Latest news with #Webley
Daily Mail
04-05-2025
- Business
- Daily Mail
My British bitcoin holding company had its IPO two weeks ago and shares have doubled
'I'd like to be a FTSE 100 company,' Andrew Webley, founder of The Smarter Web Company, told This is Money last month, as the firm launched its retail offering on the Aquis Exchange. Two weeks later it looks like this dream is edging slowly closer to being within his grasp. We spoke to Webley as the Smarter Web Company launched its IPO with a price of 2.5 pence per share, raising £1million through its IPO alone. The Smarter Web Company offers web design and digital marketing services to more than 250 different clients but that's not the driving force behind the IPO and its success. Instead, a major part of its strategy going forward, and undoubtedly the selling point to investors, is the firm's adoption of a digital asset treasury policy centered around bitcoin - making it the UK's answer to US star Microstrategy. As at 2 May, Smarter Web Company shares had almost doubled and were trading at 4.88 pence each, and the firm's market capitalisation has risen from £3.7million to £7.16million. Webley told This is Money: 'We were really pleased that we could do the retail offer, which is a little bit unusual with an IPO for a small company.' While having only commenced trading on the Aquis exchange on 25 April, the Surrey-based web design firm has become the most traded stock on Aquis by volume. The firm's average daily volume since it started trading is 82,861, with 404,415 shares changing hands this week alone and 9,890 on its first day of trading. Webley said: 'It's a bit overwhelming, the response has been brilliant. I've had so many supportive messages, with people saying 'I love what you're doing with your company. 'It's been really nice just to see people in the UK get behind what we believe is a very good story from the UK. I suppose that's the answer to the volume, people see that we're trying our best and we're working hard.' He added: 'Before we decided to be a public company, we've done everything transparently. The prices of our web design packages are on our website. We give people the truth, you know, at all times we're professional with them. 'We don't try and overcomplicate something that doesn't need to be overcomplicated. That's the same approach that we've taken to our investor relations. So we're just trying to be transparent.' The firm this week announced its latest bitcoin purchase worth £244,000, increasing its holdings to 5.74 bitcoin worth £414,000. The company also set out a ten-year plan, indicating that it is looking to grow its client numbers in the short term, as well as its intention to make strategic acquisitions. These sit alongside its other ambition to continue the growth of its digital asset holdings. Webley said: 'We are focused on accelerating short-term growth by scaling our proven core services, while also exploring strategic acquisitions that could unlock compelling value. 'By taking a pioneering approach to treasury management using digital assets, including bitcoin, we believe we offer investors an excellent opportunity.' Webley says the combination of a scalable business as well as the firm's digital asset treasury offers different attractive features for different investors. He said: 'Some people will look at our business and say "I like what you're doing on your organic growth," and others will say, "I like what you're doing with your innovative approach to Treasury management," investors choose the bits of the business that they like, and that's why they invest in it.' Webley added: 'I just want to be very clear about how grateful we are for the support that everyone has shown… if people didn't get behind it, it wouldn't be as exciting as it is. 'With that excitement obviously comes responsibility. We've now got to execute our strategy.'
New Indian Express
26-04-2025
- New Indian Express
Licensed gun dealers turn traffickers: Delhi Police bust interstate arms supply racket
NEW DELHI: The Special Cell of Delhi Police has arrested five persons, including a gun house owner, after busting a network of interstate arms traffickers, which allegedly supplied firearms and foreign-made ammunition to criminals, officials said on Friday. According to the police, licensed gun dealers, trusted to sell firearms legally, allegedly turned traffickers by supplying sophisticated weapons to criminals running extortion rackets while covering their tracks with fudged records. These gun dealers allegedly procured sophisticated firearms directly from the ordinance factories, erased their unique serial numbers and then sold them to criminals at inflated rates, ACP (Special Cell) Pratiksha Godara said. The sales were falsely recorded as transactions with valid licence holders, she said. The seized arms included two ordnance-made pistols, a Taurus pistol, a Webley revolver, two pen pistols, one .32 bore pistol, and several cartridges of foreign make, the officer said. 'During the investigation, it was found that some Delhi-based criminals were involved in trafficking high-end illegal weapons, including Taurus pistols, Webley revolvers and ammunition. Several other suspects, have been identified and are under surveillance,' the ACP said.
