The Lancashire Innovation Board has strengthened its leadership with the appointments of Dr Robert Holdbrook, director of science and technology at eco-chemicals firm Thrive, and Professor Andy Schofield, chair of the North West Regional Defence and Security Cluster.

The additions bring deep expertise in environmental science, biotechnology, defence, security and advanced manufacturing as the county accelerates delivery of its Innovation Plan.

Separately, Lancashire County Council-owned Fraser House co-working hub in Lancaster has appointed Rebecca Latham as business development and community manager to grow membership and develop new revenue opportunities.

Manchester-based startup Voxelo has raised £300,000 in the first close of its pre-seed round as it brings an AI-powered 3D product content studio to market.

The platform is looking to allow retailers and brands to generate 3D, AR and product imagery from a single uploaded video, using its proprietary UG3D technology to create digital twins in around two hours.

Voxelo is already working with early customers including Cosatto and British Attire and has received backing from Innovate UK and multiple accelerator programmes.

The round remains open, with the business now progressing towards a final close as it scales product development and go-to-market activity.

Injection moulding specialist MGS Technical Plastics has been acquired by its three directors in a full management buyout.

Long-serving owner John Sturgess sold equal shares in the Blackburn-based business to chairperson Neil Garrity, managing director Judson Smythe and commercial director Mark Preston.

The directors said operations and strategy will remain unchanged as the business continues to focus on customers, community and long-term growth.

The deal completes a transition to full management ownership following an increase in the directors’ stake in mid-2024.

Just Eat has launched a new AI voice assistant on iOS and Android, allowing customers to place orders by speaking naturally rather than browsing menus.

Rolling out first in the UK, the tool is designed to reduce “choice overload” by acting as a personalised delivery concierge, recommending restaurants, cuisines and products across food, pharmacy, beauty and electronics.

The assistant understands informal, conversational requests in multiple languages and can switch between voice and touch, improving accessibility for users with limited mobility or visual impairments.

Early trials showed rising usage and higher conversion rates among customers using the feature, which is now live within the app.

Kinaxia Logistics has announced a multi-million-pound investment in technology to boost the digital transformation of its nationwide logistics operation.

The group has selected Qargo’s transport management software and Samsara’s connected operations platform to improve customer visibility, route efficiency, driver safety and sustainability performance.

The rollout will provide real-time freight tracking, automated proof-of-delivery and invoicing, and enhanced operational insight, alongside telematics, in-cab cameras and digital vehicle inspections to boost safety and reduce downtime.

Headquartered in Greater Manchester, the business operates a national network delivering end-to-end logistics services across sectors including retail, food and drink, leisure and manufacturing.

Multiverse has acquired StackFuel, Germany’s leading data and AI training provider, to accelerate AI upskilling across Europe’s largest economy.

The combined entity has set an immediate target of training 100,000 German workers.

StackFuel works with major corporates including Mercedes-Benz, IAV and Telefónica, and its founders Leo Marose and Stefan Berntheisel will join the senior leadership team of the combined business.

The acquisition strengthens Multiverse’s European expansion strategy, combining the London-based unicorn’s AI-led learning platform with StackFuel’s strong German market presence.

The British Business Bank has committed up to £10 million to Ascension Ventures through its Regional Angels Programme, which aims to address regional imbalances in access to early-stage equity finance.

The funding will be deployed alongside Ascension’s existing EIS and SEIS funds, as well as its institutional impact vehicle, Ascension Fund III.

The commitment is designed to improve access to patient capital for early-stage technology businesses outside London and the South East.

Ascension is one of the UK’s most active seed investors and has been recognised in recent years for its work in both technology and impact investing.

The British Private Equity & Venture Capital Association has formally rebranded as UK Private Capital following member approval at its AGM.

The change reflects the evolution of the association, which now spans private equity, venture capital and private credit and supports around 13,000 UK companies, employing 2.5 million people and contributing 7% of GDP.

The new name is intended to better reflect how the sector describes itself and to strengthen its voice in public policy, research and political engagement.

GoCanopy, an AI-powered operating system for institutional real estate investors, has raised €2.1 million (£1.8m) in seed funding led by ISAI, with backing from BNP Paribas Développement, Yellow and a group of angel investors.

The platform is designed to solve data fragmentation across real estate investment and asset management teams by turning unstructured documents into a single, AI-driven system of record.

Founded in 2023, it enables investors to analyse historic deals, support investment decisions and proactively manage portfolios using a shared “institutional memory”.

The funding will be used to develop its enterprise platform and support international expansion, including opening a London office alongside Paris.

Houlihan Lokey has appointed Mark Ward as a managing director in its business services group.

Based between Manchester and London, Ward will focus on expanding the firm’s IT services coverage, working closely with senior colleagues.

He joins from DC Advisory, where he advised clients across IT consulting, software development, data analytics and managed services, and previously held roles at Clearwater International and PwC.

The appointment further bolsters the New York-listed firm’s European platform in business services M&A and corporate finance.

Sage has reported a strong start to FY26, with first-quarter revenue rising 10% year-on-year to £674 million.

The growth has been driven by continued momentum across its cloud-based products, with Sage Business Cloud revenue increasing 15% to £574m.

North America led regional performance with 13% growth, alongside increases in the UK, Ireland and Europe.

