Author: Jonathan Symcox

E.ON has announced its planned acquisition of OVO, the UK residential energy supplier.

The transaction represents a significant investment by Germany-based E.ON Group into the UK market. It said the deal will accelerate consumer energy flexibility.

Maven Capital Partners has led a £2.6 million funding round in Edinburgh-based Esk Film Services.

The global entertainment technology company produces high-end live experiences for blue-chip brands such as Netflix, Paramount and BAFTA. The business specialises in licensing iconic IP from rightsholders and transforming it into impactful, live entertainment formats providing services to promotors and venue operators on an international scale.

The company has also developed a proprietary media control system, combining bespoke hardware and software to deliver reliable, high-quality audio-visual playback for live entertainment. Created in-house in response to repeated failures with incumbent solutions, the system is designed to deliver dependable synchronisation and performance in medium to large venues internationally.

Funding was provided by the Maven VCTs and the British Business Bank’s Investment Fund for Scotland, which is also managed by Maven.

BGF-backed hedgehog lab has announced a series of promotions among its senior team, as the Newcastle-headquartered global product design consultancy continues to set itself up for ambitious growth over the next few years.

Joe Thompson, hedgehog lab’s chief technology officer (CTO), has joined the company’s board. Joe has more than 25 years’ experience in the tech sector, and has been with hedgehog lab for the last two, having previously held senior roles at Xoomworks – part of global consultancy Accenture.

Ryan Scaife, previously hedgehog lab’s chief financial officer, has taken on an expanded role as the business’s new chief financial & operating officer (CFOO). He has been with hedgehog lab for more than three years, having previously held similar positions at Netsells and Epiphany Search.

Aimé Watson Bachini has also been promoted to director of people, as hedgehog lab steps up its plans to grow its headcount in the months ahead. Aimé has been with hedgehog lab since 2020, leading on HR, talent acquisition, and the development of its culture.

Author: Jonathan Symcox

Nscale has raised an additional $790 million in financing to reinforce the continued development of its AI data centre in Narvik, Norway.

The financing has been committed by ABN AMRO, DNB, Eksfin, Nordea and SEB. It includes an additional $790m uncommitted accordion feature to fund a further 115MW expansion at the Narvik AI data centre.

Nscale recently raised $2 billion in Series C funding – led by Aker ASA and 8090 Industries – and secured a $1.4bn delayed draw term loan. Former Deputy Prime Minister and Facebook executive Nick Clegg has also joined its board.

JustGiving has launched an AI-enabled fundraising coach to help fundraisers to achieve their fundraising goals – a first for the UK market.

Called Hope, the new fundraising coach will provide bespoke guidance to users of the UK’s largest fundraising platform, advising them on how to increase awareness and support for their challenge throughout their fundraising journey.

Internal research from JustGiving shows that the period after creating a fundraising page can be quite daunting for fundraisers who have committed to raise money for a good cause but aren’t sure how to reach their target. However, JustGiving data shows that every share a fundraising page receives is worth £63 in donations on average, highlighting the benefits to fundraisers of proactively promoting their challenges.

Hope has been developed to address this by providing support to fundraisers through their whole fundraising journey, helping them to generate and sustain momentum to drive more engagement and donations.

The tool operates through a dashboard with an integrated chatbot and is designed to deliver a human-first experience. Responsible use of generative AI is built in at key points to engender trust and confidence in the coach, ensuring it adds genuine value for fundraisers without unnecessary automation.

Hope will do this through capabilities including recommendations of personalised outreach messages, tailored advice on how to increase the visibility of fundraising pages and how to optimise on-page content.

Fundraisers are first asked a short series of questions to help Hope understand what help they need and the potential donors they want to reach. Hope then uses this information to provide tailored advice – helping to coach the users through their fundraising journey.

Lancashire-based Cegedim Rx, the leading provider of software and technology for pharmacists, has expanded its senior leadership team with the appointment of Andy Gent.

The appointment will see Andy, who has more than 12 years of experience within health technology, take the role of product director.

Having previously worked for the community pharmacy technology specialist for four years until his departure in 2023, Andy has also held roles across primary and secondary care with Optum (formerly EMIS) and TPP.

As product director Andy will be responsible for leading the continued development of Cegedim Rx’s award-winning system, Pharmacy Manager.

