RetailBook investment platform wins funds to survive downturn
Augmentum Fintech, an investment trust, and other investors have sunk £4.5 million into the platform, RetailBook, whose existing backers include Rothschild & Co, Hargreaves Lansdown, Jeffreys and Peel Hunt.
RetailBook recently hired the equity capital markets team at Primary Bid, a rival that pioneered the practice of giving investors the chance to invest in flotations and secondary share issues alongside professionals.
• 'In the UK there's a lot of growth to be had, a lot of opportunity'
For years, private investors have missed out on share issues as companies omitted retail
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Telegraph
an hour ago
- Telegraph
First British-bred blueberry title claimed… then swiftly lost
Few things stir the spirit like a national first – so when the James Hatton Institute, in Invergowrie, declared this summer that it had produced the UK's first home-bred blueberry, heads were turned. However, no sooner had the institute made the announcement than it discovered that someone had beaten it. It was then forced to relinquish the title of a British first in favour of proclaiming the first Scottish-bred blueberry. The institute had proudly unveiled Highland Charm, a blueberry variety bred on Scottish soil, produced after a decade of research, cross-breedings and a large amount of patience. But instead of relishing in the sweet taste of triumph, the institute had to content with a bitter reality. Highland Charm would fall short of claiming the crown of first UK-bred blueberry, as that accolade had been collected by another pioneer whose identity remains a mystery. The institute issued a correction after being contacted by the people behind the true first British-bred variety, and clarified that it instead had the first blueberry of Scottish heritage. But sources in the berry industry robustly denied that any other berry breeding programmes existed nationwide. Instead, they suggested that the name confusion could have been prompted by the Scottish Government, which reportedly funded the breeding programme, and therefore asserted Scotland's claim on the produce. The Scottish Government denied these accusations, with a spokesman advising that 'it was changed because someone else approached them claiming to have created the UKs first bred blueberry before them'. Waitrose boasted of British blueberries in 2020 but fell short of claiming they were bred here saying instead that they were organically grown. But for institute staff who have spent over 10 years working on Highland Charm, one honest mistake will not get in the way of their celebrations. Susan McCallum, the organisation's resident blueberry breeder, said: 'It combines high yields, excellent fruit size, outstanding flavour, with a balanced sugar-acid profile and a satisfying bite. Growers are really excited about it.' Nick Marston, of British Berry Growers, welcomed the news of a new home-bred strain, saying: 'The potential advantage that breeding in the UK offers is that new varieties will be selected and trialled in the UK climate at an early stage in their development which means they may be better suited to our climatic conditions.' The long process of berry breeding means that growers can brand it a 'Scottish Berry', suited to the weather and native. At present, growers must rely on foreign varieties, and whilst they can be grown in the UK they cannot truly call themselves a native-bred fruit. Tesco reported last year that consumers enjoy more than 60,000 tonnes of blueberries per year, with almost 90 per cent imported from abroad – largely the Americas – a number of weeks after they were harvested. Researchers at Invergowrie wanted to change that with Highland Charm, a resilient and high-yielding seed that has delivered in testing across different seasons and growing conditions both home and abroad. Now it is undergoing a licencing process to allow it to qualify as a new cultivar, meaning Highland Charm could be on supermarket shelves in the next two to three years. Ms McCallum hopes its success will encourage consumers to buy locally produced, in-season produce, and promised: 'They're fresher and have higher health benefits than imported berries that take six weeks to get from field to shelves. You'll taste the difference.'
