Industry heavyweights give major funding boost to creative agent Easle
Online creative platform Easle has obtained £450,000 in seed funding from industry heavyweights ustwo and Ian Hambleton of Studio Output, in order to expand its creative platform.
Easle aims to offer a new way for high quality creative talent from around the world to connect with brands, already attracting businesses such as Ogilvy, Diageo and Penguin Random House.
With over 200 clients already signed up, Easle provides a part-tech, part-human service offering a new way for brands, agencies and businesses to discover high quality creative talent from around the world.
Search, negotiation, briefing, contracts and payments are built into the platform, but experts are available to provide support, and help find the right talent to suit client needs. This allows Easle to operate at lower costs than competitors whilst retaining a high calibre of talent.
Having successfully trialled the platform with illustrators, Easle will use the funding to expand the platform to include Graphic Design, Animation, Photography and Videography, build an app and further develop their offering.
“Our focus is on bringing the top creative talent and brands together to make great work. With the expansion, we plan to really disrupt the traditional agency-talent model across the board. Eventually we aim to become a hub for inspiration and collaboration across a huge range of disciplines,” said Nick Gubbins, Easle CEO and Co-Founder.
The service directly responds to the soaring increase of freelancers who now contribute over £20 billion to the UK Creative Economy. Over time, Easle aims to provide tools to support its customers and creator’s day to day working lifestyle such as managing finances and accounts, as well as more specific tools to assist with flexible working.
UK inflation rate rise may divide Monetary Policy Committee
The UK’s inflation rate hit its joint highest level in more than five years in August, driven by rising clothing and petrol prices.
UK inflation measured by the Consumer Prices Index rose to 2.9 percent in August, according to statistics from the Office for National Statistics released on Tuesday, up from 2.6 percent in July. Air fares rose between July and August, alongside a jump in clothing and motor fuels prices. Clothing and footwear rose 4.6 percent year-on-year, hitting their highest level since records began, partly because of rising import costs for retailers in the wake of Brexit. The inflation figure are likely to have an impact on the Bank of England’s decision on monetary policy, with the Committee meeting later this week to discuss the interest rate. Capital Economics is predicting a split within the MPC, with economist Paul Hollingsworth saying: “[The] figures are likely to provide further ammunition to the more hawkish members of the MPC at this Thursday’s meeting, and as a result we expect the vote to be split once again.” However, he added: “With mixed signals on the current strength of the economy and the majority of the Committee appearing to be comfortable with a temporary, exchange-rate driven pick-up in headline inflation, we don’t think that the MPC will be panicked into raising interest rates imminently.”Associated British Foods share price sinks 5pc despite strong performance
Shares in Associated British Foods (LON:ABF) fell over 5 percent on Monday, despite its Primark business showing strong results for the full year to September.
The group said it expected to report good growth in adjusted operating profit and earnings per share for the year, with an improvement in the group’s previous expectation for full year underlying operating profit.
It confirmed that performance at Primark was “well ahead of last year”, after the chain enjoyed good trading in the run-up to Easter. Like-for-like sales, excluding new store openings, rose 1 percent over the full year.
Primark’s full-year operating profit margin was forecast to be better than the first half’s 10 percent, ahead of previous guidance. AB Foods expects to end the year with net cash of £650 million, compared to net debt of £315 million pounds the previous year.
Sterling’s weakness had a net £85 million benefit for the group as a whole, with two-thirds of the group’s profits coming from outside the UK.
Despite the strong results, shares in AB Foods are currently trading down 5.21 percent at 3,208.00 (1006GMT).
GBP/USD hits 1-month high as dollar weakness continues
GBP/USD hit 1.3158 on Friday, the highest level since 4th August driven by a continued weakness in the US dollar.
Cable is up over 350 points since 24th August as fears over Trump’s presidential competency is questioned and geopolitical tensions rise.
Hurricane Irma is barreling towards Florida and the potential devastation is driving investors out of the greenback as the chance of a December rate hike falls.
In addition, there are concerns North Korea is planning another missile test over the weekend which will likely lead to further condemnation from the US.
Outlook
Despite the rally, investors are still cautious about the outlook of GBP/USD as the UK navigates Brexit negotiations.
“The pound faces a number of potential stumbling blocks in the weeks ahead,” said Simon Derrick, market analyst at Bank of New York Mellon.
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Alternative Investment Forum returns to London with spotlight on agriculture
The Alternative Investment Forum will be returning to London in October for the 9th year in a row, offering investors insight into alternative investment options. This year the forum will focus on the agriculture sector, presenting the opportunities available to investors willing to think outside the box.
The dynamic two day event will be packed with 1:1 meetings and in-depth presentations, with key themes including sustainable and impact investing, the impact of climate change and liquidity risks.
As the post-crisis years continue to drive investors towards a broader range of more innovative ways to invest, both timberland and agriculture are considered to be real assets.
The forum will take place across two events, the Timber Invest Europe Forum and the Global Agro Invest Forum. Both bring together major pension funds, family offices, sovereign wealth funds, endowments, insurance companies and charities to discuss the unique investment opportunities presented by the sectors.
