Gorillas is the fastest-ever ‘unicorn’ in Europe

The founder of the fastest-ever ‘unicorn’ in Europe dreams of fleets of cycle couriers rapidly delivering groceries in every British city. A year ago, Turkish-born tech entrepreneur Kağan Sümer barely had a few euros to his name and was trying to get his fledgling firm, Gorillas, off the ground in Berlin. Since then, the expansion … Read more

Is your bank ripping your business off with costly foreign exchange mark-ups?

UK businesses which make regular overseas payments are losing out on hundreds of pounds per transaction thanks to inferior foreign exchange rates charged by Britain’s biggest banks. The likes of Barclays, Lloyds and HSBC, which calls itself ‘the world’s local bank’, levy currency conversion mark-ups which effectively act as stealth charges on overseas payments and … Read more

Uphold wants to make crypto and metal investing so easy we can make purchases with a simple swipe 

While investing in cryptocurrency has undoubtedly become more mainstream, it hasn’t been possible to use it to pay for everyday goods and services in the same way you would a debit card. Silicon Valley-based crypto platform Uphold is trying to change that. The firm says it is revolutionising the way in which consumers shop, through the introduction … Read more

Banks poised to call back billions in Covid loans

Fears for small firms as banks prepare to claw back billions in Covid loans HSBC, NatWest, Barclays and Lloyds have begun sending letters to customers  Banks are allocating hundreds of extra staff to spearhead the recovery efforts They have handed out more than £75bn to 1.6m firms under Government scheme By Helen Cahill and Emma … Read more

Where are the UK’s strongest – and weakest – local economies?

The Gloucestershire town of Tewkesbury is best-placed to recover from Covid-related challenges according to new research from financial services firm Raisin. This is due to a positive mixture of employability and business prosperity, with 80 per cent of residents in work and local businesses having seen a 10 per cent rise in growth since 2015.  … Read more

Business owners in England counting days until re-opening

Business owners in England counting down the days until they can re-open on April 12: Karen Hall is expecting to be busy in her boutique By Sarah Bridge, Financial Mail on Sunday Published: 21:52 BST, 3 April 2021 | Updated: 21:52 BST, 3 April 2021 Business owners in England are counting down the days until … Read more

Female CEO of £100m business launches 12-week course to get more women into tech jobs

Few companies make promises to get people employed after they sign up to their courses, particularly during a pandemic.  But that’s exactly what Amy Golding, chief executive of Opus Talent Solutions and founder of _nology says she’ll do. The straight-talking businesswoman, who became CEO of tech recruitment company Opus Talent Solutions at just 31, says she’s … Read more

Seven Dragons’ Den success stories

The five business titans of the BBC’s Dragons’ Den haven’t always got it right over the past years. Just think of when they turned down a request for £100,000 from Brewdog‘s co-founders in 2008 that would now be worth £360million. Or when they refused to give James Nash £250,000 for his Cup-a-wine idea, which was later picked up by … Read more

British tech start-ups had a record year for investment

The British technology industry had a solid 2020, despite the pandemic and fears over Brexit, an annual study shows.  Tech start-ups and scale-ups in the UK have more than doubled their collective value since 2017, according to Tech Nation.  Collectively, they are valued at $585billion (£422.55billion) which is more than double the next most valuable … Read more

The small businesses breaking sales records thanks to ‘WFH renovating’ and the stamp duty cut

Along with Zoom quizzes, baking banana bread and a constant loop of TikTok videos, home improvements have been on the rise during the course of the pandemic. This is largely a result of more people working from home and having more time to redecorate while being keen to improve their new work spaces. Meanwhile, some … Read more