Tagged: united kingdom

May 1, 2025 @ 7:33 am By Omar Faridi  |  

After a strong first quarter, business confidence fell by 10 points in April to 39%, according to the Lloyds Business Barometer, though it remains higher than “levels seen in first quarter and above the long-term average of 29%.” The decline was driven mainly by “a… Read More

May 1, 2025 @ 7:00 am By Omar Faridi  |  

The United Kingdom is taking decisive steps toward regulating the evolving crypto-asset sector with the release of its draft crypto regime, a move that integrates key activities such as trading, custody, lending, and staking into the Financial Services and Markets Act (FSMA) framework. Laura Talvitie,… Read More

April 30, 2025 @ 10:32 am By JD Alois  |  

Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves has announced new crypto rules, where crypto exchanges, dealers, and others will be brought into the regulatory perimeter. Clear regulation is vital to allow digital asset technology to develop responsibly. In a public statement, Reeves noted that new rules will… Read More

April 30, 2025 @ 8:18 am By Omar Faridi  |  

The UK’s capital markets, a key part of its financial ecosystem, are undergoing a digital transformation driven by distributed ledger technology (DLT) and securities tokenization. A report by TheCityUK and Hogan Lovells, titled “The Digitalisation of UK Capital Markets: Digitalised Financial Market Infrastructure and Tokenised Bonds,”… Read More

April 29, 2025 @ 9:18 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

The British Business Bank announces the accreditation of Creative Growth Finance as a delivery partner under the Growth Guarantee Scheme. Creative Growth Finance (CGF) is Creative UK’s specialist £35m debt fund, which provides growth capital “to high-potential smaller businesses in the UK’s creative sector.” The… Read More

April 29, 2025 @ 8:41 am By Omar Faridi  |  

LSEG announced it has extended its multi-year collaboration with Amazon Web Services (AWS), naming AWS as the preferred cloud provider for its Markets, Risk Intelligence and FTSE Russell divisions. This agreement reportedly builds on the existing relationship “between the two companies.” By migrating internal systems… Read More

April 29, 2025 @ 8:02 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Coinbase (NASDAQ: COIN), Fabric Ventures, Animoca Brands and Founders Factory have launched a multi-million pound accelerator in the UK, set to transform the UK’s blockchain and AI ecosystem. This initiative reportedly aims to unlock product market fit and growth for the so-called “next generation” of… Read More

April 29, 2025 @ 7:58 am By Omar Faridi  |  

The UK’s SME lending market needs a full reboot, according to new research by the UK fintech Allica Bank. With the UK having the lowest business investment rate in the G7, the report highlights how small businesses invest at only “a third of the level… Read More

April 29, 2025 @ 1:08 am By JD Alois  |  

Peer to Peer lender Folk2Folk has posted a preview of 2024 performance. According to the company, its platform generated record revenue for the full year of 2024, marking its sixth consecutive year of profitability. Folk2Folk said the top-line revenue was £6.6 million for the year,… Read More

April 27, 2025 @ 6:37 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Spendesk, the spend management and procurement platform for mid-market companies, announces its company-wide adoption of Dust, European specialist in custom AI agents for enterprises. This collaboration enables Spendesk to increase efficiency, eliminate fragmented internal AI tool usage, and “ensure data security and compliance with UK… Read More

April 26, 2025 @ 7:34 pm By Michael Wong  |  

London-based fintech WineFi announced raising £1.5 million (about $2 million) in a Seed funding round led by British fine wine group Coterie Holdings, with participation from SFC Capital, Founders Capital, and a syndicate of angel investors. WineFi, founded by former Fidelity International and J.P. Morgan… Read More

April 26, 2025 @ 1:31 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

UK’s digital bank Zopa has reported solid performance for 2024, doubling its full-year profit before tax to £34.2 million, up from £15.8 million in 2023. This milestone, announced on April 24, 2025, marks the Zopa bank’s second consecutive year of profitability, underscoring its robust growth… Read More

April 26, 2025 @ 11:02 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Cowbell, a provider of cyber insurance for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and middle-market businesses, announced the UK launch of Prime One Tech; professional indemnity and cyber coverage for technology companies “with up to £1 billion in annual turnover, providing limits of up to £5… Read More

April 26, 2025 @ 3:55 am By Omar Faridi  |  

UK’s PensionBee, a firm focused on the consumer retirement market, has issued a statement following the release of the Department for Work and Pensions’ Small Pots Delivery Group’s report, which lays out a clear framework for “consolidating small pension pots.” Lisa Picardo, Chief Business Officer… Read More

April 24, 2025 @ 4:05 am By Omar Faridi  |  

TwentyFour Asset Management, the London-based specialist fixed income boutique of Vontobel, has expanded its offering with the launch of a new asset-backed finance (ABF) fund. Managed by TwentyFour’s asset-backed securities (ABS) team, the fund has reportedly been launched in response to “growing client demand for… Read More

April 22, 2025 @ 4:41 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Nearly three-quarters (72.5%) of UK businesses have seen an increase in online fraud over the past 12 months, according to a new survey commissioned by Veriff. The global identity verification firm’s UK Fraud Industry Pulse Survey, which polled 200 fraud professionals “across financial services, technology,… Read More

April 19, 2025 @ 10:46 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

M&G announced a partnership with platform technology provider FNZ, paving the way for “greater access” to its flagship £64 billion PruFund range through many of the UK platforms, powered by FNZ. FNZ, the end-to-end wealth management platform, partners with over 650 of the world’s financial… Read More

April 17, 2025 @ 11:10 am By Omar Faridi  |  

UK Fintech Wise (LON: WISE), the global technology company building (what it claims to be) the best way to move and manage the world’s money, recently unveiled the launch of ‘Spend with Others’, a feature that has reportedly been designed to simplify shared spending for… Read More

April 16, 2025 @ 9:10 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

New analysis and research from UK’s online pension provider PensionBee highlights an increase in pension contributions in 2024, despite ongoing pressures on household budgets. On average, savers contributed “£285 (19%) more to their pensions in 2024 compared to 2023, taking the average up from £1,192… Read More

April 16, 2025 @ 9:58 am By JD Alois  |  

Artificial intelligence startup Portia AI has raised £4.4 million in funding led by General Catalyst with the participation of First Minute Capital and Stem AI. Portia AI is a provider of AI development tools offering an open-source SDK. The company says users can “build production-grade… Read More