The listed North East-based tech giant will continue to invest in AI-driven innovation to support productivity for small and mid-sized businesses.

Revenues rose at AIM-listed Dotdigital in the last six months of 2025, with total group revenue up 4% to £44.2 million.

Recurring revenue from the core CXDP business increased 11% to £37.3m, accounting for 84% of total revenues, while forward-looking contracted ARR grew 13% to £75.4m.

The London-headquartered business, which provides cross-channel marketing automation technology to marketing professionals, ended the period with £36.1m in cash.

This followed a $20m consideration payment for the Social Snowball acquisition, which has delivered around 30% annualised ARR growth since completion.

Author: Patrick Killeen

Orreco has acquired Jennis, the women’s health and performance platform co-founded by Dame Jessica Ennis-Hill. 

The Galway-based SportTech says the move creates the ‘most advanced, women’s performance ecosystem in the world’. 

The deal brings together Orreco’s proprietary AI platform with its FitrWoman product, Jennis’ hormone-intelligent IP and DDSA’s elite computer vision technology, which is already an Orreco-owned business. 

Author: Jonathan Symcox

Listed firm Big Technologies has reported a drop in annual revenue and EBITDA after agreeing a £38.5 million settlement with disgruntled former investors.

The company – trading as Buddi – said both revenue and EBITDA were expected to be marginally ahead of FY25 market consensus, coming in at approximately £49.7m (2024: £50.3m) and £24.6m (2024: £27m) respectively.

It said the drop in EBITDA reflected a change in margin mix and investments made in strengthening the group’s management. Following cost-saving action, these are expected to be cost neutral in future periods, it added.

It had a strong balance sheet at the year-end with cash of £93.4m; including the initial payment of £31.5m paid in relation to the recent settlement of the Buddi litigation, cash at 31st December 2025 would have been £61.9m.

Author: Patrick Killeen

Northcoders has reported a challenging trading year after major changes to the UK Government’s skills funding system led to a sharp fall in funded learners across the sector.

The AIM-listed technology training and consultancy group posted unaudited revenue of £5 million for 2025, down from £8.8m the previous year.

It pointed to structural reforms introduced by the Department for Education that disrupted regional procurement and funding allocation schedules.

Despite the revenue decline, the Manchester-based firm said it maintained strong gross margins through disciplined delivery and careful management of direct costs, alongside a deliberate move away from lower-margin funded provision adopted by some parts of the training sector.

Northcoders also secured Department for Education contracts in Lancashire and with the Greater London Authority during the year.

Counter, its challenger consultancy brand led by managing director Amul Batra, delivered strong growth during 2025.

Mobile consultancy Apadmi is forecasting 20% revenue growth in 2026 and is kicking off the year with new client work. 

Building on a firm foundation of growth in 2025, which included acquisitions in Poland and the Netherlands as well as new client wins across Europe and Asia, Apadmi is already off to a fast start in 2026. 

Among the new clients are Britain’s largest organic food brand Yeo Valley Organic, leading consumer and trade tile seller Topps Tiles and omni-channel retailer Matalan. 

The Irish Music Rights Organisation (IMRO) is modernising how music played in public is tracked, reported and used for royalty distributions through its expanded partnership with technology provider Audoo, leader of our latest MediaTech 50 ranking.

Following the successful launch of the collaboration in May 2024, IMRO and Audoo have strengthened their work together to bring greater transparency, accuracy and ease to how background music usage is reported across Ireland.

Live music reporting was also deployed across a number of music festivals in Ireland throughout 2025. IMRO is an early adopter of music recognition technology, integrating anonymised data collected through Audoo’s systems directly into its royalty processing operations.

At the centre of this innovation is the Audoo Audio Meter, a discreet, plug-in device that automatically identifies and securely reports music played in public environments. This real-world data helps ensure that royalties are distributed accurately and fairly to rightsholders.

Author: Jonathan Symcox

Australian scaleup AutoGrab has raised £40 million, co-led by UK investor Octopus Ventures, to expand into the UK and across Europe.

The Melbourne-founded automotive data intelligence platform said the Series B capital raise values the company at around £116m and follows co-founder Chris Gardner’s relocation to London.

The funding will accelerate AutoGrab’s expansion across the UK and Europe while deepening its position in Australia and the Asia-Pacific region.

UK FinTech Vennre has raised £7 million pre-Series A funding to expand in the MENA region.

The wealth creation platform aims to enable HENRYs – High Earners, Not Rich Yet – to access private market opportunities.

The round, a hybrid of equity and debt structure, was co-led by Vision Ventures and anb seed Fund, with participation from Sanabil 500, Ace & Co, Plus VC, and strategic individual investors from the private banking, technology and entrepreneurship ecosystems.

Raylo, developer of subscription infrastructure for electronics brands, has announced a partnership with LG alongside a £30m fundraise which will accelerate its expansion across device categories and international markets.

The partnership enables UK customers to access LG’s premium TV and audio products on a subscription, offering lower monthly prices and the flexibility to upgrade as new technology comes to market.

Building on collaborations with Dyson, PlayStation and Apple, Raylo enables major brands like LG to launch and scale their own subscription offerings on its proprietary infrastructure, spanning AI-based credit underwriting, financing and device lifecycle management.