We revert to a familiar theme: mainstream investment into the alternative finance sector. Our friends at AltFi reports on a rose amongst thorns. Listed fintech VC fund Augmentum Fintech is joining two key FTSE Russell indices on 19 June as it is now counted among the 620 largest-listed companies on the London Stock Exchange. Augmentum will be added to […]
Our business cousins over the fence in equity raises are having a mixed experience. There was healthy deal volume for the Seed Enterprise Investment Scheme raises, but very few Enterprise Investment Scheme deals over £4 million. Business Matters magazine reports: In the 2018-19 tax year, £1.8 billion was invested into 3,905 companies, down from £2 […]
Today, we cast a look at Europe, where the early part of the economic recovery from Covid-19 is well under way. Our friends at P2P Finance News report on a healthy-looking real estate lending platform: EstateGuru has reached the 50,000 investor milestone as it enters the final week of its crowdfunding campaign. The European property […]
The FinTech Times runs a piece comparing US and UK FinTech stimulus packages. The big question, in both cases, is execution – whether the sector can distribute the government credit. We run an excerpt from the piece below. The fintech industry on both sides of the Atlantic has been presented with a huge opportunity and […]
The Bounce Back government loan scheme continues to expand. Metro Bank is the latest to try to get money to small businesses. AltFi takes up the story. The high street bank will be able to offer SMEs loans from £2,000 up to £50,000 following its accreditation by the British Business Bank today. Metro Bank joins the ever-growing list of 17 […]
Regular readers will be aware of our reporting on the way mainstream finance has invested – often rashly and prematurely – in the alternative finance sector. After a long period of difficulty, things appear to be turning round for publicly listed investment fund, Honeycomb Investment Trust. The fund has seen an increase in institutional investor […]
Ahead of the second spike – in loans coming onto the site – we offer a guide to lending. The secondary market in loans is active on site, but new loans, when they come, will require specific action. We note that a number of our registered lenders have deposited money, but not deployed it in […]
Starling, a leading FinTech “challenger bank” still has its sights set on an IPO, Covid virus or not. Given the volatile state of the FinTech sector, some might argue this a statement of intent, not a plan. Either way, AltFi carries the tale. Earlier reports of a Starling Bank IPO as soon as 2022 might be on hold, as […]
How are you doing? Nowadays, this question isn’t just a conversational gambit, but a genuine enquiry about health and well-being. Early indications point to a difficult future for SMEs in the post-Covid UK. There’s plenty of good intention from the government – but, of course, some might see good intentions as the paving stones on […]
Challenger bank OakNorth has claimed a lot of government cash. As regular readers will be aware, our concerns centre on the execution – getting the capital to the SMEs that need it. For now, we’ll comment no further. AltFi carries the tale: OakNorth has been allocated a new tranche of cash to lend to cash-strapped firms […]