There’s a bright, collaborative future ahead for the City and Northern Ireland September 17, 2018 Last week, I embarked on a visit to Northern Ireland to engage with its financial and professional services sector. With fewer than 200 days until the UK leaves the EU, and the Irish border proving to be one of the more contentious issues surrounding negotiations, this was an excellent opportunity to hear the views of [...]
British scaleups must leap the confidence gap to achieve growth September 13, 2018 It's a well-worn fact that small businesses are the backbone of Britain. It’s also well-known that they have a high failure rate, as four tenths of SMEs fail within five years. Far less well explored are the reasons behind this failure rate. To better understand the challenges facing these businesses as they attempt to scale, we [...]
Cryptocurrencies swimming in the mainstream September 5, 2018 | Sponsored Spending and exchanging digital currencies are two of the biggest challenges enthusiasts face when building a crypto portfolio. While some high-profile retailers such as Subway, Microsoft and Expedia accept Bitcoin as payment, retailers that have adopted crypto represent a tiny fraction of the market. Limited payment options, complex processes and expensive exchange fees are typical [...]
UK blockchain startup launches equity crowdfunding round July 12, 2018 | Sponsored For venture-minded investors who have yet to make any major forays into the tantalising yet potentially risky ICO world of blockchain and cryptocurrency, one equity investment opportunity live now on Crowdcube may prove to be a gateway. Introducing: the bank account based on blockchain BABB (Bank Account Based Blockchain) is a UK-based startup. It is building [...]
Fintech Week London 2015: It’s startups v banks in Fintech expo drinking session September 2, 2015 Caloo callay, it's nearly London Fintech Week, where startups from Shoreditch to Shadwell will be touting their wares to execs from some of the City’s most high profile firms in a bid to become the next big thing in business. Billed as the “world’s largest fintech-focused expo”, economists, bankers and brokers from companies old [...]
Is this the UK’s next FinTech unicorn? Hank Uberoi of London-based tech startup Earthport slams outdated global payment infrastructure August 26, 2015 Could this be the UK’s next FinTech unicorn? After previous success stories like Monitise and TransferWise leading the way, a UK-based payment platform slamming today’s global payment infrastructure for being “decades” out of date is hoping to disrupt the way companies pay their bills. Hundreds of thousands of international payments are made every day. But [...]
FriendlyScore: This FinTech startup can analyse social media activity to prove creditworthiness August 26, 2015 When you're sharing a selfie at dinner or updating LinkedIn with your latest promotion, you're giving away more than you might think. A London-based startup has taken the huge amount of data we share every day on social media to come up with a way of assessing whether we can be trusted with a loan or [...]
Markit expands fintech service with acquisition August 25, 2015 Financial data supplier Markit is expanding its reach in the global financial industry, as it announced yesterday it has agreed to purchase foreign exchange trading service DealHub for an undisclosed sum. Markit said the acquisition will allow the group to expand its service, offering a one-stop shop for banks, brokers and asset managers. Jeff Maron, [...]
Investec Comment: Why UK investors have warmed to tech firms August 16, 2015 London has all the ingredients to remain an attractive location for technology companies to grow and seek investment. The capital has thriving public markets that have warmed to tech stocks. More and more VCs are putting money into London startups. There’s a greater number of incubators and accelerator programmes around. UK investors have also [...]
Crowdcube raises £6m from Numis, Tim Draper’s Draper Esprit and Balderton, with plans to open access to IPO investments August 5, 2015 Crowdfunding investment platform Crowdcube has raised its own round of funding, which will allow it to offer a new way for investors to access companies which are about to go public. The £6m comes from stockbroker Numis, among others. The pair will work together to bring IPO investment opportunities to the platform. Renowned Silicon Valley [...]