A new fully funded accelerator launching in Salford will help growth-stage SMEs unlock innovation, adopt emerging technologies, and scale with confidence.

Spark Salford, delivered by MediaCity’s Immersive Technologies Innovation Hub (MITIH) and backed by UKSPF, will support up to 15 growth-stage businesses across sectors including fashion, retail, manufacturing, food and drink and professional services.

The 12-week programme offers expert mentoring, practical workshops, access to tech, and introductions to investors.

Microsoft this week predicted that AI could add around 10% to the UK economy within just five years.

Chris Hopton, CEO of Ricoh UK, believes the UK will only realise these benefits through secure, responsible and truly practical deployment of AI – ensuring it empowers people to focus on higher-value work rather than replacing roles outright.

“This partnership reminds us that the opportunity is far too big to ignore. But it also brings urgency: only through secure, responsible, and truly practical deployment will we realise these gains.

“We see day in, day out how automation and AI can empower people for higher-value work, not replace roles. The greatest return will come from unlocking productivity, enabling talent to flourish, and preparing institutions, both public and private, for what lies ahead.”

Peppercord, a Nottinghamshire digital agency trading as NotLuck, has secured £20,000 from First Enterprise under the British Business Bank’s Start Up Loans programme.

The firm specialises in CRM implementation, web development and AI-driven marketing automation.

Managed service provider Academia has announced its FY2025 financial results.

The Hemel Hempstead business achieved a turnover of £138 million and a 42% increase in managed services revenue year-over-year, along with double-digit growth overall.

Agent, a full-service marketing agency with studios in Liverpool and Manchester, has been recognised as a certified B Corporation (B Corp).

Established in 2006, Agent works across clean energy and sustainability, transport and connectivity and purpose-driven business sectors.

More than half of Brits (59%) say they’ll turn to AI to help complete their tax return ahead of HMRC’s 31 January deadline, according to new research from Taxfix.

Self-assessment taxpayers cited speed, convenience and cost savings as the main reasons for using AI tools, with ChatGPT the most popular choice.

However, accountants have warned of risks around incomplete advice and lack of UK-specific knowledge, urging caution for complex cases.

More to follow

ClearCourse has appointed payments industry leader Simon Black as chair of the board, as the company looks to accelerate growth in 2025.

Black, who joined the firm as a non-executive director, will now work closely with the London-based firm’s management team to build on its expertise in vertical software and embedded payment solutions for SMEs.

He experience of scaling payments businesses, having previously led SagePay through a period of tenfold revenue growth before serving as CEO of PPRO, which became established in the alternative payments industry through international expansion and multiple funding rounds.

The appointment follows a busy period for ClearCourse, which has completed three acquisitions in 2025, with deals Computers for Flooring, AvonData (Rezcontrol), and Davidson Richards.

More to follow

US firm CoreWeave has unveiled the next £1.5 billion phase of its UK expansion, bringing its total investment to £2.5bn as it builds sustainable AI data centres across the country.

Announced during Donald Trump’s State Visit, the move will support the government’s Compute Roadmap and create new highly skilled jobs.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer hailed the deal as “a clear vote of confidence in Britain’s potential to become a world leader in AI,” while NVIDIA boss Jensen Huang described the UK as standing “in a Goldilocks position, where world-class talent, research and industry converge.”

Author: Patrick Killeen

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Oxford-based autonomous vehicle firm Oxa has stepped up its work with NVIDIA, adopting the chipmaker’s new DRIVE AGX Thor developer kits and increasing its use of Cosmos World Foundation Models.

The integration is set to allow the company to create and test driving scenarios virtually, cutting down on the time and costs of physical trials.

It says the move is part of its push to bring self-driving technology into logistics and manufacturing, a market worth an estimated $2 trillion.

London-based AI startup Hiverge, founded by former Google DeepMind researchers, has raised £3.7 million in seed funding.

Flying Fish Ventures led the round, with Ahren Innovation Capital and Jeff Dean also investing.

Hiverge’s platform, the Hive, automates the discovery and optimisation of algorithms, helping businesses improve operations and AI training at scale.

The funding will be used to accelerate go-to-market, expand research and support product development, with early-access opportunities now open for businesses.

More to follow

Nottingham-based Vision Zero Connect has secured six-figure backing from the British Business Bank’s Midlands Engine Investment Fund II, via Maven Capital Partners.

The SaaS firm has developed the ESG Navigate and Portfolio One platforms for property-sector reporting and energy performance.

It will use the funding to accelerate product development, roll out a major national contract and create new jobs.

