Wavenet has announced a major investment in AI-enabled customer service technologies as it continues to scale operations following significant customer growth across the business.

Over the past 12 months, Wavenet’s support teams have handled more than 450,000 support cases and over 165,000 customer phone calls, reflecting both the growth of the business and the increasing demand for fast, high-quality support across increasingly complex technology environments.

Following a period of significant expansion, Wavenet now supports more than 22,000 organisations across the UK. In the last year alone, the business doubled turnover while maintaining a customer satisfaction score of 92%, highlighting the importance of investing in scalable service capabilities.

To support this growth while maintaining the service standards customers expect, Wavenet has signed a new three-year, £7.4 million agreement with ServiceNow, underpinning a major programme of investment in AI-powered service management capabilities.

The investment includes the rollout this month of ServiceNow’s Agentic AI capabilities, Now Assist, which will support faster and more intelligent customer support through automated fault triage, case summarisation and improved case management.

The new capabilities are designed to reduce delays caused by cases moving between teams, provide engineers with better visibility of previous customer interactions and accelerate issue resolution times.

Risk Ledger has secured £24 million growth investment from Axiom Equity and returning investor Mercia to enter the United States.

It says the Series B funding will enable more organisations to move beyond traditional third-party risk management and towards active supply chain security. 

Risk Ledger was built for how supply chains actually work. The platform is network-first: each supplier completes one standardised assessment and maintains it across the network in real time, replacing repeated questionnaires with a single, current profile that every connected organisation can see.

 

Silicon Microgravity Limited (SMG), the UK advanced semiconductor company pioneering next-generation MEMS technologies, has secured £6 million in funding to accelerate commercial growth across the defence, space and semiconductor sectors.

The round includes investment from the UK Innovation & Science Seed Fund (UKI2S), managed by Future Planet Capital, with participation from both the UKI2S Defence & Security and Space portfolios, alongside lead investor West Hill Capital.

The investment marks UKI2S’s first participation in SMG through its Space Portfolio, building on the company’s existing relationship with the fund’s Defence & Security portfolio, and comes as SMG achieves growing commercial traction with a number of globally recognised customers.

SMG’s proprietary technology enables the production of high performance microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) devices designed for extreme operating environments. These technologies are increasingly critical for modern defence systems, satellite communications, navigation, sensing and autonomous operations.

The company’s MEMS accelerometers are already supporting advanced space programmes, with applications spanning launch vehicles, lunar and planetary exploration, satellite enabled critical mineral exploration alongside wider dual-use commercial and sovereign capability deployments.

The funding will support SMG’s continued scale-up of UK manufacturing capability, expansion of its engineering and semiconductor production capacity, and acceleration of commercial partnerships across Europe and the US.

Lockheed Martin is expanding the reach of its venture capital fund to support development of promising defence technologies in British and European markets. 

Lockheed Martin Ventures, the company’s $1 billion startup investment arm, is opening a London office with the goal of investing at least $100 million of its funding in the UK and Europe.

 

Recognise Bank, the SME property lending bank, has appointed ex-Starling Bank COO Julian Sawyer as a non-executive director.

In addition to Starling Bank, Julian brings a wealth of banking and FinTech experience to the board. His previous roles include CEO roles at Zodia Custody and Bitstamp.

Recently, Recognise Bank has announced that it has grown its loan book to over £500m, whilst recently exceeding £600m in deposits.

Millions of shoppers using BNPL services will be better protected by new rules that have now come into force.

The government says they deliver on its commitment ‘to end the Buy Now, Pay Later Wild-West’. 

Buying items with providers like Klarna, PayPal or Clearpay can be a useful tool to help people manage their finances, allowing consumers to spread the cost of purchases interest-free, typically at the point of online checkout. 

However these users have had fewer rights than someone buying the same item with a credit card or a personal loan when seeking a refund after buying faulty goods.

These products will now be regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), giving consumers protections in line with other forms of credit. 

Under the new rules, providers must also carry out affordability checks before offering credit, meaning no one should be borrowing what they cannot realistically afford to repay, helping people avoid getting into avoidable, unaffordable debt.

