Business

By Nathan Lee, Business Correspondent  London’s startup scene is set to reach record highs in 2015 as it spearheads the UK’s growing entrepreneurial community, says global office broker, Instant Offices. The UK has seen an all-time high of new startups in 2014, with London contributing the majority of new businesses to the mix. This according to national enterprise, Startup Britain. The tech industry in particular has skyrocketed, rising 40 per cent year-on-year. This has resulted in a seven year high...

The test of successful branding hinges on three things; Is it meaningful, is it likeable and is it memorable? Or so Matt Symonds of Fortuna Admissions tells me. I honestly don’t know what makes a brand successful, but as I sit here on a train to King’s Cross from Leeds I can’t help but feel a little unsettled by the Virgin branding that litters the iconic InterCity 225’s that have worked the 393-mile long line skirting the spine of Britain since...

By Moya Maxwell, chair, Unique Venues of London​ There are encouraging signs that 2015 is set to be a buoyant year for private events and corporate hospitality, especially from a resurgent domestic market. A survey conducted amongst Unique Venues of London’s 81 member venues found that that 91 per cent of respondents had an optimistic business outlook for 2015 (up eight per cent on 2013’s results).  And many members recording that January was the busiest ever for new event enquiries....

By Lamia Walker, Founder of HouseSitMatch.com Like many a good ideas, the Sharing Economy has taken a strong hold pretty rapidly, manifesting itself in multi-faceted forms facilitating many aspects of our lives. In London we all know Boris Bikes and car sharing companies like Citycar, and many of us have taken part in some collaborative trading through sites like eBay and Amazon, in fact they are so much part of our culture that they have been absorbed into our language – we...

By Rashmi Dubè, founder of Bishopsgate-based Legatus Law and author of the forthcoming book on networking offers advice on the art of networking during the digital age. In an age where children are born into the internet world, where most of us access numerous social media platforms at the click of a button – does digital networking work? If so, is there an art to it? I have been an active networker for some time as an active member of...

By Dan Norris-Jones, co-founder at technology consultancy, Priocept Innovation is a business buzzword that won’t go away. What’s more, it’s a term that’s full of misunderstanding. Most people immediately equate innovation with an ability to constantly spark new ideas. But this is to miss the point. Why? Because ideas are cheap. It’s the execution of the ideas that’s the true source of business innovation. The reality is that businesses don’t generally suffer from a lack of fresh ideas. What they...

By Jack Peat, Editor of The London Economic  “You have no idea how great the London Symphony Orchestra can sound in a great concert hall," Sir Simon Rattle told the BBC’s Will Gompertz ahead of a sold-out London residency with the Berlin Philharmonic at the Barbican. As news trickled through today that he is to join the LSO in 2017, one has to wonder, will this prompt a rejuvenation of British classical music? LSO is undoubtedly one of the greatest...

By Kerim Derhalli, CEO and Founder of invstr  Seven years after the onset of the financial crisis not much has changed structurally in the financial system. Regulators, central banks, politicians, shareholders and the public at large remain dissatisfied with the performance of the banks. Heavy fines and attempts to regulate compensation have done little to assuage the resentment felt against the sector. This is a cause for concern. Historically, the efficient recycling of savings into investment has been fundamental to economic growth....

He may have incurred the wrath of Lord Sugar on The Apprentice, but lawyer and entrepreneur Felipe Alviar-Baquero has lost none of his passion for inspiring the next generation By Felipe Alviar-Baquero My appearance on The Apprentice this year was quite an experience although I couldn’t really say it has changed my life. The impact of the show is a huge, with millions of viewers, so of course people recognise me in the street, which is really nice, and we have a chat. My main...