Bite-size news and insight from UK business and tech – including funding, deals and appointments
Fractile is to invest £100m to scale production of AI chips.
The London chipmaker will invest the money over the next three years to build a hardware engineering facility in Bristol and testing lab for software.
The government said it will support work on next-generation systems designed to run advanced artificial intelligence models faster than current hardware.
It added that it will assemble Fractile’s chips into full AI systems.
Eleco Plc has acquired Kivue, a provider of project portfolio management software and associated services, for an enterprise value basis of £2.3m – £1.84m cash and £460,000 of equity.
Eleco is an AIM-listed specialist software provider for the built environment.
Reading-based Kivue’s Perform platform provides immediate and automated, visual portfolio insights, governance, risks and portfolio performance for project teams and enterprise-level executives.
Primarily focused on the private sector with some public sector clients, notable customers include London City Airport, Aon, Bentley, Virgin Atlantic and The Government of Jersey.
Its most recent annual results showed £1.5m in revenue and adjusted EBITDA of £200,000.
Listed Nottingham-based eCommerce business Huddled Group plc has raised £740,000 via a share placing and retail share sale.
Huddled Group buys surplus stock from manufacturers and retailers before selling it online at a fraction of the usual price through its brands DiscountDragon, Nutricircle and BOOP Beauty.
It claims to have saved millions of items from being unnecessarily wasted, while it has donated and distributed hundreds of thousands of items to food poverty charities in the UK.
The funds raised will be used will be used to further strengthen the group’s stock and working capital position across its various brands, as well as provide additional working capital to fund the expansion into new channels such as KwikSales and marketplaces such as Amazon and Temu.
4basebio PLC has appointed a CEO to take over from the founder of the BioTech.
The firm, which accelerates development of advanced therapy medicinal products through synthetic DNA products, said Dr Amy Walker will succeed Dr Heikki Lanckriet.
Dr Lanckriet has stepped down to lead a newly formed entity which will be focused on advancing the Hermes nanoparticle platform into the clinic. David Roth will join him and step down as CFO and as a director at 4basebio, following an orderly handover period.
Dr Walker has been with the company for more than five years, most recently serving as COO.
One of the most important figures in Greater Manchester’s digital sector is to leave his role this week.
After eight years at Greater Manchester Combined Authority, Phil Swan will be leaving his post as director of digital on February 13th.
He’ll be taking up a new position at Government Digital Service (GDS) as the director with responsibility for GDS Local, service standards, inclusive digital design, and pan‑Government digital capability.
GDS local is a new unit within the Government Digital Service (GDS) that brings central and local government together to deliver the ambitions set out in the blueprint for a modern digital government.
Swan said: “It’s been a real privilege to lead digital services at GMCA and help shape and deliver on the Greater Manchester Digital Blueprint. I’m hugely proud of what we’ve achieved, but even more proud of the collaborative, can‑do way Greater Manchester works. It’s a special place.”
Author: Jonathan Symcox
The founder of White Label Loyalty says the Leeds tech firm is to enter a ‘major scaling phase’ in 2026.
Achille Traore is CEO of the company which featured in second spot on our MarTech 50 last year and is plotting further international expansion after successful launches in the United States and Middle East.
“We’ve continued to add high-profile clients over the past year, including several global brands,” Traore tells BusinessCloud. “Two major programmes are launching this quarter, reinforcing our growing international footprint.
“We’ve expanded into new markets, particularly the US and Saudi Arabia, while supporting clients such as Kitopi with international expansion initiatives from Dubai.
“This momentum reflects both the scalability of our platform and the increasing global demand for more effective loyalty solutions.”
Author: Jonathan Symcox
Plus500’s share price has hit an all-time high after it reported a rise in annual revenue and profits this morning.
The FinTech group, which floated in 2013, saw shares fly past 4,850 pence after a 7% uplift in value today.
FTSE 250 firm Plus500, headquartered in Israel and listed in London, operates technology-based trading platforms. It has delivered a total shareholder return of more than 8,000% since its London IPO, the most of any company.
Author: Jonathan Symcox
NatWest Group has lost 7.5% off its share price today after announcing a £2.7 billion swoop for wealth management firm Evelyn Partners.
The deal sees an exit for British private equity giant Permira and US peer Warburg Pincus.
NatWest said the transaction creates the UK’s leading private banking and wealth management business and will transform its savings and investment offering for its 20 million customers.
It also announced a share buyback of £750m to return capital to shareholders.
