Bite-size news in business & technology, from big breaking stories to funding, appointments & deals
Published: October 18, 2025 at 11:50 am
VUCA Treasury, a specialist hedging advisor in interest rate, currency and commodity markets, has announced its expansion into Manchester as part of a new phase of growth.
Founded in London in 2019 by former banking and capital markets professionals, VUCA Treasury is establishing a regional base in Manchester to serve businesses across the North West and support the region’s dynamic real estate and corporate markets.
The firm has appointed David Mathewson as Regional Director and Treasury Advisor to lead its North West operations.
Published: October 17, 2025 at 5:11 pm
Risers:
Man Group – +6.39%
Pearson – +2.33%
Haleon – +1.94%
Wizz Air – +1.92%
Reckitt Benckiser Group – +1.83%
Smiths Group is up 1.69% after this morning’s disposal news, while BT Group is up 1.37%.
Fallers:
Fresnillo – -10.5%
Atalaya Mining Copper – -5.85%
Barclays – -5.66%
ICG – -5.53%
Endeavour Mining – -5.46%
Oxford Biomedica is down 4.7%, BAE Systems is down 4% and Sage is down 2.46%.
Published: October 17, 2025 at 3:52 pm
What were the week’s best-read stories on BusinessCloud?
Published: October 17, 2025 at 12:45 pm
Sciontec has been re-appointed to manage serviced office space at The Spine in Knowledge Quarter Liverpool.
As part of the renewed contract with the Royal College of Physicians, Sciontec will now additionally manage space on the building’s 12th floor and also introduce new hotdesking ‘day passes’ at the iconic building.
Sciontec, the development company spinout of KQ Liverpool, will also continue to offer its Sciontec AI serviced space offer on the building’s first, second and tenth floors, which already boasts customers including Zempler Bank, the University of Liverpool, Morgan Sindall Construction, Clixels and RTC North.
The Spine is located at Paddington Village, Liverpool City Council’s flagship development site, and is home to the northern headquarters of the RCP, adjacent to where Sciontec’s HEMISPHERE labs building will be built.
Published: October 17, 2025 at 12:00 pm
Halfords has announced the appointment of Sarah Haywood as chief information officer, effective from Monday 3rd November 2025.
Haywood joins Halfords with over 25 years of technology leadership experience across some of the world’s leading consumer brands, including Mondelēz International, Kraft Foods and Cadbury Schweppes.
Most recently, she served as global CIO at the Carlsberg Group, where she led a major transformation of the company’s digital and technology infrastructure.
She succeeds Adam Gerrard, who will leave the business at the end of October.
Published: October 17, 2025 at 11:15 am
Intuitive, a global technology leader in minimally invasive care and the pioneer of robotic-assisted surgery, has opened its new UK & Ireland headquarters – which includes the UK’s largest da Vinci robotic-assisted surgery (RAS) training centre.
RAS was recently placed at the heart of the UK Government’s 10 Year Health Plan as one of five ‘Big Bets’ to transform the NHS, with ambitions to achieve a seven-fold increase in RAS procedures over the next decade, including 9 in 10 of all keyhole surgeries.
Intuitive’s new state-of-the-art training facility in Winnersh Triangle, Berkshire, has capacity to provide technology training for da Vinci surgical systems to thousands more surgeons. This will help to futureproof the next generation of UK surgeons, and support patients and hospitals.
Published: October 17, 2025 at 10:14 am
Siemens has appointed Ella Haapiainen to lead its consultancy arm, Siemens Advanta, in the UK and Ireland.
Its mission is to help organisations tackle key challenges including digitalisation, decarbonisation and operational efficiency.
Haapiainen brings more than 20 years’ experience in digital transformation, software and technology consultancy to the role. She moves from Siemens Advanta in EMEA, which she joined in 2023 as Senior Vice President. Previously, she held senior roles at Salesforce, IBM and Microsoft.
Published: October 17, 2025 at 9:15 am
Eversheds Sutherland advised Fourteen IP Group, a portfolio company of Beech Tree Private Equity, on its merger with US-based ClearlyIP.
The deal came just six months after Beech Tree initially backed Fourteen IP CEO Neil Tolley.
James Rosthorn, investment director at Beech Tree, said: “Really pleased to announce the merger of Fourteen IP ad ClearlyIP – just six months and seven days after we initially backed Neil Tolley and the team in April 2025.
Published: October 17, 2025 at 9:00 am
FTSE 100 firm Smiths Group plc has agreed a £1.3 billion disposal.
US electronics firm Molex, part of industrial conglomerate Koch, has agreed the mammoth deal for the London-headquartered company’s Smiths Interconnect subsidiary.
The cash deal – expected to complete in the second half of fiscal year 2026 – represents 15.1x headline EBITDA of £86.1m for the fiscal year 2025.
Smiths said it was a notable step forward in its strategy to become a more focused industrial engineering company. It had come under pressure from US activist investor Engine Capital to break up the business. A demerger or sale of Smiths Detection, which makes baggage-screening scanners used in airports, will now be explored.
