Author: Patrick Killeen

Edinburgh-based MedTech Trogenix has raised £70 million in a Series A funding round to accelerate the development of its next-generation cancer therapies targeting aggressive solid tumours.

The investment, led by IQ Capital, will enable the company to advance its lead programme in glioblastoma and a follow-on programme in colorectal cancer liver metastases.

It will also help the firm to expand its pipeline in liver and lung cancers, as well as support the continued development of its proprietary Odysseus platform.

The business, founded just two years ago, has built the platform to identify and target the universal vulnerabilities of solid tumours.

Author: Jonathan Symcox

The owner of Social Chain has opposed a significant shareholder over the proposed appointment of Julia Robertson as a director.

Brave Bison Group plc is convening a general meeting on 24th October to consider the requisition notice posted by Lord Michael Ashcroft.

Robertson’s appointment would require 50% of votes cast to pass. Brave Bison says it has consulted with shareholders and strategic partners News Corp. and Professor Mark Ritson and says the appointment would not be in the best interests of the company.

The board is recommending that shareholders vote against the proposed resolution and claims it has received written indications of support for its position from shareholders representing 51% of the company’s issued share capital.

Tory donor and former party chair Lord Ashcroft sold his recruitment company Impellam to Dutch rival Headfirst for £482m in 2023. Robertson was its CEO and left the company earlier this year.

She is currently chair of Optim Health plc and a non-exec director at Marlowe plc.

Brave Bison’s share price is up 130% in the year to date.

Ashtead Technology Holdings plc, a subsea technology solutions provider to the global offshore energy sector, has moved from the junior AIM market to the main market of the London Stock Exchange this morning.

Shares in Ashtead are down by a third in the year to date.

Author: Jonathan Symcox

Crimson Tide plc has reported positive results following a tumultuous period for the firm.

The Tunbridge Wells firm, provider of process management platform mpro5, appointed a new CEO this summer following a takeover saga.

The previous CEO and chair both left the company after shareholders in fellow listed firm Checkit voted down its acquisition earlier this year.

For the 16-month financial period ended 30th April 2025, it generated revenues of £7.9 million (FY23: £6.2m) with adjusted EBITDA of £900,000 (FY23: £400,000).

A non-executive director is to step down from the board of London-based Diales Group Plc.

The global specialist dispute avoidance and dispute resolution consultancy said Elizabeth Filkin will depart by the end of the year.

Verici Dx plc, a developer of advanced clinical diagnostics for organ transplant, has appointed Aubrey Powell to its board as a non-executive director.

Dr Erik Lium, a non-executive director since August 2020 and representative of Mount Sinai on the board, will step down.

Powell has over 30 years’ experience in supporting and advising growth companies, 26 of which have been spent in investment banking and corporate finance.

The firm is based in the United States but listed in London.

Author: Chris Maguire

I genuinely love the North.

I might be an adopted Northerner but I’ve made the North my home for nearly 20 years.

Today BusinessCloud is publishing the 2025 Northern Leaders list to shine a light on more than 200 of the people who make the North a better place by their actions.

This year’s list includes 74 new names from the North West, North East and Yorkshire & Humberside and includes figures from the world of business, charity, sport, property, politics, philanthropy and TV.

We’ll be showcasing some of them at our awards dinner on 20th November at KPMG’s Manchester offices.

I will never forget the moment from the inaugural dinner when former England and Manchester City captain Steph Houghton MBE walked away with the Northern Leaders Overall Award.

The presentation was made by Jonathan Bernstein, son of former Manchester City Council chief executive Sir Howard Bernstein, who inspired Northern Leaders.

I’m hugely grateful to KPMG for hosting our awards dinner and to our headline sponsor OBI, alongside law firm CG, GM Business Growth Hub, Rochdale Development Agency, insurance giant Lockton and J.P. Morgan Private Bank

I’m proud to live  in the North – now more than ever.

Author: See the week’s best-read stories

What were the week’s best-read stories on BusinessCloud.co.uk?

We’ve had:

• an entrepreneur accused of forgery ousting the chair of the listed company she founded – months after it sacked her

• the PropTech 50 ranking and Northern Leaders list

• a Cheshire company going live with its £300m IPO this morning

• S&W looking to take historic strength of Smith & Williamson brand to Manchester and beyond

• an online fashion retailer suffering a drop in share price and sales amid a multi-year turnaround plan

Dublin managed service provider Ekco has acquired Bristol-based Solsoft Group Limited.

The acquisitive firm has sealed three deals this year.

Solsoft delivers proactive IT services to small-and-medium sized enterprises and not-for-profit organisations across the South and South West of the UK. The company’s 16-strong team will join Ekco’s workforce of more than 1,000 people globally across Ireland, UK, Netherlands, Malaysia and South Africa.

Pembroke VCT has led a £5 million investment in PEAK:AIO, a Manchester-based software company building ultra-fast storage systems for AI workloads.

The company has developed an AI software platform that delivers faster, more energy-efficient AI systems, fixing one of the data storage industry’s biggest problems: how information is stored and accessed.

