London’s status as a tech hub helping drive transatlantic deals October 11, 2018 London's status as a hub for technology and financial services is helping drive a strong flow of deals between the US and the UK according to audit firm Deloitte. Deloitte said deal volumes between the UK and US “remained buoyant” in the first half of 2018, with 238 completed deals in the period. There were 152 [...]
UK startups hold onto Europe’s venture crown with £1.4bn in funding October 11, 2018 UK startups continued to draw in attention from venture capital (VC) firms in the third quarter as Europe’s premier investment hotspot, posting a £1.4bn total draw in the three months to September compared to £1.31bn in the same quarter last year. Data compiled by KPMG Enterprise revealed the UK remained at the top of the [...]
Western Union launches Transferwise rival service in UK October 10, 2018 Western Union is gearing up to face innovation head-on as it launches a digital bank account transfer service in the UK, competing with major fintech startups such as Transferwise for command of the market. UK consumers will now be able to send up to £50,000 from the Western Union app or website directly into other bank accounts around [...]
Does Goldman Sachs retail bank Marcus really warrant all the hype? October 10, 2018 Marcus sounds worlds apart from the financial beast that is Goldman Sachs. But that’s the point – Marcus is meant to sound approachable, a bank for normal people. Named after one of the company’s founders, Marcus Goldman, this new challenger bank has proved popular since it first launched in the US back in 2016. It’s also [...]
London VC firm Mosaic Ventures closes $150m second fund for startups October 8, 2018 London-based venture capital (VC) firm Mosaic Ventures has today announced the close of its second fund, Mosaic II, at $150m (£115m) for startups across the capital and beyond. Intending to cut cheques at series A-stage for between $3m and $7m, Mosaic Ventures has previously backed the likes of London automated mortgage broker Habito, crypto wallet Blockchain and period-tracking app [...]
H&M takes a $20m stake in fintech startup Klarna October 8, 2018 Swedish fintech startup Klarna has today announced a global partnership with fashion powerhouse H&M, which included a $20m (£15.3m) investment in the business. The deal will see Klarna integrate its digital payments technology into H&M's physical and online stores via its payment programme H&M Club1. Klarna allows shoppers to pay securely for products online with flexible payment options [...]
Improbable unveils move to new London HQ October 8, 2018 A London-based virtual reality firm is to take up a new City headquarters, as it looks to accelerate its expansion ambitions following a wave of investments from abroad. Improbable, a games company that was founded six years ago, is moving its base from Farringdon to Spitalfields as part of a plan to accommodate its growing workforce, [...]
Tandem Bank narrows losses as revenue run rate rises to £15m October 5, 2018 Digital banking challenger Tandem has narrowed its losses over the last year, with a current annual revenue run rate of £15m, according to new figures seen exclusively by City PM Tandem Money, the parent company to the bank, reported total costs of £23.5m during 2017, up from £20.4m in 2016, according to its latest annual [...]
Peer-to-peer lender Zopa narrows losses despite revenue growth slowdown October 4, 2018 Peer-to-peer lending platform Zopa narrowed its losses while investing heavily into its impending digital banking effort last year, as it chases the coattails of freshly-listed rival Funding Circle. In accounts published late last night, Zopa Group, the parent of its online lending and financial services businesses, reduced its losses to £4.2m for the financial year [...]
Aston Martin and Funding Circle shares continue to fall after IPOs October 4, 2018 Shares in Aston Martin and Funding Circle continued to slump today following disappointing debuts on the London Stock Exchange yesterday. Luxury car maker Aston Martin saw shares slip 1.89 per cent to £17.75 this afternoon, before rallying to £18 as the market closed. Read more: Aston Martin stutters on stock market debut as shares slip Yesterday prices dropped [...]
