speaks up for capitalism April 28, 2015 The startup parliament. That may well be the history books’ verdict on the last five years of our economy. It has been a period in which the UK has flexed its commercial muscles to become one of the most successful enterprise destinations in the world. Of Europe’s 25m small firms, more than five million operate [...]
FinTech payment startups least likely to get acquired by banks April 23, 2015 Financial technology startups shaking up the payments industry are least likely to be acquired by established banks, despite the increasing efforts by financial institutions to become more innovative. The most likely end-game for a successful startup developing innovative new ways for making payments in the rocketing FinTech sector is being acquired by a major technology firm such [...]
Bye-bye Tech City? Spiralling office rents in Shoreditch’s Silicon Roundabout will push tech startups out of London April 17, 2015 Technology firms are being forced to consider relocating outside of London by the spiralling costs of renting office space in the capital and the home of tech in Shoreditch. A quarter of London’s tech firms have considered a move away from the capital entirely, while more than two in five lack confidence in the city’s [...]
General Election 2015: Tax is a bigger policy concern than red tape for entrepreneurs – but Labour, Conservative and Lib Dem manifestos failed to address any April 16, 2015 British entrepreneurs are more concerned about how the next government will address the issue of tax than they are about red tape and regulation. Research by Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) found reforming tax was the biggest policy concern for a quarter of entrepreneurs. Just four per cent called for the government to simplify regulations and decrease [...]
Funding Circle’s new funding round will value the London FinTech startup at $1bn April 2, 2015 Funding Circle is on the verge of closing a new round of funding which would value the London FinTech startup at more than $1bn (£674m) and see it join just a handful of UK tech companies with billion-dollar valuations. The peer-to-peer lender could close funding of more than £50m within weeks, including backing from Blackrock and [...]
Investment in London’s tech startups hit record levels of $682m in 2015 April 2, 2015 Investment in London’s technology sector has hit a record high, once again proving the city’s attractiveness to investors as firms in the capital gained more than half-a-billion dollars in backing in 2015. In the first quarter of the year, in which established tech startups such as World Remit, Transferwise and Shazam received multi-million pound funding [...]
Startup in London? Here’s how the capital’s funding scene is changing March 27, 2015 The funding landscape for startups in London is changing. It has expanded and diversified, making it easier for early stage companies to raise capital. Yet the benefits vary greatly, depending on the size and type of company. London is fertile ground for startups looking to raise between £50,000 to £150,000. The Seed Enterprise [...]