Money Buzz! Europa

Category: Gothenburg

  • Loomis launches ”Loomis Pay”, a complete payment solution

    Loomis launches ”Loomis Pay”, a complete payment solution

    Loomis Pay is a complete end-to-end payment platform for merchants and manages all types of payments, including cash, card and other digital alternatives, both in store and online.

    The ambition, in the first initial stage, is to achieve revenue, within 5 years, exceeding SEK 3 billion. Loomis Pay is expected to generate a positive operating result during 2023.

    During 2020-2022, investments will be made in product development and other activities for Loomis Pay.

    The company expects approximately SEK 100 million per year will be recorded as net costs in the income statement.

    Loomis Pay will first be offered to merchant customers in Denmark during the autumn of this year and to customers in the Swedish market at the beginning of 2021.

  • Adverty launched In-Menu, a new in-game brand advertising format

    Adverty launched In-Menu, a new in-game brand advertising format

    Adverty has invented and launched a new in-game brand advertising format called In-Menu, which enables contextually relevant IAB display banner ads on menu screens in between gameplay.

    Deeply integrated at game design level, In-Menu is an in-game advertising unit that brings performance-based, programmatic advertising to Adverty’s range of seamless ad solutions.

    In-Menu enhances a highly innovative product suite that also includes Adverty’s current In-Play format, which allows brands to take over billboards and other virtual outdoor sites within games.

    Compared to other solutions on the market, Adverty’s proprietary, patent-pending ad technology is completely unique in its ability to keep users within the game throughout the complete ad experience – a sought-after feature among both game developers and brands.

  • Silo AI plans to build an artifical intelligence lab in Stockholm

    Silo AI plans to build an artifical intelligence lab in Stockholm

    Finnish company Silo AI opens its sixth office in Stockholm and is planning to hire 20 new AI scientists and AI engineers in the upcoming six months.

    They will join a team of close to 100 senior AI experts and a full development and deployment infrastructure to deliver AI-driven solutions and products. 

    Silo AI will continue to work in Sweden with the same customer segments as it has been so far: smart vehicles, smart industry, smart devices, smart health and smart cities. 

    In Sweden, the company delivered building a computer vision-powered sewage pipe robot for Linköping-based Tekniska Verken and an AI-driven lead generation solution for a Stockholm-based investment company Infranode. 

    Currently Silo AI operates out of its three Finland-based offices in Helsinki, Turku and Oulu and its two international locations in Palo Alto, US and London, UK.

  • Assa Abloy sells Switzerland based CEDES to Capiton AG

    Assa Abloy sells Switzerland based CEDES to Capiton AG

    Assa Abloy has signed an agreement to sell its sensor technology business CEDES in Switzerland to Capiton AG.

    CEDES was established in 1986 and has some 320 employees and is a leading sensor technology company in the elevator and door industry.

    The company is headquartered in Landquart, Switzerland. Sales in 2019 amounted to about 51 MEUR.

    “I find it very satisfying that with capiton AG, CEDES and its employees and customers gain a committed long-term investor, creating new opportunities for the future and I wish them every success,” says Nico Delvaux, President and CEO of Assa Abloy.

    The divestiture is subject to customary closing conditions and is expected to close during the fourth quarter of 2020.

  • Digip is digitizing the traditional intellectual property market

    Digip is digitizing the traditional intellectual property market

    The Swedish legal tech company digip launches a SaaS solution that simplifies and streamlines the management of trademark protection and domain management.

    The need for trademark protection is ever increasing as 85 percent of all brands have experience of infringement.

    By digitizing trademark protection processes into an intuitive SaaS solution, entrepreneurs and established businesses are provided the opportunity to register, protect and monitor their trademark rights worldwide. 

    In the first version companies will be given the opportunity to free of charge search if their trademark can be registered in Europe, and then for a small fee, get professional help to get the trademark registered.

