A world-leading tech ecosystem needs the support of capital markets
Investors must use new metrics to judge the value of tech companies, or risk missing out on future prosperity
22 February 2021 • 6:00am
After a dearth of floats last year, 2021 has seen a flurry of new listings - many of them tech companies with more, including Deliveroo, Transferwise and Darktrace, slated to happen this year.
Meanwhile Lord Hill’s review of the listing regime in London, which is considering measures to ensure that London is getting its due share of listings, is drawing to a close.
There are broadly two opposing camps in the debate: those who wish to maintain the City’s reputation as a gold standard for listing, with little relaxation of the existing rules, and those who wish to make it easier to attract high-growth companies, typically in the tech sector, who might otherwise be tempted to list in Asia or the US.
Richard Gaunt wants to increase his income yield from 3pc to 6pc
Credit: JAY WILLIAMS
A steady income in retirement is the holy grail for most investors. Richard Gaunt, 74, from Somerset, is no different.
The semi-retired public relations professional has several moving parts to his savings plan. First, there is his £300,000 Isa used to supplement pension income. However, he wants more and needs to boost the yield from 3pc to 6pc, while making sure it doesn’t dwindle in size.
“My aim is to improve my income and ensure my wife has enough to live on when I am gone. I want to keep my total funds above a safety net of £400,000,” he said.
Woodford the pariah finds a friend in obscurity
A little-known US firm shares a taste for risky biotech and has already cashed in as angry fund backers await regulatory action
21 February 2021 • 5:00am
Neil Woodford’s plan to relaunch his career has enraged critics after the ‘epic scale of misery for retail investors’
Credit: Geoff Pugh
Neil Woodford is short of friends this weekend. Critics have lined up to attack the once-revered stockpicker’s comeback bid, revealed in
The investment industry will not forget the “epic scale of misery for tens of thousands of retail investors and reputational damage to the financial sector” Woodford caused, said Richard Wilson, boss of Interactive Investor.