John Lewell

Online auctioneer QXL.com Thursday took a 50 per cent equity stake in ibidlive of the Netherlands. QXL.com (QXLC) will invest £5.9 million ($9.44 million) in ibidlive, which specialises in developing software and systems for use in live auctions conducted on the Internet, TV or telephone. “This investment will significantly expand our technology base and enable […]

The Financial Times launched its personal finance site FTYourMoney.com, on Thursday. The company says it has organised the new content around “life events” rather than product offerings. The new site is intended to make the managing of family finances easier, with plenty of personalised, practical guidance. It offers in-depth product and provider tables, interactive calculators, […]

Scoot.com announced Wednesday that it has entered into a partnership with LineOne to provide a consumer-centric classified transaction service on the LineOne site. Scoot calls itself an “interactive branded infomediary,” meaning that it acts as a service which connects buyers and sellers through its online site. LineOne, a joint venture between United News & Media […]

Leading comparison shopping service DealTime.com has launched its UK site. In the U.S., DealTime.com had over 2.3 million unique users in November, making it the top service of its kind. The new service in the UK will allow people to search hundreds of UK merchants for the best prices in pounds sterling. DealTime.com says it […]

In a move that will be seen as a very positive endorsement of its “Web currency,” beenz.com announced this week that Mondex International will debut a beenz-carrying smart card. The two companies say that their products are “complementary but distinct” and believe the agreement will extend the market reach of both beenz and Mondex e-cash. […]

The CNN News Group announced Monday that it will take a $20 million equity stake in the Internet travel service Leisureplanet. Under the terms of the agreement, Leisureplanet becomes the exclusive provider of travel services on CNN’s network of Web sites. Massive promotion of Leisureplanet on CNN will begin early next year with a campaign […]

Having revealed last week that the two companies were in exploratory discussions, Telewest Communications and Flextech said Friday that a merger of their companies was now likely. Television and new media group Flextech supplies thematic channels to the UK multichannel TV market. Telewest is a major player in the cable industry and earlier this week […]

Deloitte Consulting Thursday said its survey had found a variety of changing consumer attitudes in the newly-wired societies of France, Germany, Italy and the UK. The main finding of the survey is that consumers say they expect to shift their allegiance from traditional channels towards technology-based communication with companies via the Internet and call centres […]

A major shake up among the UK’s Internet domain naming firms this week was caused by the acquisition of NetNames International by NetBenefit Plc. NetBenefit will acquire all the issued share capital of NetNames for approximately £1.1 million ($1.78 million) in cash, together with 2,889,445 new NetBenefit ordinary shares. It will also place a further […]

Leading UK ISP Freeserve has invested $19 million in unified messaging services provider TelePost. The investment, bringing an undisclosed amount of equity in TelePost, potentially broadens Freeserve’s business which has recently been coming under increasing scrutiny because of its reliance on the UK’s turbulent domestic Internet industry. “The unified messaging market is set to grow […]

AOL UK announced Wednesday that it will carry real-time share prices on its AOL and CompuServe sites through a deal with European investment bank Dresdner Kleinwort Benson. The new, information-only service will be powered by Interactive Investor International (iii), one of the UK’s top online personal finance services. “AOL and CompuServe members have told us […]

Vodafone UK and Nortel Networks are planning a London trial of new wireless and IP networking technologies early next year. “The inevitable combination of high Internet and high wireless use has created a new Wireless Internet value chain for the entire industry,” said Pascal Debon, president, Wireless Internet, Nortel Networks. “As the industry reorganises itself […]