Published: October 17, 2025 at 8:44 am
AIM-listed Duke Capital has made a follow-on investment of £3.7 million into its existing capital partner, Step Investments.
The funding will enable Step’s radio-focused subsidiary, Bay Broadcasting, to complete the acquisition of Western Community Broadcasting Services, the firm behind Galway Bay FM.
Step is a diversified investment group, with core interests in the cinema advertising, digital outdoor advertising and radio stations across the UK and Ireland.
Published: October 17, 2025 at 8:39 am
Manchester-based eCommerce agency PushON has made a trio of senior hires to support its continued growth.
Phil Page joins as senior developer and dev-ops manager, Rob Bamber as senior back end developer, and Rob Aimes as front end developer – bringing decades of experience to PushON’s growing development team.
PushON founder Simon Wharton, said: “These three appointments mark a significant step in strengthening our development capabilities.
“Each bring outstanding technical expertise, innovation, and leadership that will directly benefit our clients.
“Their arrival also reflects our ongoing investment in people to match the pace of client growth and new business wins. We’re delighted to welcome them to the team.”
Published: October 17, 2025 at 8:35 am
Sophie Pugh has joined Applied Nutrition as chief marketing officer. She previously spent nine years at THG.
Last year Liverpool-based Applied Nutrition floated on the London Stock Exchange.
Pugh said: “I’m excited to join such a fast-growing, game-changing brand. I can’t wait to get stuck in and I’m looking forward to working with the team to accelerate our impact and take the brand to the next level.”
Meanwhile Liz Chapman has joined @Sedulo Group as chief marketing officer after spending 11 years at Carat UK
Published: October 17, 2025 at 8:35 am
Tap Global Group plc has appointed Manuel De Luque Muntaner as non-executive chair of its board with immediate effect.
The digital finance hub brings money payments and crypto settlement services together in a single app.
He replaces Peter Wall who has now resigned as a director of the company to pursue a full-time position within the Government of Canada.
Muntaner has worked at Citi, Lloyds Bank and Credit Suisse. As founder and CEO of Block Asset Management, he launched the world’s first Blockchain & Digital Assets Fund of Funds (2017), pioneering institutional access to crypto.
Published: October 17, 2025 at 8:31 am
Dylan Bogg has stepped down as chief creative officer of The MISSION Group plc with immediate effect.
Bogg was appointed to the board in 2010, having joined the Group in 2006 when his business, Big Communications, was acquired. He held various agency senior leadership roles before taking on the role of group CCO in 2023.
Published: October 17, 2025 at 8:16 am
Here is the full story of Francisco Gimenez’s successful deal on Dragons’ Den last night.
Published: October 17, 2025 at 8:15 am
The founder of food and drink gift company IMP & MAKER says her business is thriving despite failing to secure investment on Dragons’ Den.
Millions of viewers of the hit BBC show watched Sarah Louise Fairburn leave the Den empty-handed after seeking £100k for a 10 per cent stake in her business.
However, far from being despondent, the award-winning entrepreneur has gone on to raise £500k from an angel investor in a deal that valued IMP & MAKER at £2m, expand the company’s partnership with retail giant Costco and is on track to report its first profit this year.
Published: October 16, 2025 at 9:02 pm
So what did you think? Who impressed you the most?
Leave a comment by clicking above.
In the meantime, read about a successful business from earlier in the series by clicking below – or see the previous investments made by Sara Davies, Peter Jones, Steven Bartlett, Touker Suleyman and Deborah Meaden.
BBC Dragon Sara Davies helps Good Wash Day smash sales records
Published: October 16, 2025 at 9:00 pm
He doesn’t mess about – he accepts the offers of Davies and Bartlett!
“£500k is the biggest investment we’ve ever had in the Den,” says Jones.
Published: October 16, 2025 at 8:57 pm
Sara Davies offers him the £250k for 1%!
Emma Grede says she can’t match that as she’d want 3% for £250k.
Peter Jones says he wants 3% advisory shares on top. “Not everyone is equal on that cap table… but it would be your shares so it doesn’t dilute the cap table and no one gets offended.”
Deborah Meaden wants 2% for the £250k.
Steven Bartlett also offers the £250k for 1%.
Published: October 16, 2025 at 8:54 pm
The business is set to turn over £1m this year and is targeting £6m next year.
“We’ve raised north of £5m so far,” says Francisco.
He says this is part of a larger fundraising effort of £4m. They are three-quarters of the way through.
“I don’t get out of bed for 1%,” says Touker. He’s OUT.
Does anyone thing he looks like Pep Guardiola?
“The combination brings together two similarly sized unified communications and AI businesses, creating a $50M revenue group with nearly 200 employees, now serving over one million hotel rooms across 27 countries.
“The merger delivers on our investment thesis of supporting Fourteen IP’s expansion into new vertical markets, while creating a strong platform for further M&A over the next few years.
“I’m looking forward to continuing to work closely with Neil Tolley, Paul Franks and now Tony Lewis, who joins the board. Great to see both teams come together around a shared vision and plan for growth.”