Propel Healthtech West Yorkshire has launched its second cohort of innovators, bringing together founders, partners and stakeholders from across the region’s health innovation ecosystem.

Following a record number of applications to the six-month accelerator, Propel has welcomed 30 new innovators to the programme, with an even split across its Start-Up and Scale-Up pathways.

The cohort reflects the breadth and strength of the region’s health innovation sector, with companies working across areas including artificial intelligence (AI), mental health and patient pathway transformation.

Together, these innovators represent an increase in the number of solutions designed to address key challenges across our local health and care system, including improving outcomes, enhancing experiences and supporting more efficient systems.

Author: Jonathan Symcox

Newcastle robotics firm Wootzano has resumed trading after the Court of Session in Edinburgh halted liquidation proceedings.

It followed the confirmation of approximately £237 million in contracted distribution agreements in a report submitted to the court.

The court granted a sist – a Scottish legal mechanism that pauses the liquidation process and allows a company to continue trading – in what is understood to be a rare outcome in UK insolvency cases.

Author: Jonathan Symcox

essensys plc will leave the London Stock Exchange on 10th June after it applied to cancel its public listing.

Founder Mark Furness led a £73 million IPO in 2019 but now intends to take the PropTech firm private again for just £11.3m after the deal was approved by more than 98% of shareholders.

He has been backed by high-profile investors Sir Terry Leahy and William Currie.

Author: Jonathan Symcox

Wise plc has today moved its primary listing to the United States.

The London-headquartered FinTech will begin trading on New York’s Nasdaq exchange when it opens this morning.

The money transfer service is maintaining a public listing on the London Stock Exchange but has shifted its primary listing to the US to “accelerate” its path “to become ‘the’ network for the world’s money”.

Autonomous driving tech firm Aurrigo has secured a £4.5 million contract to supply electrical systems for a vehicle OEM’s next-gen supercar programme.

Aurrigo International plc said the multi-year advanced engineering framework agreement will see £810,000 of contracted orders recognised in FY26, with the remainder due to be placed across FY27 and FY28 in line with the customer’s production schedule.

Author: Wiktoria Anna, founder, Wiktoria Anna Art

In 2023, I left my legal career to pursue art full-time.

For many people, that probably sounds like a reckless move.

Law is stable, respected and predictable. Building a business around watercolour painting is, on the face of it, none of those things.

But what I have learned since is that building a business, whatever industry you are in, is not simply about talent or hard work.

It is about visibility, connection and the willingness to put yourself in rooms where opportunities can actually find you.

When I first started building Wiktoria Anna Art, I thought the main thing I needed to do was improve my work. Paint more. Create more. Refine my ideas. Make everything better behind the scenes. And of course, the quality of the work matters.

But one of the biggest lessons I have learned is that a business cannot grow if nobody knows you exist.

That may sound obvious, but it is a lesson many of us resist, especially if we are more comfortable focusing on the work itself.

It is much easier to sit at home perfecting ideas than it is to introduce yourself at an event, speak about your business with confidence or follow up after meeting someone new.

Yet those moments have changed my business far more than I expected.

Author: Craig Brennan, founder and chief executive, SK4 Holdings

Over the past 20 years, I have founded three businesses, which all sit under my holding company, SK4 Holdings. These are LSC, Nurtured Childcare and Smile Society.

LSC, which I founded 20 years ago, is now the UK’s largest provider of specialist PPA cover and wraparound childcare for primary schools.

In 2021, we launched Nurtured Childcare after my wife and I struggled to find suitable childcare for our first daughter. It now operates 12 children’s day nurseries across the North of England.

Smile Society, our dental group, was founded in 2025 and currently operates four fully private dental practices.

Outside the group, I also own Cheadle Town FC, a non-league football club which plays in the North West Counties Premier League and Women’s National League.

For me, most days start with exercise. Fitness is very important to me, so I go to the gym three mornings a week before work. I also run, cycle, play padel regularly and aim for 10,000 steps every day.

I normally get into work at around 8am. The first 30 minutes are usually spent on emails before moving into meetings and the day’s priorities.

Because I lead three businesses, I have a heavy involvement in building the right leadership teams.

Author: Jonathan Symcox

When I meet James Downes on Leadenhall Street in the heart of London’s insurance district, he is dressed smartly.

But I needn’t feel bad about my trademark BusinessCloud blue hoodie, jeans and trainers; for James wasn’t born in a suit.

