The City and Silicon Roundabout lead Britain’s economic recovery February 16, 2015 London’s buoyant recovery is driving Britain’s economy forward, a study from RBS showed today. Inner-east London was the fastest growing locality in the country last year, expanding by 5.2 per cent. Next up was Milton Keynes at 4.9 per cent, followed by Aberdeen at 4.8 per cent. “Top of the class last year was London, driven [...]
Balfour Beatty sells £40m Thanet wind farm stake to Equitix February 16, 2015 Balfour Beatty has sold a £40m stake in its Kent wind farm business to infrastructure fund Equitix. The struggling firm has sold an 80 per cent stake in the Thanet Offshore Transmission Project it bought just two months ago for £164m. The wind farm, off the coast of Kent, is part of Balfour’s lucrative infrastructure [...]
Parking app Just Park now tapping crowdfunders for growth capital February 12, 2015 Just Park founder, Anthony Eskinazi, tells Oliver Smith, his clients will race to invest in the parking app Parking app Just Park, which hooks drivers up with parking space owners, will look to raise £1m through crowdfunding platform Crowdcube. The London-based startup, that enables you to find a space, book it and navigate to it, [...]
Apple and Pinterest partner to make app discovery easier February 12, 2015 The app store may have revolutionised the way we listen to music, read newspapers and order a cab, but there is one major problem with it which Apple hasn't addressed. Until now. Among the 1.4m apps, how do people find the app they’re looking for, and how do companies get their app into people’s hands? [...]
US investments in London’s tech sector soar to $795m February 10, 2015 Mayor Boris Johnson will reveal how US investors poured a record $795.2m (£521.7m) into the London technology sector last year, while speaking as part of a trade mission in New York this afternoon. The mayor will also reveal that one of the capital’s rising FinTech stars, Digital Shadows, has closed an $8m funding round led [...]
Finovate Europe: Global FinTech stars meet up at London’s Old Billingsgate February 10, 2015 London played host to a financial technology (FinTech) showcase yesterday as over 70 startups from around the world met at Old Billingsgate market for a showcase of their latest wares. Each presenting company at Finovate Europe was given seven minutes on stage to wow an audience of over 1,000 executives, venture capitalists, journalists, analysts, and [...]
Why FinTech is the key to a much-needed makeover in African aid February 10, 2015 Aid in Africa is big business, but one that is often mired in scepticism. Global companies pour money in through corporate responsibility programmes, alongside government aid, which can be accused of supporting private sector ambitions too closely. Some estimate that every £1 in aid costs the same to administer. This means that the sector is [...]
London FinTech startup Kantox flies past $1bn forex transfers thanks to currency woes and economic uncertainty February 9, 2015 Businesses hit by currency volatility and worried by economic uncertainty are increasingly turning to alternative finance services, helping one London FinTech startup fly. Kantox, a peer-to-peer forex platform for business, has flown past $1bn (£657bn) in currency transfers since setting up shop in the capital in 2011 with an astonishing 20 per cent of that- [...]
ESA races ahead in space travel with Europe’s first space taxi launch February 9, 2015 Until its Space Shuttle programme was closed down in 2007, the US was the dominant force in the development of space taxis. Operated by Nasa, the 40-metre-long vehicles delivered satellites into space, conducted science experiments in orbit and helped construct the International Space Station. At the time, Europe had created nothing capable of [...]
Alibaba moves into smartphone market with £400m investment February 9, 2015 Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba has bought a $590m (£388m) minority stake in Chinese smartphone maker Meizu. The move signals Alibaba’s first major foray into smartphone hardware as it looks to build a platform for its YunOS mobile operating system. In a joint statement, the two companies said they will collaborate “to achieve [...]
