Here’s what Skyscanner’s biggest shareholder had to say about £1.4bn sale November 24, 2016 The biggest shareholder in unicorn tech startup Skyscanner, snapped up by Chinese firm Ctrip for £1.4bn, has told City PM the deal is a good one for the UK's tech industry, just a day after chancellor Philip Hammond announced measures to counter the trend of the UK's brightest companies selling rather than scaling up. "This is [...]
How hotels and travel websites can fight back against Airbnb’s audacious move into Trips November 24, 2016 For sheer chutzpah, it’s difficult to beat Airbnb’s announcement that is expanding its home sharing platform to offer holistic travel experiences. Not content with disrupting the hotel trade, the hosting service wants to put its live like a local stamp on the global tourism sector, in a pitch for the complete customer journey including ultimately [...]
Travel website Skyscanner bought by Chinese firm Ctrip in £1.4bn deal November 24, 2016 The UK travel comparison site Skyscanner has been bought up by Ctrip, China's largest online travel business. The deal values Skyscanner at around £1.4bn. The travel website, which is based in Edinburgh, said it would keep the same management team and would be run independently within the Ctrip group. What does this mean for UK [...]
Bletchley Park to house the UK’s next generation of cyber talent November 24, 2016 Renowned World War II codebreaking site Bletchley Park is going to play host to the next generation of the UK’s cyber experts. Under plans announced today the site is to be refurbished as country’s first National College of Cyber Security, with the first cohort of 16-19-year-olds expected from September 2018. The free-to-attend school will take on [...]
Dishonored 2: This first-person assassin game by Arkane is a glorious steampunk wonderland November 23, 2016 Dishonored 2 feels reassuringly familiar. The action may have shifted from plague-ridden, Dickensian squalor to sun-baked, equatorial squalor, but the constituent parts remain: it looks the same, it plays the same, it almost smells the same. Thank goodness, because Dishonored is at the very apex of video-game design, dense and textured, beautiful despite the muck [...]
An incremental upgrade to one of the best Android phones, the OnePlus 3T is fantastic, if a little difficult to get excited about November 23, 2016 You might remember the OnePlus 3. It’s the Chinese startup’s flagship phone that launched only six months ago, so it’s a little surprising to see an upgraded version arriving already. Design-wise it’s identical to the now discontinued OnePlus 3, using the same manufacturing techniques employed by Apple to ensure that every handset feels premium and [...]
Google Daydream View review: Potentially the coolest thing you’ll ever strap to your face November 23, 2016 Virtual reality headsets are about as fashionable as strapping a toaster to your face, so the fabric-coated Google Daydream View looks almost stylish by comparison. You still look like a bit of a tool while wearing one, obviously, but considerably less so than with other headsets. Slip in a compatible Android phone (currently only the [...]
Five important things fintech was handed in the Autumn Statement November 23, 2016 The UK's fintech powerhouse was not forgotten in the chancellor's Autumn Statement with several measures aimed at boosting the sector unveiled. Fintech census The government will carry out what's being called a fintech census, designed to identify the key figures driving the industry for investors. "An accurate measurement of this evolving space will help policymakers, investors [...]
Here’s what UK tech thinks of the £400m promised for VC startup investment November 23, 2016 Startups are set for a boost from the chancellor's Autumn Statement, as Philip Hammond announced plans to plough £400m into venture capital. The funds will come via the British Business Bank and it's expected to unlock as much as £1bn for startups itching to scale up as it will encourage private investment. Of particular focus will [...]
Here’s exactly what the £2bn boost for UK R&D entails November 23, 2016 More cash will be ploughed into research and development, as a major part of the government's industrial strategy. R&D spend will increase by an extra £2bn by 2020/21 to boost the UK's homegrown innovative businesses and spur productivity. The injection of cash was first trailed by Prime Minister Theresa May during a speech at the CBI conference [...]