Pembroke has invested £3.7m, alongside NPIF II – Praetura Equity Finance which is managed by Praetura Ventures as part of the Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund II (NPIF II), and a Silicon Valley investor.

Risers:

Goodwin – +4.93%
AJ Bell – +4.61%
Schroders – +3.64%
Bunzl – +3.52%
Bridgepoint – +3.27%

Fallers:

Aston Martin – -4.77%
Wetherspoon – -4.74%
ITV – -2.20%
Frasers – -2.08%
First Group – -1.80%

THG and Oxford Nanopore have each also dropped close to 2% today, while BT dropped almost 1%.

Author: Jonathan Symcox

The share price of Big Technologies is up 1.4% today after chair Alexander Brennan quit.

He was effectively forced out of the company by founder Sara Murray OBE, who is embroiled in a £320m High Court battle with the firm after it dismissed her from the position of CEO in March.

Author: Jonathan Symcox

Following the appearance of LeakBot inventor Dr Samuel Bailey on Dragons’ Den last night, shares in its parent company Ondo InsurTech PLC have climbed a modest 1.5% today.

Dr Sam was pitching Pippa, a wall-mounted device that warns when pans are about to burn or when stoves are left on.

He sparked a three-way bidding war and walked away with the promise of a multi-Dragon deal.

The share price of Beauty Tech Group plc – the parent company of CurrentBody – are up more than 5% on the first morning of trading.

It currently stands at 285p.

Author: Jonathan Symcox

Big Technologies plc chair Alexander Brennan is to step down as non-executive chair with immediate effect.

Sara Murray OBE is embroiled in a £320m High Court battle with Big Technologies plc after it dismissed her from the position of CEO in March. Murray’s assets have been effectively frozen during the case; and two weeks ago Big Technologies accused her of forgery and deliberate falsification of documents to push through the company’s £577m IPO in 2021. You can read full details of the accusation here.

Meanwhile a group of former shareholders are suing the firm as they claim Murray effectively pushed them out via an earlier MBO.

Late last week, Murray was part of a group of current shareholders seeking to remove Brennan from the board and replace him with James Graham Matheson.

“Having led the board as interim chairman and then chairman, including during the period of the investigations undertaken by the company related to the removal of Sara Murray as CEO, Alexander has made the determination that it is in the best interests of all shareholders if a new director, independent of the investigations, were to lead the company’s efforts to resolve the protracted litigation against Sara Murray and associated parties,” a notice to the London Stock Exchange read.

Sangita Shah will take over the role on an interim basis.

Shah said: “On behalf of the board, I would like to thank Alexander for his integrity and his conduct, at the core of which has been a steadfast adherence to the highest standards of governance in the discharge of his duties, notably this year.

“This has been a difficult time for the company, and we are grateful to Alexander for his consistent dedication and professionalism.

“The board await confirmation that our offer of mediation will be accepted by Sara Murray to enable the company to progress to constructive settlement discussions.”    

RWS Holdings plc CFO Candida Davies has decided to step down from the position and the company’s board.

She will stay until the end of 2025 to support the language and content technology solutions company with a smooth transition and the reporting of its full-year results.

The board has appointed a search firm as it looks for a successor.

Author: Jonathan Symcox

The parent company of CurrentBody has priced its flotation at 271 pence per share – valuing it at £300m.

The Beauty Tech Group plc has now begun trading.

Founder Laurence Newman: “I am incredibly proud of everything The Beauty Tech Group has achieved since we launched CurrentBody in 2009. From establishing ourselves as a global leader in the fast growing at-home beauty technology market to successfully completing this milestone listing on the London Stock Exchange, the Group continues to go from strength to strength.

 “As we enter the next stage of our growth journey, this IPO provides the perfect platform to increase awareness of our three distinct, premium brands and take the group to the next level, while delivering sustained and profitable growth. The continued momentum within the business and strong support from investors during our roadshow, gives us the confidence and financial firepower to fully capitalise on the significant opportunities that lie before us.

“Most importantly, I would like to thank everyone at The Beauty Tech Group. The business would not be where it is today without their dedication and hard work and I am excited to embark on this next chapter together.”

We’ll follow its share price movement throughout the day.

The £2.9 billion acquisition of Deliveroo by US rival DoorDash has now completed.

The UK food delivery giant has now delisted from the London Stock Exchange as a result.

Deliveroo founder Will Shu has stepped down as CEO. “I’m super proud of everything we have achieved. We pioneered and then redefined a new category,” he said.

Author: Jonathan Symcox

Massive news for the London markets this morning as Princes Group announces it is considering an IPO on the main market of the LSE.

The £2.1 billion revenue food and drinks firm includes the brands Princes, Napolina, ‘Branston, Batchelors, Flora, Crisp ‘N Dry, Delverde, Naked Noodle and Vier Diamanten.

The Liverpool-headquartered group exports its products to more than 60 countries and has more than 8,000 customers globally across large food retailers, B2B partners and the foodservice industry.

 

Author: Jonathan Symcox

Have your say by clicking on the link above.

You can also find a complete record of all the current Dragons’ investments prior to this show here:

Deborah Meaden

Steven Bartlett

Touker Suleyman

Sara Davies

Peter Jones