As part of a weekly series, BusinessCloud is highlighting updates from some of the companies featured in our Founder 250 list.
The UK-wide list celebrates 250 of the country’s best founder-led and founder-influenced businesses.
RSM UK is the headline sponsor of Founder 250, alongside law firm CG, property specialist OBI and investor Mercia Ventures.
1. ElevenLabs doubles valuation to $22bn
ElevenLabs has doubled its valuation to $22bn in a $300m secondary share sale.
The firm, founded in London in 2022 by Polish entrepreneurs Mati Staniszewski and Piotr Dabkowski, develops AI tools that generate lifelike synthetic voices used in areas including customer service, text-to-speech and dubbing.
2. Montirex serves up 79% hike in turnover
Liverpool-founded sportswear brand Montirex delivered a 79 per cent rise in turnover to £129.3m for the year ending 31st December 2025.
Profit before tax was £34.5m, up from £19.6m the previous year.
Montirex founders Daniel Yuen and Kieran Riddell-Austin
Montirex was founded by Daniel Yuen and Kieran Riddell-Austin, two best mates from Liverpool, with a belief that sportswear could do more.
3. Zilch set for £1.5bn London IPO
FinTech Zilch is reportedly preparing for a £1.5bn London IPO as early as next year.
The Financial Times claims that the consumer payments platform is lining up investment banks for a potential blockbuster listing.
Serial entrepreneurs Philip Belamant, Sean O’Connor and Serge Belamant built Zilch with a mission to ‘eliminate the high cost of consumer credit’.
Zilch has earned the title of Europe’s fastest-growing unicorn.
4. TRIP lays on team trip to Mallorca
Olivia Ferdi and Daniel Khoury, the husband-and-wife co-founders of TRIP, the No.1 calming brand in the world, flew the whole TRIP team to Mallorca last week.
The 100-strong team from the US and EU took part in the first-ever global TRIP retreat.
TRIP team headed to Mallorca
Ferdi said: “We’ve always done things differently at TRIP and that spirit is core to our team values. It might not be conventional to have 100 people out of office at the same time, but the past few days have been totally magical. After a milestone month – we’re all absolutely buzzing about what’s to come.”
As well as hitting £50m in revenue, the company recently signed Kendall Jenner as a global ambassador and shareholder.
5. Vedere Travel cruises away with Panache investment
Luxury cruise retailer Panache Cruises has made a six-figure investment in Vedere Travel as it expands beyond the cruise sector.
Chester-based Vedere Travel was founded in 2023 by Alex Catton and specialises in luxury sports and experience travel.
James Cole, of Panache Cruises, with Alex Catton, of Vedere
James Cole, founder and CEO of Chorley-headquartered Panache Cruises, said the deal was part of a wider strategy to expand into other areas of the travel industry.
6. Stuart Energy powers up for growth
Skelmersdale-based Stuart Energy is going on a recruitment drive as part of its next phase of growth.
The company, which was founded by Mark Stuart in 2017 alongside his dad Fred and brother Lee, is aiming to become Europe’s premier power generation business.
Fresh from winning several new contracts in the critical infrastructure sector, Stuart Energy is currently recruiting for three sales-based strategic partnership managers, a CFO and a marketing executive.
As part of its planned expansion, Stuart Energy is also actively looking for up to three acres of land in the Skelmersdale area.
7. Senior Stairlifts looks to triple turnover
Senior Stairlifts, which was founded in 2019 by Kieran and Emily Harris, has been ranked 31st in the Financial Times list of the UK’s fast-growing companies.
The company supplies, installs and services lifts throughout the UK.
Kieran said: “The FT has our revenue growing 586 per cent over three years, from £613,000 to £4.2m. We’ve come a long way; I’m incredibly proud of it. But it’s still early days. The next goal is to triple revenue again. A lofty goal, but one that I’m confident we’ll hit.”
8. Street Group co-founder’s features on podcast
Manchester-based PropTech Street Group shot to prominence in July following a strategic investment from listed private equity investor Hg.
The company was founded by Tom and Heather Staff and has been achieving 100 per cent growth.
Tom Staff is the latest guest on Alvarez & Marsal’s Dealmaker Uncut podcast, hosted by Jonathan Boyers and Chris Maguire, and he spoke about how Street Group’s technology is now used by more than 4,000 estate and letting agency branches.