Reuters
01-04-2025
- Automotive
- Reuters
Banks face anxious wait as UK Supreme Court considers 'secret' motor finance commissions
LONDON, April 1 (Reuters) - Major banks will be anxiously watching an appeal over motor finance commissions, which begins at the UK's Supreme Court on Tuesday as Britain's financial watchdog considers a scheme to pay out billions of pounds in compensation to consumers. British lender Close Brothers (CBRO.L), opens new tab and South Africa's FirstRand (FSRJ.J), opens new tab are seeking to overturn a landmark Court of Appeal judgment, which said brokers must have customers' fully informed consent to receive a commission from lenders. The Court of Appeal said lenders are liable to consumers when the commission is "secret" and can be liable where disclosure of the commission is insufficient to obtain informed consent. That October ruling sent Close Brothers' shares plummeting due to the prospect of customers having to be repaid the amount of the commissions plus interest. The judgment also hurt the UK arm of Banco Santander ( opens new tab, Lloyds (LLOY.L), opens new tab and Barclays (BARC.L), opens new tab and threw the car finance market in the UK – where more than 80% of new vehicles are bought on finance – into disarray. The Supreme Court's decision could also affect Britain's wider consumer lending sector, with lawyers warning the implications of Court of Appeal's ruling could stretch to other goods and services purchased on credit arranged by a broker. Close Brothers and FirstRand have set aside 165 and 140 million pounds respectively to cover potential claims – figures dwarfed by the 1.15 billion pounds ($1.49 billion) Lloyds has earmarked. Santander UK has set aside 290 million pounds and Barclays 95 million pounds. Analysts suggest the Financial Conduct Authority's looming redress scheme could leave brokers paying out tens of billions of pounds in compensation to customers - possibly approaching the nearly 40 billion pounds lenders paid for misselling payment protection insurance between 1990 and 2010. HIGH STAKES If the Supreme Court dismisses the lenders' appeals, "it could send shockwaves spreading far beyond just the car finance industry", said Tom Webley, a partner at Reed Smith who is not involved in the case. "There are a wide range of businesses that provide credit through commission-earning intermediaries and all of them could be affected by this judgment," Webley added. The three-day appeal at the UK's highest court centres on whether car dealers owe duties as credit brokers to provide information to consumers and, if so, whether that makes any commission "secret" so as to make lenders liable to customers. The Court of Appeal said in its ruling that brokers owe a fiduciary duty to consumers, which meant brokers should act in their customers' best interests and not receive a commission without obtaining their "fully informed consent". The Supreme Court's ruling is expected in the summer, though its potential wider significance could push a decision later in the year. The importance of the case is illustrated by the fact that the FCA has been given permission to address the court, though an unusual application by finance minister Rachel Reeves' Treasury for permission to intervene in the appeal was refused. The FCA had already put its consideration of a redress scheme on hold pending the Court of Appeal's ruling, giving customers until December to lodge complaints about commissions. The watchdog said last month that it would likely consult on an industry-wide scheme to compensate customers. ($1 = 0.7729 pounds)
Axios
29-01-2025
- Entertainment
- Axios
Utah filmmaker makes Sundance debut with family drama "Omaha"
Utah-based director Cole Webley's journey to the big screen has come full circle after recently debuting his first-ever feature film at the Sundance Film Festival. State of play: The drama, " Omaha," the only movie in this year's festival filmed in Utah, centers on a father who takes his children on an unexpected cross-country road trip following a family tragedy. It stars John Magaro ("Past Lives"), Molly Belle Wright and Wyatt Solis. Zoom in: The self-funded flick, which explores fatherhood and masculinity norms, Webley told Axios, was shot mostly in Utah over 27 days. For Webley, Utah played a larger role than just the backdrop. "It was the workforce. It was the inspiration. We shot in places that I had shot in as a film student," said Webley, who attended Brigham Young University. "Its identity within this film is inseparable." Between the lines: Utah director and writer Robert Machoian had written the film's script a decade earlier, when he showed it to Webley while working on another project together. "This was the script that was really written for me to direct," Webley, who previously worked on hundreds of commercials and short films, said. The intrigue: Webley joins a long list of directors who premiered their first movies at the long-running independent film festival, including Wes Anderson, Jordan Peele and Quentin Tarantino. When asked if he plans to pursue directing another feature film, Webley responded: "Do bears s–t in the woods?"
