London coffee chain surges past £600,000 crowdfunding target June 30, 2015 ARTISAN coffee brand Notes smashed through its £600,000 fundraising target yesterday, reaching over £670,000 by last night. The firm chose crowdfunding as its method to raise the funds, and is using the Crowdcube online platform to do so. Over 25 per cent of the target amount was raised within 48 hours of the pitch going [...]
My vision as City minister: I want UK finance to be the world’s most competitive June 30, 2015 During my two decades in the financial services industry, I always enjoyed the important annual events that bring the industry together. It was great to be back at The City UK’s conference yesterday, speaking this time in my new job as the government minister responsible for financial services policy. I’m proud of the [...]
Pensions: How investment trusts can boost your retirement savings June 30, 2015 Pensions savers need to focus on making as much money as possible over a long time frame – anywhere from 10 to 40 years. With the government and many companies pulling back from generous pension plans, the onus for retirement security is being placed on the individual. But to build a good pot, retirement [...]
Crowdfunding Greece: This Indiegogo Grexit bailout crowdfund has reached a six-figure sum June 30, 2015 Sceptical of the power of people? Us too. But you can't help but be impressed by the fact this crowdfunding campaign to help Greece meet its debts has already reached a six-figure sum. At 2pm on Tuesday the total raised had reached nearly €125, 000 from donations made by 7,743 people in just one [...]
Greek debt crisis: This Londoner is crowdfunding a Greek bailout fund on Indiegogo June 29, 2015 Greece has a rather large bill to pay. Read more: This Indiegogo Grexit bailout crowdfund has reached a six-figure sum As the country approaches the deadline for repaying loans to its creditors – €1.6bn of which is due to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) tomorrow – it's the kind of cash that a country doesn't just find [...]
Retired people are doing better and better from their private pensions June 29, 2015 Retired households received an average income of £9,500 from private pensions and annuities in 2013-2014, a real terms increase of nine per cent from 2012-2013, when the average was £8,800, new figures from the Office of National Statistics show. That's an increase of 26 per cent since the start of the financial crisis in 2007-2008, [...]
Pensions: Equivalent of three quarters of Londoners not saving for retirement June 24, 2015 More than six million Brits have not saved any money at all for their retirement years – that's the equivalent of around three quarters of the population of London. A similar number have no savings or investments whatsoever, a new report on pensions from Scottish Widows reveals. Saving for retirement has hit record levels however, [...]
Greece and its creditors’ disagreements: Pensions, VAT and budget deficit will be the sticking points June 23, 2015 The challenging negotiations between Greece and its international creditors may well be entering the final throes – but no one is kidding themselves that the saga is over just yet. Although the latest proposals appear to be paving the way forward, there are three main sticking points – pensions, VAT and government spend against receipts [...]
Private equity firm Agilitas snaps up Danish firm MH Group June 22, 2015 Private equity firm Agilitas has added to its portfolio of recycling companies by backing a management buyout of Danish firm MH Group. The UK-headquartered firm will back current MH boss Christian Rindbol by acquiring the financial interests of Michael Henriksen Holdings. MH was founded by Michael Henriksen in 1997, but he died last year. MH [...]
Youngsters are worse off than their parents: The sorry lot of today’s youth is worrying and urgent June 18, 2015 Intergenerational equity does not make for the punchiest headline is one of the most pressing economic and social issues facing the UK today. The concept of fairness between generations was previously confined to academia and environmental circles, where the idea that man’s actions will mean passing on a damaged ecosystem for future people has been [...]