Anne-Marie Mongan, the event’s producer, said:
“The Alternative Investment Forum is a unique platform for investors to discover how timber and agriculture assets can fit into their wider portfolio. The Forum enables both new and seasoned investors in this space to conduct 1:1 meetings with Funds, consultants, forestry management companies and other service providers who can help them meet their investment goals.”
Participants in the 2017 programme include the World Bank, FAO of the United Nations, European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and many more. For more information click here. To register click here and use priority code MK-MP to secure your place.
Average house price up 1.1 percent in August as market picks up
UK house price growth continued to rise last month, as the number of properties on the market shrunk and employment growth provided a boost to the sector.
The average price of a house rose by 1.1 percent to £222,293 in August, according to the latest figures from Halifax, with the market seeing an annual increase of 2.6 percent.
This figure is up from an annual rate of 2.1 percent in the three months to July, which was a four-year low.Russell Galley, the Halifax managing director, said:
“Recent figures for mortgage approvals suggest some buoyancy may be returning, possibly on the back of strong recent employment growth, with the unemployment rate falling to a 42-year low.
Alex Michelin, co-founder of CapitalRise, the property investment firm, commented on the figures:
“Aspiring home-owners shouldn’t see today’s increase in UK house prices as bad news, but view it as an opportunity. The fact that there is still a rise in prices demonstrates the resilience of the property market in the UK, despite all the negative headlines about Brexit.
“While the stock and bond markets appear overvalued and vulnerable to political events and economic uncertainties, property in the UK remains strong and a great place for investors to place their money.
Bovis Homes profit drops 30%
Bovis Homes shares soared on Thursday despite reporting a 30% drop in profit before tax and a 6% drop in completions.
In addition, Bovis reduced growth forecasts for the coming year and acknowledged that there was work to be done to appease angry customers, which will come at a cost.
Greg Fitzgerald, CEO of Bovis Homes commented on the results:
“The first half of 2017 has been a period of stabilisation and strategic reorganisation for Bovis Homes Group. Since joining the business in April 2017 I have visited all our offices and the vast majority of our developments, and have been hugely impressed by the desire of our dedicated staff to address and rectify the challenges faced by the business. As a result I am confident that our new strategy will set the Group on the path to sustainable, profitable growth.”
“The new strategy of disciplined volume growth, allied with a renewed focus on customer satisfaction and build quality, will deliver the homes that are required in the locations where people want to live. The Group’s strong balance sheet and valuable land bank mean we are well set to provide the stable returns to shareholders that their patience and support have deserved.”
Despite the downbeat headline figures, shares pushed higher by over 7% as investors digested the news.
Zoopla owner continues shopping spree, acquires money.co.uk
Zoopla owner ZPG has continued on an acquisition spree as it announces they had conditionally agreed to acquire Dot Zinc Limited, the owner of money.co.uk.
ZPG recently acquired property marketing firm Ravensworth and today’s announcement further highlights ZPG’s aspirations to grow in the digital media sector by acquiring complimentary companies and competitors.
Money.co.uk was established in 2008 and generated £24.7m and £8m EBITDA in the year to 31st October 2016.
Alex Chesterman, CEO of ZPG said of the acquisition:
“We are delighted to announce this transaction. Adding Money, one of the UK’s leading financial services comparison websites, to our existing brand portfolio will further enhance our product capabilities and consumer engagement across both our comparison and property platforms.”
“Broadening our financial services offering has long been a key part of our strategy and I look forward to welcoming Chris and his team to the ZPG family.”
CEO of Money.co.uk, Chris Morling added:
“I am very proud of what we have achieved over the last nine years. We have developed a strong brand and loyal following and are looking forward to the next phase of our growth.”
“ZPG has led the way as an innovative digital consumer champion and we are looking forward to helping even more consumers make better-informed decisions as part of ZPG.”
The St Leger Day adage: true or false?
“Sell in May and go away, don’t come back ‘til St Leger Day”: a well-known old adage indicating that investors should lay off stocks and shares for the summer, long touted as a way to help improve your investment returns.
However, analysis from Fidelity International debunks this stock market maxim and suggests that placing your bets on the adage could have left you out of pocket.
With the famous St Leger Day race taking place on Saturday 16th September this year, Fidelity analysed the returns for the FTSE All Share between 1st May and 1st September over the past three decades. It found that the index produced positive returns over these months in 18 of the past 30 years.
This means that you would have lost out on the majority of occasions had you backed out of the market in May, debunking the St Leger Day adage.
Tom Stevenson, investment director for Personal Investing at Fidelity International, said: “The St Leger Day stock market adage has been doing the rounds amongst investors for decades but perhaps it’s time to retire this old maxim as our analysis shows that it’s a bit of a lame horse. Had you followed the adage over the past 30 years, you would have been worse off 60 per cent of the time.
“While the summer has seen its fair share of geopolitical risks, including rising tension between North Korea and the US, as well as stalling Brexit negotiations, the FTSE All share has still gone on to deliver a positive return between May and September. As such, anyone who followed this stock market adage this summer would have lost out.
“Trying to predict the best time to be in and out of the market is a fool’s errand and getting it wrong can severely dent your long term investment returns. If there is one adage that investors should abide by it is ‘time in the market matters more than timing the market’.”