Manchester’s EHE Ventures has invested more than £1.1m across seven AI-first startups through its new (S)EIS AI Growth Fund.

The fund, which aims to back up to £15m in early-stage UK companies over the next three years, combines capital with in-house technical and operational support.

The portfolio includes SUBJCT, Scooch, Fotenix, Spotlight Pathology, Good With, Peppercorn AI, and NeuWave Technologies.

More to follow

Applications have opened for the Civil Service AI and Data Challenge, which invites ideas from civil servants on how to use tech to improve public services, from tackling benefit fraud to reducing NHS waiting times.

Previous winners include a project using AI and aerial images to map peatlands, technology now deployed across England.

Technology Minister Ian Murray said the initiative will “use tech to fix our broken public services as rapidly as possible” as part of the government’s Plan for Change.

Entries close on the 5th November, with the winning project set to receive £50,000 in funding and technical support.

Author: Jonathan Symcox

Microsoft is to invest £22 billion into the UK to ‘power the AI future’.

Brad Smith, vice chair & president of fellow tech giant Microsoft, said the investment will be made during the four years from 2025-2028 and marks the largest financial commitment it has made in the UK. 

It includes $15bn in capital expenditures to build out the UK’s cloud and AI infrastructure, which will enable Microsoft to build the country’s largest supercomputer — with more than 23,000 NVIDIA GPUs — in partnership with Nscale.

The capital investment will also expand its data centre footprint to meet growing AI demand and adoption from its customers across every sector in the UK – including Barclays, the NHS, the London Stock Exchange Group, the Premier League, Vodafone, UK Met Office, Unilever and Wayve.

The other half of the investment will support its ongoing operations across the UK, including its workforce of 6,000 employees, located in multiple sites and cities. 

Salesforce is extending its planned investment in the UK from $4bn to $6bn by 2030.

Salesforce UK will also become the CRM firm’s AI hub for UK and Europe, with new R&D teams created to support business innovation across the region. It has already established an AI centre in London.

It is also to launch a £1 million Salesforce Accelerator to back AI innovation for non-profits in the UK.

“We are doubling down on our long-standing commitment to the UK with this significant investment,” said Marc Benioff, chair and CEO, Salesforce. “We’re delighted that the UK, already a vital talent and innovation centre, will become our AI hub for Europe, driving product innovation for customers across the region.”

Listed gifting firm Moonpig says trading has been positive at the start of its financial year ahead of its annual general meeting today.

It says trading momentum has continued from May onwards, in line with expectations, and that it remains on track to deliver its FY26 guidance.

Moonpig (its UK brand) continues to deliver consistent revenue growth at approximately 10% year on year. Greetz (its Dutch brand) trading has improved sequentially, with revenue now showing modest year-on-year growth.

Investor IP Group plc posted a positive outlook for the first six months of 2025, highlighting the IPO of portfolio company Hinge Health in New York and similarly strong performance of Oxford Nanopore, which beat guidance with £105.6m revenues in H1 and lower EBITDA losses.

IP Group, which invests in breakthrough science and innovation companies, said £372m total capital was raised by its portfolio (HY24: £380m) while it invested £36m across 21 companies. It saw total cash proceeds from exits of £30.3m, exceeding HY24 proceeds by 9x.

It remains confident of its target to deliver over £250m of exits between 2025 and 2027.

Eden Research plc has announced its interim results for the six months ended 30th June 2025.

Revenue for the period was £1.2m, down from £1.9m in the prior year. Operating loss was £1.7m (H1 2024: £1.3m).

Eden, based in Oxfordshire, develops and supplies biopesticide products and natural microencapsulation technologies to the global crop protection, animal health and consumer products industries.

Its chair Lykele van der Broek remains confident of the outlook, with wins in the period including the award of a Knowledge Transfer Partnership grant by Innovate UK and formation of a strategic partnership with Royal Holloway to expand the development of its flagship seed treatment product to include new cereal and vegetable seeds.

The CFO of professional services group Gateley is to step down from the position.

Neil Smith, who has been with Gateley for 17 years and served as CFO since its IPO in 2015, will also leave the company’s board on 30th April 2026. He will remain with Gateley to focus on a range of projects supporting the group’s growth strategy.

John Paton will succeed him. He was most recently CFO at Alpha Financial Markets Consulting between 2018 and 2025. Prior to that, he spent 11 years at HSBC Bank plc, where he held various roles, including as a director in each of the bank’s Corporate Capital Origination and UK Mid-Market M&A Advisory teams. He also spent seven years at KPMG in various roles including audit, corporate finance advisory and risk management consulting.