Thin Cats launches £100m funding programme for private equity backed SMEs March 18, 2019 Fintech lender Thin Cats has launched a £100m funding programme for private equity backed small and medium businesses in the UK. The loan provider is aiming to help private equity backed companies fund larger sized deals up to £15m. Read more: Oneweb lands $1.25bn in funding after successful satellite launch Recently the firm has provided [...]
New ‘halfway house’ pension scheme given the go-ahead in bid to reduce risk for savers March 18, 2019 Pensions secretary Amber Rudd has given the green light for a new, Dutch-style pensions scheme to enter the market, which bids to give savers more stability by pooling risk. The so-called Collective Defined Contribution (CDC) scheme, which is widespread in Denmark and the Netherlands, will be offered to Royal Mail workers first, before a planned [...]
Morrisons keeps income investors happy March 18, 2019 | City Talk By Graeme Evans from interactive investor. After flagging another special dividend with annual results, there are opportunities for this grocer. In an eventful and turbulent period for the grocery sector, Morrisons (LSE:MRW) continues to hold its own after unveiling further robust profits growth and another special divi for investors. Today’s full-year results, despite drifting back [...]
Investing in random group of startups secures better returns than firms backed by Dragons’ Den stars March 17, 2019 Investing in a random group of fast-growing firms could secure better returns than the companies backed by Dragons' entrepreneurs, according to the latest research. Publicly reported investments made by Dragons' celebrity judges, including Deborah Meaden, Peter Jones and Theo Paphitis, in 2011 and 2012 grew at an average rate of 16 per cent up to [...]
10 most popular funds in February 2019 March 15, 2019 | City Talk By Kyle Caldwell from interactive investor. UK shares look cheap, but Brexit uncertainty has stopped some fund investors into their home market. From both a growth and an income perspective, the UK stockmarket is as cheap as chips, but retail investors continue to shy away, data from our parent company interactive investor shows. On the [...]
The Brexit unknown: how the votes moved markets – and what next March 15, 2019 | City Talk British politics has faced a turbulent week: three nights of Brexit votes, a Spring Statement and a downgrade to economic growth. Market prices have swung on each twist as investors attempt to digest a constantly shifting set of possible outcomes. The single constant factor is uncertainty. With the scheduled exit date of 29 March looming, [...]
Debate: Should the Financial Conduct Authority ban exit fees on investment platforms? March 15, 2019 Should the Financial Conduct Authority ban exit fees on investment platforms? Alex Kovach, chief commercial officer at Interactive Investor, says YES. Consumers should be able to vote with their feet and switch investment platforms without the burden of crippling exit fees. As an industry, we should not be putting up barriers to switching – and the [...]
Just Group leads FTSE fallers after revealing £400m fundraising plans March 14, 2019 Retirement services firm Just Group has seen shares fall 11 per cent today after revealing plans to raise almost £400m to comply with new capital requirement rules as it unveiled a heavy loss before tax in 2018. The firm said it plans a debt offering of £300m and will raise a further £80m from an equity [...]
Brooks Macdonald assets drop in challenging first half March 14, 2019 Brooks Macdonald saw assets under management (AUM) slip in the first half of the financial year due to challenging market conditions. AUM fell 4.5 per cent to £11.9bn in the six months to the end of December last year, however, the fall was partly offset by £241m of net new business, which was up 1.9 [...]
Experts urge government to emphasise low-wage sectors in industrial strategy March 14, 2019 | City Talk The United Kingdom’s national productivity – which has remained relatively stagnant for almost a decade – could be substantially improved with increased government focus on productivity in low-wage sectors. This is the central tenet of a chapter, co-authored by Cass Business School academic John Forth, in the e-book What we really mean when we talk [...]