TTG
an hour ago
- TTG
'It took me seconds to say yes!': Lynsey Jones on her 'shock' redundancy and new start with Ambassador
Lynsey Jones was devastated after being made redundant by Balkan Holidays in April. Not knowing what her professional future looked like meant anxiety started to creep in – and to compound matters, she had just discovered she was pregnant. Jones talks TTG's Harry Kemble through how she got back on track. Lynsey Jones was so admired and respected by agents at Balkan Holidays that she was affectionally known as 'Lynsey Balkan'. Yet, it wasn't just agents who were fond of her. The specialist handed her several promotions during her six-year stint. Jones started as a regional sales manager in 2019 before being promoted to national sales manager in 2022 and then head of sales and brand in November last year. However, in April, Balkan suddenly closed its UK business after nearly 60 years, cancelled all forward bookings and made around 20 UK-based staff redundant – including Jones, who at this point had started telling colleagues she was pregnant. 'I loved it at Balkan but they decided ultimately it was not financially viable to keep operating here,' says Jones. 'While it was a shock to be made redundant, it wasn't a surprise.' 'This is a great move for me' As Jones came to terms with losing her beloved job, she was determined not to let the inevitable stress affect her unborn baby boy due to arrive in October. Fortunately, Jones' army of industry friends rallied around her at one of the lowest ebbs. Ambassador Cruise Line's interim head of trade, Karen Cameron, got in touch to offer her a lifeline. The pair had got to know one another at Scottish Passenger Agents' Association events over the years. "I was made redundant on the Thursday, spoke to Karen on the Friday and then signed my contract on the Tuesday,' recalls Jones. 'I thought about Ambassador's offer for about two seconds!' Jones reveals she was contacted by other travel companies about working for them but only ever gave Ambassador's offer of a four-month contract serious thought despite not having any significant cruise sector experience on her extensive CV, which features spells with the likes of Skiworld, Neilson, Tui and, of course, Balkan. "I was approached by other companies as well but – no pun intended – Ambassador has made a lot of waves recently,' she says with a smile, when asked why she decided to join the cruise sector. "After being made redundant by Balkan Holidays, I just felt cruise was the right step for me. All the feedback from agents I've spoken to before was always cruise, cruise, cruise. I feel Ambassador is a great move for me.' Jones adds: 'I thought cruise – generally speaking – was a lot harder for agents to sell. It felt like I used very complicated systems to sell cruise holidays when I was at Tui.' Prior to joining Tui, Jones spent 12 years managing ski resort hotels in the Alps, meaning she is nearly fluent in French. So, have her linguistic skills helped Ambassador following its merger with French cruise operator Compagnie Francaise de Croisieres (CFC) in January? Jones claims colleagues only discovered her secret talent in July – almost halfway through her short-term contract, which ends just before her due date and the start of Ambassador's debut Caribbean programme. 'I did speak French in a meeting in London with two French colleagues the other day,' she explains. 'To be fair, I've not really needed to [use it] – but never say never.' 'Ambassador investing a lot of money' Jones says she's 'loving' her time at Ambassador. 'I feel so lucky Ambassador took away much of the stress by employing me quickly," she continues. "It sounds cheesy, but Ambassador saw something in me. It's great to feel at home straight away. I've honestly never been part of such a big team. "The other day, we worked out the team had 235 years' travel industry experience with the likes of [national account manager] Louise Tansey, [business development executive] Debbie Ballantyne and Karen.' Her new colleagues are constantly checking in with heavily pregnant Jones to make sure she is comfortable. 'Last week, we were in London, and we had a team meal out – they were asking if I wanted help with the stairs, if I was tired, if I wanted to go home. They're constantly checking in on me." On the day Jones speaks to TTG about her new job, she is visiting a Hays Travel branch in Rochdale with plans to meet agents in Bury and Halifax soon after. 'There's a lot of positivity around the [Ambassador] brand from all the agents that I'm visiting,' Jones notes. 