    To proactively protect the trademark, trademark monitoring is included, and it is possible to register domain names and manage technical services to proactively protect the digital assets of the brand.

    digip was founded in 2019 with the aim of simplifying and challenging an industry that has not kept up with the pace of digital innovation.

    digip development and operations have so far been financed by the VC company Antler, the business angels Pop Invest, Niklas Alm and OVM Invest as technical co-founder. 

  • Voi wins Europe’s largest exclusive e-scooter contract in UK

    Voi wins Europe’s largest exclusive e-scooter contract in UK

    Swedish company Voi has been appointed to operate e-scooters in the West Midlands. The trial will create more than 120 new jobs.

    E-scooters will be rolled-out in Birmingham and Coventry from next Thursday (10 September). Soon afterwards, the scooters will be deployed in Sandwell (West Bromwich), Solihull, Walsall, Wolverhampton and Warwickshire. 

    The tender process, which was started last month by TfWM, part of the West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA), concluded with the contract being offered to Voi as the sole operator.

    For the purpose of the trial the DfT requires a maximum speed of 15.5 mph on roads. In pedestrianised areas a lower speed limit of 5mph will be applicable.

    E-scooters are allowed on any 30 mph or less road, however the council have advised users to use designated cycle routes wherever possible. 

    Voi launched Europe’s first dockless e-scooter service in 2018 and now operates in 45 cities across 11 countries. 

  • Teemyco raises €1m in a record seed funding round

    Teemyco raises €1m in a record seed funding round

    Teemyco, a Swedish start-up based in Stockholm is creating virtual office spaces. This is the company’s second to date funding round and was led by VC Luminar Ventures.

    The round was oversubscribed, involving contributions from early-stage VC firm Antler, recruitment firm Gazella and a number of angel investors.

    The investment will help Teemyco to launch its service and hire new employees.

    The virtual-office provider’s tech is still in beta mode and allows users to see what is going on in a virtual office space that can be shared with colleagues, with the aim of reproducing office interactions in a digital environment.

    They can choose a room to work beside a colleague, enter a meeting room for video calls, or spend time in the virtual coffee room.

  • Hoist Group to acquire the shares in Acentic Holdings

    Hoist Group to acquire the shares in Acentic Holdings

    Hoist Group has agreed to acquire the shares in Acentic Holdings Ltd with the aim to deliver a greater proximity and a wider range of services to hotel customers across Europe, Middle East and Africa markets.

    Acentic will bring a number of flagship hotel groups as well as leading independent hotels that have been served successfully for many years with its IPTV and Digital Signage products.

    These 700+ Acentic hotel partners will now gain access to the much broader set of products offered by Hoist Group.

    Hoist’s services cover most digital touchpoints in a Guest’s Journey: Booking Engine, Pre-Check-in, PMS, Mobile Key, staff task management, Dashboard, etc. Moreover, hoteliers will be able to benefit from Hoist Group’s local staff presence in 20 offices across EMEA.

    In 2019 Acentic posted 28mn€ in annual turnover to Hoist Group’s 130mn€.

  • 1 million transactions are processed a day on the Klarna platform

    1 million transactions are processed a day on the Klarna platform

    Klarna has seen accelerated growth and demand from retailers and consumers despite taking precautionary measures during the first half of 2020 due to Covid-19.

    Klarna registered strong growth in gross merchandise volume and total net operating income of 44% and 36% respectively YoY.

    Gross merchandise volume now amounts to USD 22bn and total net operating income is USD 466m.

    The company added more than 35,000 retailers to the strong global retailer base of more than 200.000, or approximately 200 new per day.

    Klarna added almost 14 million consumers, with especially strong growth in the US and UK where the number of consumers has grown with close to 550% and 120% respectively compared to the same period last year. 

    The number of monthly active app users has increased by almost 2x to 12 million, compared to the same period last year.