“The Blitz was my cohort,” the House of Insurtech founder tells me later, referencing the London club that launched the New Romantic movement in the early 80s and was famed for the eclectic homemade fashion styles of its denizens.

Those Covent Garden Tuesdays helped launch the careers of Spandau Ballet and Boy George. When David Bowie visited, he recruited ‘Blitz kids’ to feature in his Ashes to Ashes video.

More on Bowie later. As for the Blitz, it was where James found a home.

TalkTalk Business has announced plans to relocate to a new headquarters at Building 1, Exchange Quay, Salford, with an official opening in mid-May.

The move marks another significant milestone in its evolution as a fully independent managed network services provider following its formal separation from TalkTalk Group earlier this year.

Its modern, flexible layout includes increased meeting room capacity, enabling greater cross-team collaboration and supporting TalkTalk Business’s agile operating model.

Author: Jonathan Symcox

A listed HealthTech has requested the suspension of trading in its shares after failing to secure new funding.

Trellus Health plc said it had managed to extend its cash runway into mid-June 2026 through cost-saving measures including further reductions in compensation and the renegotiation of vendor contracts.

It had previously reduced its monthly cash burn to an average of $300k and secured an emergency loan from one of its co-founders.

The board has engaged corporate restructuring advisers to protect stakeholders’ interests, and the board is now evaluating all options including the sale of Trellus Health Inc., the company’s US subsidiary.

Science Secretary Liz Kendall has named Professor Sir Leszek Borysiewicz as her preferred candidate for Chair of UK Research and Innovation (UKRI).

Sir Leszek has held senior leadership roles across research, medicine and higher education. He served as Chair of Cancer Research UK from 2016 to 2023, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Cambridge from 2010 to 2017, and Chief Executive of the Medical Research Council from 2007 to 2010.

Last year, he was awarded a Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the British Empire for services to cancer research, clinical research, medicine and charities.

Author: Jonathan Symcox

The new corporate leadership team at Physiomics plc has painted a positive picture after ousting the previous board.

Physiomics is a mathematical modelling, data science and biometrics company which supports the development of new therapeutics and personalised medicine solutions.

Activist investor Mike Whitlow, now executive director of the listed firm, praised the professionalism of the wider team during its review of operations.

The firm also praised the professionalism of CEO Dr Peter Sargent, who was among those removed from the board, and said he had been “accommodating and supportive throughout the transition process”.

It added that discussions are ongoing regarding the extension of his contract with the company, which runs out later this month.

More than three-quarters of shareholders who voted agreed to remove former chair Dr Jim Millen, Dr Sargent, Shalabh Kumar and Dr Tim Corn, and to appoint Whitlow, Ian Bagnall and Nicholas Tulloch in their place.

This morning the firm rejected “recent unfounded market speculation concerning alleged substantial exit packages payable to former personnel”, adding: “The board confirms unequivocally that the company has made no payments outside of contractual entitlements to former directors or employees.”

Author: Jonathan Symcox

The founder of essensys plc has been successful with his bid to take the PropTech firm private.

A vehicle led by Mark Furness and backed by high-profile investors Sir Terry Leahy and William Currie recently agreed an £11.3 million deal with the independent board of essensys plc.

This morning the firm stated that the vehicle had secured agreement from the holders of 98% of its shares, declaring the offer unconditional.

“Bidco (the vehicle) will have significant control over essensys and will be in a position to ensure the approval or rejection of ordinary and special resolutions of essensys and to determine its overall direction,” it stated.

“Following the offer being declared wholly unconditional, each of Jon Lee and Sian Herbert, the independent non-executive chairman and independent non-executive director of essensys, respectively, has resigned from the essensys board with immediate effect.”

essensys said a date would be set to cancel its shares on the London Stock Exchange’s junior AIM market and re-register as a private company.

Author: Jonathan Symcox

Intertek Group plc has rejected a third offer of almost £9 billion from Swedish private equity firm EQT.

EQT’s offer, for £58 per share in cash, was revealed earlier this week and followed the rejection of previous proposals of £51.50 and £54 per share.

London-headquartered Intertek operates a network of more than 1,000 laboratories and offices in more than 100 countries.

Intertek is evaluating the potential separation – either through a sale or demerger – of its energy & infrastructure business from its testing & assurance business.