'I think the agents see how much effort comes from the trade team. Clearly, we're investing a lot of money into the brand.' Following Ambassador's merger with CFC, a 10-departure Caribbean programme was announced – part of the line's first-ever fly cruise programme. To help promote the programme and support agents selling it, Ambassador hired 19 reps from sales agency 3For in addition to its own 16-strong in-house trade sales team. Jones says: 'I think Ambassador has done a great job. We're turning the high street purple. And we're offering a completely different Caribbean product to other cruise lines.' Jones reveals she's using her contacts to good effect and is currently working with Virgin Atlantic – one of Ambassador's airline partners for the programme – and Visit Barbados ahead of the October launch. In addition, she has distributed research questionnaires to agents to understand what tools they need to sell Ambassador's new Caribbean sailings. 'Agents have been asking for more posters and training so we're doing a myth-busting session to educate the trade about our new products,' Jones reveals. The burning question on my lips though is what does Jones plan to do when she resumes her successful travel career after maternity leave? After all, Jones has now had time to consider her next move. Plus, being unattached professionally speaking means she won't be tempted to check her work emails during the long-night feeds in the months ahead. 'Hopefully I can come back to Ambassador after nine months,' she says. 'It has all worked out in the end.' Previous Article First look at NCL's upgraded 270-acre private island featuring new waterpark with 19 slides Next Article Titan Travel hires Virgin Voyages' Andrea Jones as trade team expansion continues
Reuters
4 hours ago
- Reuters
Oil tycoon Shvidler loses appeal over UK's Russian sanctions
LONDON, July 29 (Reuters) - Billionaire oil tycoon Eugene Shvidler on Tuesday lost his appeal against British sanctions imposed on him over Moscow's invasion of Ukraine at the UK's Supreme Court, a ruling lawyers said makes it difficult for similar challenges to succeed. Russian-born Shvidler, who is a British and U.S. citizen, was sanctioned over his association with former Chelsea Football Club owner Roman Abramovich, plus his former position as a director of London-listed Russian steel producer Evraz (EVRE.L), opens new tab. Shvidler – whose net worth is estimated by Forbes magazine at $1.6 billion – appealed to the Supreme Court, with his lawyers arguing that others with greater involvement in business of importance to Russia were not sanctioned, citing BP's (BP.L), opens new tab previous joint venture with Rosneft ( opens new tab. The Supreme Court rejected Shvidler's appeal by a four-to-one majority in a ruling that Shvidler said "brings me back to the USSR". The ruling also maintains Britain's 100% record of defending its Russian sanctions in court. Shvidler said in a statement that no British companies or business people with ties to Russian state-owned companies have been sanctioned, adding that Britain's sanctions were "more about cheap virtue-signalling for purely political purposes". "There may be little public sympathy for me, as a wealthy US/UK businessman, but this judgment applies to all who face state power," he added. Britain's Foreign Office, which has overseen the sanctioning of more than 1,700 individuals or entities since Russia's invasion, welcomed the ruling "and the message it sends about the strength of the UK sanctions regime". Shvidler had said British sanctions have destroyed his business and disrupted his and his family's lives. His lawyers previously said he has no involvement in or influence over Russian politics and had not even been to Russia since attending the late Russian President Boris Yeltsin's funeral in 2007. But the majority of the Supreme Court ruled that the sanctions struck a fair balance between Shvidler's rights and the aims of the sanctions regime. In the majority's judgment, Judges Philip Sales and Vivien Rose said sanctioning Shvidler "sends a clear signal to people in Mr Shvidler's position that they would be wise to distance themselves from Russian business now". But Judge George Leggatt, in a strident dissenting ruling, said Britain's "flimsy reasons" for sanctioning Shvidler did not justify the "serious invasion of liberty" sanctions entailed. He noted BP's profitable joint venture with Rosneft, having two members on its board, and said it was irrational to only sanction Shvidler if "sanctioning an individual for working as a director of a company which had invested in the Russian extractives sector was thought likely to contribute to achieving the purposes" of British sanctions. BP declined to comment. Maia Cohen-Lask, a partner at Corker Binning, said the Supreme Court's ruling was "a huge blow not just for Mr Shvidler but for any person who has been sanctioned despite their lack of any links to the Putin regime". The Supreme Court also dismissed a separate appeal brought by Russian businessman Sergei Naumenko, whose 44 million euro ($51 million) superyacht was detained in London.