And anyone who falls into financial difficulty will be directed towards debt advice and support first, rather than being immediately handed to a debt collector.

Author: Jonathan Symcox

Frasers Group plc has reported an increase in revenue following acquisitions and international growth – but saw sales in its core UK Sports Direct business fall last year.

For the 52 weeks ended 26th April 2026, group revenue was up 8.7% to £5.3 billion, driven by international revenue growth of 59.2%. However sales in its UK sports division fell 4.7% and premium lifestyle dropped 6.9%.

Frasers, which owns House of Fraser and Flannels, saw overall retail growth of 8.3% to £5.1bn, while its property arm grew 55.1% to £96m and financial services – including Frasers Plus – fell 5.7% to £80.4m.

It was reported yesterday by Sky News that Mike Ashley’s retail and property group had entered the auction for the struggling iconic luxury department store Harvey Nichols despite objections from its brand partners.

Frasers, also looking to take over Hugo Boss, is tempted by the flagship Knightsbridge store, while ‘Harvey Nicks’ also has more than a dozen international locations.

Northern Gritstone, the investment company scaling early-stage life sciences and technology companies in the North of England, has promoted Simon Braham to chief investment officer.

Braham joined Northern Gritstone in September 2025 to drive the growth of its portfolio companies in the newly created role of head of portfolio. In his new role, he will oversee all of the company’s investment activities.

Based in Manchester, Braham is an experienced venture capital and private equity investor.  He joined Northern Gritstone from Bridges, where he led its sustainable growth funds in the North.

Sports technology business Urban Zoo has secured a £20 million investment from BGF.

BGF’s investment will support the development of Urban Zoo’s proprietary technology, while enabling the company to capitalise on the significant growth potential across international markets, particularly in North America.

Founded in 2013, the Warrington-based company provides world-leading digital platforms for sports brands, clubs and federations – across mobile, web, streaming, eCommerce, and retail – to drive fan engagement and strengthen revenue streams.

Birmingham Tech Week will return this October with its strongest international presence to date, following the launch of the inaugural Beijing–Birmingham Tech Week in June and growing global interest in the West Midlands as a destination for technology investment and innovation.

In 2025, the festival welcomed delegates from 16 countries, including China, India, Canada and South Korea, with organisers expecting even greater international participation in 2026.

This year’s programme has been shaped by the recently launched West Midlands Tech Review, which states that the region’s £15.8 billion digital economy can become the UK’s leading test bed for frontier technologies by increasing AI adoption, strengthening cyber resilience and investing in future talent.

UK and Ireland professional services firm AAB has launched a new Manchester office.

AAB said the opening at the landmark No.1 St Michael’s development – which builds on AAB’s existing presence in Bolton, where 70 staff are based – is part of an ambitious plan to build a business serving scaling businesses across the North West, while growing to employ over 200 people.

The firm, which is backed by Goldman Sachs Alternatives, plans to establish a full-service offering in the city, combining partner-led relationships with expertise from across its wider UK and Ireland business to support leadership teams as they grow and their needs become more complex.

Led by head of the North West, Chris Harland, the team’s expertise covers audit, tax, business advisory, corporate finance, outsourced finance support, payroll, employment and financial planning in the city. 

Author: Jonathan Symcox

A ground-breaking HealthTech co-founded by Spotify’s Daniel Ek has raised $700 million in Series C funding.

Ek founded Neko Health with Hjalmar Nilsonne to redefine how people understand and act on their health.

At the heart of Neko’s offering is the Neko Health Scan – a 60-minute, comprehensive, non-invasive and radiation-free health assessment that captures millions of health data points.

More than 350,000 people have joined the waitlist or registered for a Neko Health Scan, and more than 100,000 in the UK and Sweden have already experienced one. The firm has added clinics in Manchester and Birmingham, as well as multiple locations in London. 

 

Beeks Financial Cloud Group plc has reported full-year results in line with market expectations after a record H2.

The firm, a cloud computing and connectivity provider for financial markets, said for the financial year ended 30th June 2026 that revenue is expected to increase by 11% to approximately £40 million.