    There are approximately 45.000 app installs every day globally, which is 3x as fast compared to the same period last year. 

    Big names joined Klarna

    New retailers include Sephora, Groupon, SHEIN, Nixon, Charlotte Tilbury, Vans, The North Face, Ted Baker, Timberland, Ralph Lauren, Club Monaco, Anine Bing, Domino’s Pizza, NTWRK, Finish Line, Aéropostale, Nautica and Fender and thousands more across verticals and markets. 

    They join other global brands like ASOS, H&M, Gymshark, IKEA, Farfetch, Cult Beauty, Dyson, JD Sports, Acne Studios, Peloton, Bose, Missguided, Samsung, Sonos, Beauty Bay, AliExpress, Abercrombie & Fitch, Lenovo, APC, Agent Provocateur, Overstock, Good American and Michael Kors.

    Klarna is now the ”pay later” partner of choice for the top 100 highest grossing merchants in the US. Klarna’s In-store proposition is now live in ten markets.

  • Assa Abloy acquires Reading based company Access-IS

    Assa Abloy acquires Reading based company Access-IS

    Assa Abloy has acquired Access-IS, a leading provider of electronic RFID, NFC and barcode devices enabling the authentication of travel and identity documents, ticket reading and contactless payments.

    “Access-IS is a strategic technological addition to us. The company will reinforce our current offering within extended access technologies and will provide complementary growth opportunities,” says Nico Delvaux, President and CEO of Assa Abloy.

    Access-IS was founded in 1985 and has some 120 employees. The main office is located in Reading, UK.

    Sales in 2019 amounted to about MGBP 19 (approx. MSEK 220) and the acquisition will be neutral to EPS from start.

    Assa Abloy Group is the global leader in access solutions. The company operates worldwide with 49,000 employees and sales of SEK 94 billion.

  • LeoVegas revenues increased by 17% from April 1 to June 30

    LeoVegas revenues increased by 17% from April 1 to June 30

    LeoVegas revenues increased by 17% to EUR 110.7 m (94.4). Organic growth in local currencies was 19% and EBITDA was EUR 23.0 million (15.1), corresponding to an EBITDA margin of 20.8% (16.0%) and a growth of 53 %.

    The number of depositing customers was 434,453 (350,298), an increase of 24%.

    Earnings per share were EUR 0.14 (0.08) before and after dilution, while adjusted earnings per share were EUR 0.19 (0.11).

    LeoVegas completed the migration of 12 brands in the UK to the group’s proprietary technical platform. The LiveCasino.com brand was launched in a number of English-speaking countries.

    Preliminary revenue in July amounted to EUR 30.7 m (29.3), representing growth of 5%. The temporary restrictions introduced in Sweden starting on 2 July have had a negative impact on revenue.

    The number of depositing customers increased by 34% in July compared with the same period a year ago, to a new record level for a single month.

    GoGoCasino was launched in Finland. An international rollout of the brand is now continuing.
    LeoVegas has increased its ownership in the e-sports betting operator Pixel.bet to 85%, from 51% previously.

  • Skanska acquired about 11.500 sq m of land in Houston, Texas

    Skanska acquired about 11.500 sq m of land in Houston, Texas

    Skanska has acquired about 11,500 square meters of land in Houston, Texas. The seller is Houston Westmont LP and the acquisition amounts to USD 27 M, about SEK 236 M.

    Located in the Montrose neighborhood of Houston, in between Midtown and River Oaks, Skanska plans to develop a mixed-use project which could consist of multi-family, retail, and office tower for the local community.

    The project will target LEED Platinum certification.

    Since 2009, Skanska USA Commercial Development has invested more than USD 2 billion in office and multi-family projects, and has developed office headquarters for tenants including, Waste Management, Bank of America, Brooks Sports, PricewaterhouseCoopers and Tommy Bahama.

    Skanska USA had sales of SEK 74 billion and about 7,900 employees in its operations in 2019.