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ASOS, Boohoo, Gymshark and THG are among the founder members of a new business association designed to champion the UK e-commerce sector and support the efforts of physical retailers in their transition to a digital-first model.
Also forming part of the UK Digital Digital Business Association are AO World and Ocado, which was been set up by Boohoo and THG non-executive director Iain McDonald.
Appearing on Sky News today, McDonald said that the members of the new association are set to create 10,000 jobs in the UK this year and invest £1bn.
“By and large these are also highly paid and highly skilled jobs,” McDonald told the broadcaster adding that the e-commerce market could help support the “levelling up” of the UK economy with Gymshark creating jobs in the Midlands, Boohoo and THG based in Manchester and ASOS basing its warehouse in Barnsley, for instance.
While the news headlines in retail have been dominated by physical store closures and the buying up of traditional physical retailers by online players, McDonald said it was important to highlight the positive contribution that etailers make to the economy.
“We formed this organisation in the first place to cast a light on what is a very good news story for the UK economy and that is the growth of the online sector. The online sector has been contributing very positively to the UK economy for well over a decade now.
“It’s important to distinguish what we do from the US tech giants; there’s been a lot of disquiet about the fact that they’re not paying their fair share of corporation tax for example. All of our members of the UKDBA are proudly British and pay their taxes in the normal way,” he added.
McDonald conceded that the creation of 10,000 jobs did not come near to replacing the tens of thousands of jobs lost from the collapse of companies such as Arcadia and Debenhams, which employed 25,000 staff between them.
Arcadia’s brands were split between ASOS, Boohoo and City Chic Collective, while Debenhams went to Boohoo. No physical retail stores were saved in the deals.
McDonald added however that the jobs being created by e-commerce were well paid roles in the fields of technology, data and cyber security, for instance.
He also said that the demise of some big-name physical retailers could be tracked further back than the emergence of etail. “It’s a very complicated picture and if you look at the problems of the high street I think that it pre-dates the online sector and in fact you really need to go back to the growth of out of town retailing and food-based superstores in out of town parks,” he said.
In a statement marking the launch of the UKDBA, McDonald went on to say: “Our membership has helped underpin the UK as the most advanced e-commerce market in Europe.
“The British online industry is one of the UK’s greatest success stories and the UKDBA is here to champion our members, their customers’ interests, providing them a voice in a rapidly evolving world.
“With the face of e-commerce reshaped, UKDBA members will be crucial in driving the UK’s economic recovery from Covid-19 putting customers at the heart of their ambitions, whilst supporting the current government’s efforts to create a technology driven global facing economy.”
The creation of the UKDBA comes amid a growing debate about whether etailers should be subject to a digital sales tax to level up the playing field with physical retailers, who bear an unfair burden when it comes to business rates.
Treasury officials are reported to be hosting secret meetings this week with business leaders on how an online sales tax could work. Tesco has led the call for an online sales tax of 1% saying that its introduction could lead to a 20% reduction in business rates.
Next chief, Lord Simon Wolfson, has suggested higher rates for warehouses from where online retailers fulfil their orders, along with a 35% reduction in business rates for physical retailers.
Wolfson is one of a number of retailers to speak out against an online sales tax, which many fear would just be passed on the consumer or simply add more cost to businesses who trade both on- and off-line.
Skyports is an urban air mobility infrastructure provider and drone delivery operator in London. The company designs, builds and operates take-off and landing infrastructure for air taxis. It has also partnered with electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) passenger and cargo vehicle manufacturers.
Further, Skyports provides drone delivery through its logistics arm, Delivery by Skyports.
Now, the delivery drones operator has also come forward to help NHS carry COVID test samples and other medical materials between medical facilities in the Argyll & Bute region in Scotland in a first-of-its-kind move.
Argyll & Bute Health & Social Care Partnership (HSCP) started the UK’s first COVID test drone delivery service after a three-month proof-of-concept phase last year between Lorn & Islands Hospital and Mull & Iona Community Hospital. It aims to help improve COVID-19 related logistics to and from remote locations. Now, it has expanded its delivery service and is entirely operational.