Underlying EBITDA growth is expected to grow 18% to approximately £16m with underlying profit before tax growth of 13% to approximately £6.2m.

LendInvest plc, an AIM-listed alternative property finance platform, has swung to profit in its latest annual results.

The company provides a range of mortgages to both professional buy-to-let landlords and homeowners, and also provides larger, more structured finance to property developers and investors.

Profit before tax was £3.2m, compared to a loss of £1.2m in FY25. Adjusted EBITDA increased 200% to £8.7m (FY25: £2.8m).

The firm saw record originations of £1.44 billion (+17%); record quarterly originations of £415m in Q4; and record monthly originations of £196m in March.

Assets under management increased 18% to £3.82bn, while LendInvest reduced its headcount from 203 to 192, with the majority of staff now based in Glasgow.

Author: Jonathan Symcox

Global podcast company Audioboom has posted a huge leap in profits after rejecting several takeover offers.

For the six months ended 30th June 2026, adjusted EBITDA profit was $3.2 million, up 80% on H1 2025.

Reported revenue of $45.7m was up 30% on the prior year. Audioboom pointed to strong growth of Showcase, its tech-based global advertising marketplace, which saw H1 revenue of $18.6m, up 60%.

In Q2 Audioboom saw an average monthly distribution of 183m downloads and video views, up 84% on Q2 2025.

Author: Jonathan Symcox

The UK competition regulator has cleared eBay’s $1.2 billion (£890 million) deal to buy second-hand fashion marketplace Depop from Etsy.

The all-cash deal, announced in February, comes five years after online marketplace Etsy bought Depop for $1.6bn (£1.18bn).

The Competition and Markets Authority referred the deal to an initial phase 1 investigation but has given it the green light.

Author: Jonathan Symcox

British technology company Valarian has secured a £37 million Series A investment, led by US venture capital firm New Enterprise Associates (NEA).

This new funding takes Valarian’s total investment to $70m (£52m) and will accelerate the rollout of the company’s UK-sovereign digital architecture across government, defence and enterprise.

It also marks NEA’s first defence and dual-use investment in Europe, reflecting growing international confidence in Britain’s sovereign technology sector.

 

Pure Data Centres Group has launched what will become one of Finland’s largest ever inward investment projects, and the largest ever by a UK company.

Phase 1 will see investment of over £1.3 billion for a 110MW AI campus, with the site in Seinäjoki capable of scaling to a £6.4bn, 550MW+ campus for AI workloads, subject to the necessary permissions and contracting. 

The full Seinäjoki campus will be one of Europe’s largest ever AI infrastructure projects, helping to put Finland at the forefront of Europe’s AI transition.

Prolo, an AI-powered procurement platform designed to support SME construction firms source materials, equipment, and hire at the best market rates, has secured £4.2 million in seed funding.

The round was led by Triple Point Ventures and joined by a consortium of leading venture capital firms, including the a16z Scout Fund, Anamcara Capital, Concrete VC, Foundation Ventures, Haatch, Koro Capital, Love Ventures, and Portfolio Ventures.

The funding will fuel the company’s focus on go-to-market sales and marketing efforts, and accelerate new tech and product rollouts to ensure robust support for its growing base of SME contractor customers.

Prolo was founded by James Morris-Manuel, a successful serial entrepreneur in PropTech, having previously founded the startup Virtual Walkthrough, building it into a European market leader before leading its successful acquisition by the spatial data giant Matterport.

Following the exit, Morris-Manuel served as EMEA Managing Director at Matterport, establishing London as the company’s regional headquarters.

Two years on from launching, the University of Salford’s Centre for Sustainable Innovation (CSI) has supported more than 400 organisations to grow, innovate and improve productivity, marking a significant milestone in the region’s transition to a greener, more sustainable economy.

Since launching in 2024, the University’s pioneering sustainability and innovation hub has also helped to unlock more than £4.26 million in external funding and delivered over 30 cohorts of practical training, providing businesses, leaders and entrepreneurs with the knowledge, skills and networks needed to accelerate sustainable innovation and growth.