John Lewell

Excite@Home has appointed a new managing director to head up its European operations. The new man is Evan Rudowski, a 12-year Internet veteran who joined Excite as its 45th employee in early 1996. Excite Europe Ltd. is headquartered in London and runs portal sites in Germany and France, and search sites in the Netherlands and […]

Europe’s leading broadband ISP chello broadband has reported strong growth with 80,000 broadband Internet access subscribers in 5 countries. Speaking at the European Cable Convention in London earlier this week, chello’s managing director Iain Osborne said that the figures prove that broadband is a high-growth industry. Although it has an office in London, chello has […]

E-Loan announced Thursday that its UK subsidiary E-Loan, Ltd. (UK) has acquired Flexemortgage.com, the UK’s leading online source of information about flexible mortgages. E-Loan also announced that Andrew Armishaw will head its UK operations. A former CEO of the branchless bank First Direct, he took the bank online and was instrumental in its rapid growth […]

Electronic bill presentment and payment (EBPP) leader BlueGill Technologies has launched its European operations with the opening of its new London office. BlueGill has not revealed its European strategy, but it appears that the company will target specific countries for developing new sales channels, while also launching some pan-European marketing programs. The new European office […]

Following the much-publicised online placement of Encyclopaedia Britannica, the publisher has announced that it will tailor a UK version of the site as it moves towards community-oriented information. The site will launch early next year. Since Encyclopaedia Britannica brought out its first edition in 1768, it has sold millions of copies, often using high pressure […]

The UK’s first Jewish Web portal jewish.co.uk has introduced a Jewish Services Directory. Competition among portals for Jewish users in the UK is now becoming intense, with new offerings being announced regularly by three different sites. “People have been asking for a dedicated services directory and we are pleased to be able to deliver it,” […]

UK shopping portal Zoom.co.uk has entered an exclusive partnership with Ohio.co.uk to provide users with access to quotes on travel, car, and household insurance. Ohio will also provide financial services such as ISAs and life assurance, 24 hours a day online. “In today’s climate of fierce competition, the personal finance market has become increasingly complex […]

Web currency specialist beenz.com says it has recorded its 10 millionth transaction between consumers and merchants. With over 250 million beenz in circulation, the company says it is adding between 3000 and 4000 users a day and is fast approaching 200,000 consumers in all. “The transaction rate is the most important statistic to our business […]

London department stores do it all the time: host shopping evenings when card-carrying customers are invited to attend exclusive sale previews and fashion evenings. Now it’s shopping gateway Zoom.co.uk‘s turn. The site announced that it will hold the UK’s first virtual shopping evening on Tuesday 19 October, from 6 to 9 pm. Zoom.co.uk will stage […]

Totalise, a leading UK ISP, has launched a Web site where consumers can make substantial savings by purchasing new cars from Europe rather than the UK. Up to 40 per cent can be saved against current UK prices, says the ISP. Totalise CarSave enables users to order popular models in right-hand drive for use in […]

Bertelsmann Online (BOL) announced this week that it will shortly be bringing Rocket eBook to the UK. It has already introduced the new electronic book technology to Germany, and the UK is seen as another key market. Expansion into other countries is to follow. “BOL are proud to bring the most innovative products to its […]

Members of a consortium representing 80 per cent of the UK’s regional press are behind a new Internet brand called Fish4. The main site is an online directory for finding businesses in the UK, while Fish4cars, Fish4jobs and Fish4homes will address specific subjects. Developed from the earlier ADHunter sites — AutoHunter, JobHunter and PropertyHunter — […]