The uphill battle to create a British tech titan
The Government is desperate for a British Big Tech contender, but experts have warned them not to scare off foreign investment
Snap, the parent organisation of Snapchat, recently acquired augmented reality (AR) start-up WaveOptics for $500m
Credit: Snap
When Snapchat s parent Snap announced that it would acquire Oxford augmented reality (AR) start-up WaveOptics for $500m (£352m), investors rejoiced.
“It’s an amazing story, especially for UK deep tech,” says investor Simon King from Octopus Ventures, a backer of the company who sits on its board.
Just an hour after the deal was signed, however, the potential perils of selling out to deep-pocketed US tech giants came into sharp focus.
Lloyds lets staff choose where they want to work
Three-tier plan will result in 80pc of the bank’s staff working partly from home after the pandemic
5 June 2021 • 5:00pm
Lloyds Banking Group is following rival NatWest with a three-tier plan to home working after the pandemic, making it the latest major bank to overhaul office life.
Britain’s biggest high street bank, which has already unveiled plans to cut 20pc of offices by 2023, has told staff that from October they can either work at home, in the office or a mix of both depending on their role.
The expectation is that about 80pc of Lloyds’ workforce will partly work from home in future, those close to the plans said.