Notably, Skyports has become the first operator to receive permission from the UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) to carry diagnostic specimens by drone.
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Deliveroo is poised to fire a formal starting gun on a blockbuster stock market flotation early next month, making it the first in a string of British technology "unicorns" to go public in 2021.
Sky News has learnt that the food delivery app and its advisers have pencilled in 8 March to publish an expected intention to float announcement, meaning shares in Deliveroo could start trading just weeks later.
Insiders at Deliveroo cautioned that 8 March was not yet a definitive date and the timetable for one of the year's most prominent listings remained subject to change.
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Online and physical bicycle retail giant Sigma Sports has sold a minority stake in its business to UK-based private equity group Primary Capital.
The latest in a string of bike industry equity deals, the investment group buys into Ian Whittingham and Jason Turner’s near 30-year old business, which has built a particularly strong online retail presence, but is also looked upon as having one of the country’s best showrooms.
As an aside to its large Hampton Wick showroom, Sigma doubled down on physical retail by opening a 4,000 square foot Oakham branch last year. A further collection point in Esher is available for click and collect services. Such has been the Sigma Sports’ growth trajectory in recent years the firm has featured in the Sunday Times International Track 200 list of the fastest growing companies in the UK.
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Bottlepay, a Bitcoin-based global payments app, has secured £11 million in a seed funding. The round was led by a range of investors including British fund manager and billionaire Alan Howard, present and former Goldman Sachs partners, FinTech Collective, NYDIG, and tech entrepreneur Phil Doye. The funding will be used to expand the team and develop the platform’s functionality and geographical reach.
Founded by Pete Cheyne and Peter O’Donoghue, Bottlepay facilitates instant payments, including micropayments, in conventional currencies and Bitcoin. The UK company’s open payment network aims to transform the digital economy by making digital micropayments and cross-border transactions viable by reducing excessive fees.
Furthermore, Bottlepay’s new app also enables seamless social payments with a single tweet, message, or social media post on platforms such as Twitter, Reddit, and Discord. Bottlepay users can buy, store, send and withdraw Bitcoin with a single slide, unlike other digital payment platforms like PayPal and Revolut. Their users cannot currently spend or withdraw their Bitcoin. Built on Bitcoin protocols, the system gives consumers and retailers access to a new global market, including 65 million Bitcoin owners.
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Orka secures £29M funding, Manchester tech startup offers advance payment platform for shift workers
Based out of Manchester, Orka provides smart, tech-based solutions for shift workers accounting for 85% of the global workforce and their employers. The company makes their lives easier and removes barriers by providing tech solutions for shift workers with products, including labour-as-a-service platform Orka Works and earned wage access solution Orka Pay.
Focuses on growth of Orka Pay
In a recent development, Orka Technology Group raised £29M funding. This round was a mixture of debt financing from Sonovate and equity funding involving the British Business Bank Future Fund and existing investors, including former UK CEO of Adecco Peter Searle. With this, the overall funding raised by the company totals £31.5M.
Orka will use the capital to fuel the rapid growth of its earned wage access product Orka Pay. Furthermore, the company will focus on doubling its headcount to 50 in 2021 and invest in its full portfolio of tech solutions for shift workers, including its flagship product – Orka Works.
The funding round comes soon Orka was named in Tech Nation’s Upscale 6.0 programme, which is reserved for the leading scaleups in the UK.
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Vivacity Labs a London-based company aiming to make cities smarter, safer, and more sustainable through AI, has secured £5 million funding in Series A round. The round was led by Mobeus, with additional funding from existing investors Downing Ventures and London Co-Investment Fund.
How will the funding be used?
The investment will be used to expand Vivacity Labs’ AI-based traffic signal system, which reduces congestion and allows cities to prioritise sustainable modes of transport, such as cyclists and buses.
The company is also planning to double its headcount and expand into Northern Europe and Australian markets.
As part of its expansion plans, Vivacity Labs has recently appointed Rob Stait as UK Sales Director, previously of AppyWay, and 20 years’ experience in growing technology businesses.