However its shares dropped following the announcements. They are valued at 610.5 pence at the time of writing (3.15pm).
NatWest’s share price remains up by almost 40% over the last 12 months.
Author: Jonathan Symcox
Ripjar has replaced its CEO Tom Obermaier with a former executive at Featurespace.
Obermaier was installed as CEO in late 2024 by private equity firm Long Ridge as it became the majority owner of the Cheltenham RegTech, with founder Jeremy Annis moving to a pure board position.
Obermaier is still listed as CEO on his LinkedIn profile but reference to him has been removed from the company’s team page on its website, with Mills now listed as CEO.
Neither Ripjar nor Mills referred to Obermaier in a press release announcing the new appointment.
Ripjar, a technology provider of risk and threat screening intelligence solutions for financial services firms, corporations and governments, has turned to Mills. He spent a decade at RegTech Featurespace as chief commercial officer and general manager and helped grow the organisation from 12 to more than 400 employees before the company’s acquisition by Visa in 2024.
Mills also led innovation, sales and partnerships for Aurasma, later acquired by HP, where he expanded the business to over 10,000 commercial customers and partners during his three‑year tenure.
Obermaier had operated as a chief risk officer at leading financial institutions including Citibank and Deutsche Bank. As CEO at RDC, he pioneered a leading customer risk diligence standard before its acquisition by Moody’s Analytics.
Propel Healthtech West Yorkshire is inviting innovators with ambitious healthtech solutions to apply for the next cohort of its flagship accelerator programme, supporting businesses to develop, test and scale innovations within the NHS and wider healthcare system.
The programme is free for successful applicants and offers a comprehensive package of support, including enhanced business development, regulatory guidance, access to NHS networks and tailored advice to support sustainable growth.
Propel Healthtech has recently secured £4.5 million in funding through the West Yorkshire Mayor’s Investment Zone, part of a wider £160 million regional Investment Zone aimed at accelerating growth across the health innovation and technology sector.
Over the next four years, the programme will support hundreds of businesses, helping them to scale in the NHS, contribute to regional economic growth and develop life-changing innovations for patients.
Delivered in collaboration with a strong network of national and international partners, Propel Healthtech provides innovators with access to organisations that bring lived experience of operating and scaling in global markets.
The programme is open to both early-stage innovators and scale-up organisations that can demonstrate traction within the NHS. Applicants must have an existing presence in West Yorkshire or be willing to establish one.
Pharmacy2U has today relaunched its veterinary care platform, as Pharmacy2U Pet Health, becoming the only online pharmacy to offer pet services alongside ‘human’ health services via an app that customers can access on the go.
Pharmacy2U, which has 1.8 million customers in England, says its website and app now gives people the ability to look after the health, wellbeing and prescriptions of their whole family using a combined basket feature.
The move comes amid a major probe with the CMA investigating prescription pricing in the veterinary sector, with a final decision due to be announced in early spring.
The watchdog has rung the alarm on a lack of price transparency, high costs and ineffective competition within the industry – finding average vet prices rose 63% between 2016 and 2023, well above the rate of inflation.
Author: Jonathan Symcox
A dentist is using AI to tackle the children’s dental health crisis.
Dr Ramzan Mohammed founded Manchester startup My Dental Buddy in 2023 and says it has developed a ‘world-first’ in AI functionality.
The platform now offers a live dashboard for supervising tooth brushing sessions and tracking engagement for children and their guardians. At home or in schools, parents, guardians and professionals can access free tools including interactive brushing guides, habit trackers and dentist-approved educational content to reinforce healthy routines.
My Dental Buddy has been awarded a £248,000 two-year oral health programme contract with Oldham Council.
The company is projecting £1.6m of total revenue in the next three years.
Plus500 has grown annual revenue and profits.
The FinTech group, which operates technology-based trading platforms, reported $792.4m revenue for the year ended 31st December 2025.
That was 3% up on the $768.3m reported last year.
EBITDA grew 2% to $348.1m (FY 2024: $342.3m).
Author: Jonathan Symcox
YouGov has replaced its CFO as its share price continues to drop.
The listed research services and data analytics firm said it has mutually agreed with Alex McIntosh that he will step down ‘to pursue other opportunities’ with effect from today.
McIntosh has been with the company for 19 years, including eight years on the board as CFO.
James Davies, former CFO of Monzo Bank, has been appointed his successor, initially on an interim basis.
YouGov’s share price is down 12% in the last five days; 40% in the last six months; and nearly 50% in the last year.
