Skip to content
Search

Latest Stories

Ex-chancellor Hammond to advice Oaknorth  

FORMER British chancellor Philip Hammond has joined a booming UK-based financial technology firm.

He has become a member of Oaknorth’s advisory board.


Oaknorth is the second UK business that Hammond has joined since leaving politics last year.

Hammond, 64, has also joined the board of Ardagh Group, a New York listed Irish producer of glass and metal containers.

The former chancellor decided not to stand for re-election after losing the Conservative whip in 2019 after he opposed prime minister Boris Johnson over a potential no-deal Brexit.

Hammond commented: “Small and medium-sized businesses are the lifeblood of the British economy and communities globally. The development by Oaknorth of a platform to deliver cost-effective lending to them is a major boost to the potential of not only the British economy but economies worldwide.”

The Rishi Khosla co-founded lender helps small and medium enterprises (SMEs) to secure debt finance.

It has also developed technology to assess the creditworthiness of enterprises that have assets that are not based on owning property.

Khosla, 44, commenting on the new joining said: “We set up Oaknorth because of the challenges we experienced in securing finance from commercial banks when trying to scale our first business, challenges that Philip (Hammond) himself experienced as an SME housebuilder.”

Oaknorth is one of the only fintech companies to have broken into profitability, making £34 million in 2018.

The company has a staff strength of over 550 and has a banking licence in Britain.

It is expanding overseas, partly through deals allowing other lenders to use its credit analysis technology.

Last year, OakNorth provided a £11.4m property development finance facility to Ocea, one of the UK’s leading developers which specialises in commercial to residential property conversions.

It announced a five-year deal with NIBC Bank, a Dutch lender, last summer to license its technology.

NIBC is the only one named publicly of a total of 14 lenders to have signed up to test or implement Oaknorth’s technology.

Hammond has experience in housebuilding as a small business, a sector that has witnessed a record decline in recent years as larger housebuilders gain market share by rapidly expanding their business.

He operated Castlemead, a housebuilding business that he established in 1984, before making his footprints in British politics.

Hammond had been MP for Runnymede and Weybridge in Surrey since 1997.

Khosla and Joel Perlman jointly created Oaknorth as a digital bank lending to small businesses in 2015.

It has lent about £4 billion and was valued at $2.8bn in a fundraising last year, led by Softbank’s Vision Fund.

Khosla’s business is now Europe’s most valuable fintech.

Softbank invested $440m in Oaknorth. The bank has raised more than $1bn from investors.

More For You

modi-trump-getty
Trump shakes hands with Modi during a joint press conference at Hyderabad House in New Delhi on February 25, 2020. (Photo: Getty Images)

Key issues in India, US trade talks

TRADE talks between India and the US have hit a roadblock over disagreements on duties for auto components, steel and farm goods, Indian government sources said to Reuters, dashing hopes of reaching an interim deal ahead of president Donald Trump's July 9 deadline to impose reciprocal tariffs.

Here are the key issues at play:

Keep ReadingShow less
Anil Agarwal

Vedanta Resources, which is based in the UK and owned by Indian billionaire Anil Agarwal, has been working on reducing its debt. (Photo credit: Getty Images)

Getty Images

Anil Agarwal’s Vedanta Resources signs £438 million refinancing deal

VEDANTA LTD said on Thursday that its parent company, Vedanta Resources, has signed a loan facility agreement worth up to £438 million with international banks to refinance existing debt.

The refinancing move, where old loans are replaced by new ones, often at better terms like lower interest rates, has led ratings agencies such as S&P Global Ratings and Moody's to upgrade their outlook on the company this year.

Keep ReadingShow less
Trump-Getty

Trump said that while deals are being made with some countries, others may face tariffs.

Getty Images

Trump says major trade deal with India may be finalised soon

US PRESIDENT Donald Trump on Friday said a "very big" trade deal could be finalised with India, suggesting significant movement in the ongoing negotiations between the two countries.

“We are having some great deals. We have one coming up, maybe with India. Very big one. Where we're going to open up India," Trump said at the “Big Beautiful Bill” event at the White House.

Keep ReadingShow less
Asda suffers nearly £600m loss as debt and IT costs surge

Asda co-ownerMohsin Issa. (Photo: Asda)

Asda suffers nearly £600m loss as debt and IT costs surge

ASDA, one of Britain’s largest supermarkets, has reported a pre-tax loss of £599 million for 2024, swinging sharply from a £180 million profit the previous year.

The loss comes despite total sales rising by over £1 billion to £26.8bn, as the retailer faces mounting debt costs, falling sales, and spiralling spending on a major IT overhaul, the Telegraph reported.

Keep ReadingShow less
Mounjaro

Mounjaro, or tirzepatide, is part of a new class of weight-loss medications, with trials showing patients losing an average of 20 per cent of their body weight after 72 weeks.

Reuters

Lilly to sell Mounjaro pens in India as Wegovy enters market

ELI LILLY said on Thursday that it has received approval from India's drug regulator to launch pre-filled injector pens of its weight-loss drug, Mounjaro.

The move gives the company more options to compete with Novo Nordisk, which recently launched its weight-loss drug Wegovy in the country.

Keep ReadingShow less