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Ride hailing taxi app firm Uber must classify its drivers as workers rather than self-employed, the UK's Supreme Court has ruled.
The decision means tens of thousands of Uber drivers are set to be entitled to minimum wage and holiday pay.
The ruling could leave Uber facing a hefty compensation bill, and have wider consequences for the gig economy.
In a long-running legal battle, Uber had appealed to the Supreme Court after losing three earlier rounds.
'Massive achievement'
Former Uber drivers James Farrar and Yaseen Aslam, who originally won an employment tribunal against the ride hailing app giant in October 2016, told the BBC they were "thrilled and relieved" by the ruling.
"I think it's a massive achievement in a way that we were able to stand up against a giant," said Mr Aslam, president of the App Drivers & Couriers Union (ADCU).
"We didn't give up and we were consistent - no matter what we went through emotionally or physically or financially, we stood our ground."
Uber appealed against the employment tribunal decision but the Employment Appeal Tribunal upheld the ruling in November 2017.
The ride hailing taxi app firm then took the case to the High Court, which upheld the ruling again in December 2018.
The ruling on Friday was Uber's last appeal, as the Supreme Court is Britain's highest court, and it has the final say on legal matters.
'Drivers are struggling'
A key point in the Supreme Court's ruling is that Uber has to consider its drivers "workers" from the time they log on to the app, until they log off.
Uber drivers typically spend time waiting for people to book rides on the app. Previously, the firm had said that if drivers were found to be workers, then it would only count the time during journeys when a passenger is in the car.
"This is a win-win-win for drivers, passengers and cities. It means Uber now has the correct economic incentives not to oversupply the market with too many vehicles and too many drivers," said James Farrar, ADCU's general secretary.
"The upshot of that oversupply has been poverty, pollution and congestion."
However, questions still remain about how the new classification will work, and how it affects gig economy workers who work not only for Uber, but also for other competing apps.
Mr Aslam, who claims Uber's practices forced him to leave the trade as he couldn't make ends meet, is considering becoming a driver for the app again. But he is upset that it took so long.
"It took us six years to establish what we should have got in 2015. Someone somewhere, in the government or the regulator, massively let down these workers, many of whom are in a precarious position," he said.
Mr Farrar points out that with fares down 80% due to the pandemic, many drivers have been struggling financially and feel trapped in Uber's system.
"We're seeing many of our members earning £30 gross a day right now," he said, explaining that the self-employment grants issued by the government only cover 80% of a driver's profits, which isn't even enough to pay for their costs.
"If we had these rights today, those drivers could at least earn a minimum wage to live on."
Battery Ventures, a global technology-focused investment firm, closed its latest vehicle, at $400m.
Battery Ventures Select Fund I is a vehicle designed to deliver additional capital to a small subset of the firm’s later-stage companies.
Founded in 1983, Battery continues to make new investments across stages, from seed-stage to buyout, in core sectors including business software; enterprise IT, including cloud computing, data, DevOps and cybersecurity; online consumer marketplaces; financial technology; healthcare-IT; and industrial technology.
The firm also will continue to execute its differentiated strategy of backing companies at all stages of development.
The firm invests globally from six strategic locations: Boston; San Francisco and Menlo Park, Calif.; Herzliya, Israel; London; and New York.
Interplay, an Austin, Texas-based startup developing a 3D and virtual reality platform for trade workers, today announced that it raised $18 million. The company says it’ll use the proceeds to move into new markets and further develop its existing products.
According to an ABI Research report, before the pandemic, the virtual reality market was forecasted to grow at a 45.7% compound annual rate, surpassing $24.5 billion in revenue by 2024. But even amid the health crisis, virtual reality is booming. A PricewaterhouseCoopers survey predicts that nearly 23.5 million jobs worldwide will use augmented and virtual reality by 2030 for training, work meetings, or customer service.
Founded in 2016 by Doug Donovan and Steve Quirk, Interplay provides online and virtual reality training for a range of skilled trades. Its digital learning simulations span HVAC, plumbing, electrical, facilities maintenance, and solar subject matter, letting customers practice hands-on learning and train to be job-ready.
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