Tech supermarket Ocado reveals solid sales growth amid physical retail downturn December 13, 2018 Once dubbed the "Microsoft of retail", online supermarket Ocado has shaken off the sector's blues to post strong sales growth in its final quarter of the year. In a trading update for the three months to the start of December, Ocado said it had seen "consistent strong" growth in sales in the region of 12 [...]
City hedge fund giant Crispin Odey backs emerging fintech startup Jumo December 13, 2018 City veteran and hedge fund titan Crispin Odey has backed UK-based fintech startup Jumo with a $12.5m (£9.9m) funding injection through his firm Odey Asset Management. The investment today marks the final close of Jumo’s most recent funding round, which raised $52m from Goldman Sachs as its lead investor. Other participants included the French Development [...]
It’s about time: Revolut secures a full European banking licence December 13, 2018 Fintech banking startup Revolut has finally secured a full European banking licence, more than a year after first applying for authorisation in Lithuania. As such, the banking-app-turned bank has today unveiled plans for full current accounts in Europe, as well as future efforts in developing its own consumer lending product. The startup will launch with the [...]
Chinese streaming giant Tencent Music raises $1.1bn in IPO December 12, 2018 Chinese tech giant Tencent will raise roughly $1.1bn (£877m) in the US initial public offering (IPO) of its music streaming division. Tencent Music priced its shares at $13 each, at the low end of its $13-$15 range, and will begin trading on the New York Stock Exchange today. The share price puts Tencent Music’s value [...]
Musk to retire chairman role at Tesla in three years after interview backlash December 12, 2018 Tesla billionaire Elon Musk has said he intends to retire the role of chairman at the electric car manufacturer in three years time, having only stepped down from the role several weeks earlier. Tweeting in the aftermath of his conversation with CBS' 60 Minutes, Musk said: "Chairman is an honorific, not executive role, which means [...]
UK fintech startup Weswap pulls the plug on 2018 London IPO plans December 11, 2018 Peer-to-peer currency exchange platform Weswap has scrapped plans to list on London’s Alternative Investment Market (Aim) this month, after investor interest fell flat. Sources told City PM that the initial public offering, which had been mooted for a December launch, had failed to garner sufficient attention in what was promised to be a relatively small [...]
The future of corporate training lies in virtual reality December 11, 2018 Virtual training is being hailed as the “new Powerpoint” for corporates when it comes to training up staff. And as virtual reality (VR) continues to rise in popularity across the social community, it is no surprise that organisations are looking to embrace this immersive technology as a replacement for existing, more traditional methods. No more [...]
Google chief denies tech giant has plans to launch censored search engine in China December 11, 2018 Google's chief executive, Sundar Pichai, has said the firm has "no plans" to launch a censored version of its search engine in China in testimony before US lawmakers at a hearing this afternoon. The comments came despite widespread reports of such efforts, as well as a letter from Pichai to senators in August which that said providing such a service could [...]
Shearwater spending spree overshadows revenue boost December 11, 2018 Cyber security firm Shearwater reported deeper losses in its interim results today, despite a huge increase in revenues as it expands in new regions. The figures Shearwater’s underlying loss fell to £1.6m, down from £100,000 in 2017. Revenue soared 118 per cent to £4.5m in the six months to the end of September. Loss per [...]
Google chief to appease lawmakers in return to US patriotism December 11, 2018 Google's chief executive Sundar Pichai is expected to flaunt the company's American roots at a US congressional hearing today, in a bid to appeal to lawmakers' inner patriotic sentiment. In written testimony published ahead of the hearing, Pichai highlighted Google's contributions to the US economy, support for American jobs and numerous bases across the country. "It's [...]