A year ago almost to the day, then-CEO Steve Hatch – a former Meta executive who took the role in 2023 – left the company with immediate effect after its share price had more than halved during his 18 months in charge.
Author: Jonathan Symcox
NatWest Group has sealed a £2.7 billion swoop for wealth management firm Evelyn Partners.
It sees an exit for British private equity giant Permira and US peer Warburg Pincus.
Evelyn Partners – formed from the merger of Tilney and Smith & Williamson – has grown from £5bn to £69bn in client assets since 2014, when Permira first invested. Warburg Pincus invested in 2020.
NatWest said the transaction creates the UK’s leading private banking and wealth management business and will transform its savings and investment offering for its 20 million customers.
NatWest is also announcing a share buyback of £750m to return capital to shareholders.
Author: Chris Maguire
Susie Ma has been described as the powerhouse behind one of the UK’s fastest-growing beauty brands.
Born in Shanghai, she spent her early years in Australia before moving to the UK.
She attended Croydon High School and was just 15 when she recreated and sold her grandma’s body scrub recipe at Greenwich Market to help her mum pay the bills.
Today, Tropic Skincare has grown into a $100m+ revenue business and has won more than 450 awards.
Ma gained national attention in 2011 when she appeared in seventh series of The Apprentice at the age of 21.
On Thursday, she’ll step into the Den when she makes her appearance as a guest Dragon on Dragons’ Den.
Author: Chris Maguire
A food startup, described as ‘the bath bomb for your saucepan’, registered six months’ sales in just two hours after their appearance on Dragons’ Den.
Tina Faghihi-Hallam and her husband Olly Hallam founded Flavour Bombs in February 2024 with just £300 and are on a mission to change the face of home cooking.
On Thursday, millions of viewers saw the couple receive offers from three Dragons – Peter Jones, Touker Suleyman and guest Dragon Gary Neville.
Immediately after the show was screened Flavour Bombs saw:
- £52k sales in just two hours – the equivalent of half of all sales in 2024;
- 3,000 per cent surge in website traffic; and
- Thousands of new social media followers.
Despite zero marketing spend, Flavour Bombs surpassed £100,000 in revenue in its first year and is now targeting sales of more than £100m.
Faghihi-Hallam comes from a tech background, which included four-and-a-half years at PatSnap, while her husband is a film-maker.
On the show, they eventually accepted a £50k offer from the longest-serving Dragon, Peter Jones, for 25 per cent of the business.
NatWest has announced a major expansion of its support for UK entrepreneurs, aiming to grow the Accelerator community to 50,000 members – a five-fold increase on the 10,000 ambition set for 2025.
This step-up‑ follows a strong 2025, when the bank exceeded its ambition by growing the community to 12,000, beating in a single year the total number it had supported over the previous 10 years in total.
The announcement forms part of the bank’s new five point Growing Together plan, setting out how the bank will help build the conditions for UK-wide growth: backing powerful regions, championing mid-market companies, strengthening the country’s infrastructure and housing foundations, boosting financial confidence amongst families and young people, and supporting the innovators shaping the future economy.
Uplift360, an advanced materials start-up transforming how aerospace, defence and industrial sectors recover and reuse high-value composite waste, has closed its €7.4m seed funding round.
The round was led by Extantia, one of Europe’s leading deep tech venture funds, with significant contributions from the NATO Innovation Fund (NIF), Promus Ventures and Fund F.
This constitutes a significant milestone for deep-tech dual-use investments in advanced material resilience. Advanced materials like carbon fibre and aramids underpin defence, aerospace and manufacturing and are critical to Europe’s ability to revitalise industrial capabilities more broadly.
However, these materials currently face severe supply-chain bottlenecks due to geopolitical pressure and limited virgin fibre availability and, as they are built to last, contribute to a fast-growing global waste stream.
Uplift360 can help address this challenge through its proprietary technology, a chemical process that recovers advanced composite materials, resulting in the same quality output as inputted. Unlike recycling, Uplift360’s regeneration process is non-degenerative, giving them a true second life.
Smart Money People has announced the appointment of Peer Jelendorf as its new CEO, succeeding longstanding CEO Jacqueline Dewey, who is stepping down at the end of February after nearly six years in the role.
Jelendorf joins from savings and investment platform Moneybox, where he most recently served as head of commercial.
Founded in 2014, Surrey-headquartered Smart Money People is described as the UK’s most comprehensive review site providing deeper, more detailed insight than traditional review sites to help consumers make better financial decisions.
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