Mishcon de Reya announces new merger ahead of IPO September 21, 2021 Law firm Mishcon de Reya has agreed a merger with life sciences specialist Taylor Vinters after recently confirming its plans to go public on the London Stock Exchange (LSE). The deal will result in a new legal and consultancy business, named MDR Taylor Vinters, which will be led by Taylor Vinters’ management team. Mishcon said [...]
How boosting social mobility can broaden the talent pipeline September 21, 2021 | City Talk New research backs up the importance of higher education in boosting social mobility and broadening the talent pipeline. Anna Melville-James hears how the ICAS Foundation is playing its part. This article first appeared in ICAS’ CA magazine. Education is a key factor in social mobility. It has the power to change lives and liberate potential. Recent [...]
‘Quality losses’ matter more to investors than ‘quality gains’ September 21, 2021 | City Talk People dislike losses more than they like gains. Known as loss aversion, this phenomenon, or behavioural bias, serves as a cornerstone of prospect theory, developed by Daniel Kahneman and Amos Tversky more than 40 years ago. A forthcoming paper, which I co-authored with Didem Kurt, Koen Pauwels and Shuba Srinivasan, applies this theory to product [...]
Universal Music IPO shares surge as Lucian Grainge spies £105m payday September 21, 2021 Universal Music, which landed on the Amsterdam stock exchange today, had shares surge by more than a third in its first few minutes. The well-anticipated initial public offering (IPO) could secure the world’s largest music label group a valuation close to $46bn. Shares were initially listed for €18.50 each but have since jumped to around [...]
OECD: UK muscles out G7 to top economic growth rankings September 21, 2021 The UK economy will grow the fastest among the group of the world’s richest countries, according to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). The OECD thinks the UK economy will expand 6.7 per cent in 2021, the highest rate of growth among the G7. The UK’s leading growth rate has been driven by [...]
Lockdown momentum: B&Q owner Kingfisher sales hit $7bn in six months September 21, 2021 It appears home DIY has kept up its momentum post-lockdown, as B&Q owner Kingfisher’s sales have grown by more than £1bn in the past six months in comparison with last year. Kingfisher, which also owns Screwfix, performed well in 2020 despite the impacts of the pandemic, due to homebound consumers getting stuck into home improvements. [...]
Government borrowing in August hit £20.5bn September 21, 2021 Government borrowing stood at £20.5bn in August, down from £26bn the previous year, according to official data. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said last month’s figure was the second highest August borrowing since records began in 1993. The data shows borrowing so far this financial year has reached £93.8bn since the end of March [...]
TrueLayer raises $130m in funding round September 21, 2021 TrueLayer has raised $130m (£95.2m) in its latest funding round led by Tiger Global Management. The investment brings the total raised by TrueLayer, a banking platform which powers global payments, to $270m. Stripe, a global payments technology provider, also participated in the funding round. Francesco Simoneschi, CEO and co-founder of TrueLayer, commented: “there is only [...]
MarketFinance raises £280m and enrols as UK Covid recovery lender September 21, 2021 Business lender MarketFinance is gearing up to provide loans to UK businesses as they recover and grow post-pandemic through the government’s Recovery Loan Scheme (RLS), after raising £280m debt and equity in its latest fundraising round. The British fintech, which hit profitability in March, was one of the first fintechs after Funding Circle to be [...]
Government’s trade export finance numbers were fudged, says panel of MPs September 20, 2021 MPs on the Commons’ international trade committee have accused the government’s export credit agency of exaggerating the number of UK businesses it supported in the last year. UK Export Finance (UKEF) directly helped a “significantly lower” number of companies than its “headline figure of 549 business supported” in the 2020-21 financial year, the committee found. [...]