Author: Patrick Killeen

Marks & Spencer shares rose 4.81% today after the retailer reported a solid Christmas trading performance amid recovering from its widely reported cyber attack.

In a trading update covering the 13 weeks to 27th December 2025, M&S reported total group sales of £4.99 billion, with food continuing to lead the performance.

Food sales increased 6.6%, with like-for-like growth of 5.6%.

Author: Jonathan Symcox

The owner of clothing giant Primark has seen its share price drop dramatically after it issued a profit warning.

Shares in Associated British Foods plc fell 13% today after it told the markets that it expects adjusted operating profit and adjusted earnings per share to fall in 2026. It previously forecasted that they would rise.

In 2025, ABF reported revenues of £19.5 billion and adjusted operating profit of £1.7bn.

The group, headquartered and listed in London, said two months ago that it was considering separating its fashion and food businesses. Described as operating a digitally-enabled, store-led model, Primark had 473 shops across 17 countries at the end of the 2025 financial year and is the flagship brand of ABF, despite being something of an outlier.

Author: Patrick Killeen

Tesco shares have fallen by nearly 7% today despite the UK’s largest supermarket reporting a strong Christmas performance and nudging full-year profit guidance to the top end of its forecast range.

In a trading update covering the 19 weeks to 3rd January 2026, the retail giant reported group like-for-like sales growth of 2.9%, with UK and Republic of Ireland sales up 3.8%.

UK like-for-like sales rose 3.7%, supported by continued market share gains, while Ireland delivered stronger growth of 4.6%.

Performance was more mixed elsewhere, with Booker sales down 1.3% over the period and falling 2.1% during the six-week Christmas trading window.

Aarin Chiekrie, equity analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown, said the Booker performance “wasn’t as good as hoped” and argued that the “net effect” was Tesco “only nudged” guidance to the top end of the range, when “many had been hoping for a bigger upgrade”.

Author: Chris Maguire

Brian Hay has stepped down as CEO of The Cardinal Partnership after 28 years.

Hay has assumed the role of executive chair while he’s been succeeded as CEO by John Keary.

It was back in 1988 that Hay quit his job to co-found Cardinal alongside two friends – Rob Cross and David Garratt  – with a £15,000 loan and bootstrapped it into one of the biggest names in global logistics.

Today, The Cardinal Partnership is the world’s largest employee-owned logistics business, merging two brands, Far Logistics and Cardinal Global Logistics.

Hay, who was born in Wythenshawe and was included in BusinessCloud’s 2025 Northern Leaders list, said: “I love this business. Everything we do is intentional and comes from a good place.

“We’ve learned that when you focus on being kind, caring and supportive, the good stuff tends to follow.

“I’m hugely grateful to continue my journey with Cardinal, and I genuinely feel we are still at the beginning of something special.

“Thank you to everyone who has supported me over the past 28 years.

“In my new role as executive chair, I’ll continue to work closely with the board, the business, and our Employee Trust on culture, governance, and strategy.”

The group has earned recognition in the logistics sector for its tech-powered approach.

Author: Patrick Killeen

FTSE 250-listed shipping services and investment banking group Clarkson PLC has acquired 100% of Zuma Labs, a technology provider serving the Forward Freight Agreement (FFA) and commodities markets.

Founded in 2020, London-based Zuma was established to meet increasing demand for real-time data and technology-led efficiency in freight and derivatives trading.

Its flagship product, Venetian, is a hybrid voice and electronic trading application that aims to enable market participants to collect, record and distribute live pricing through a single interface.

Zuma reported revenue of $7.4 million for 2024, a jump from 2023’s figure of $5.2m.

Clarkson PLC has been listed in London for almost 40 years and currently has a market cap of around £1.23 billion.

Its share price has risen by 55p to 3,990p since the acquisition was announced.

Author: Jonathan Symcox

A Nasdaq-listed UK company has acquired EnviroTech firm Plan A for a potential €80 million (£70m).

Diginex, headquartered in London, is a leading provider of sustainability RegTech and data management solutions.

It has agreed the deal for Berlin-based Plan A, led by founder and CEO Lubomila Jordanova – a judge on BusinessCloud’s EnviroTech 50 ranking, and also co-founder of the GreenTech Alliance – to create one of Europe’s leading green technology platforms.

The total figure includes a €25m earnout.

Digital out-of-home (DOOH) supply-side platform VIOOH has entered a strategic partnership with Dolphin OOH to significantly expand access to premium DOOH inventory across the US.

Through the agreement, advertisers gain access to more than 5,000 digital screens across major US cities, generating over 50 million monthly impressions in high-traffic environments such as malls, transit hubs, grocery stores, pharmacies, gyms and urban panels.

Texas-headquartered Dolphin’s network spans key metropolitan markets including New York City, Los Angeles, Chicago, Dallas-Fort Worth, Miami and Boston.

Author: Patrick Killeen

Burnley Football Club has selected Camb.ai, Mantis XR and Piing to take part in the inaugural cohort of its new Innovation Hub.

The selection follows a highly competitive global application process that attracted more than 200 companies.

The three businesses were chosen after a virtual Pitch Day hosted from Turf Moor, where six shortlisted finalists presented to a judging panel made up of senior leaders from Burnley FC and ALK Capital, alongside industry expert advisors.

Over a six-month pilot programme, the selected companies will work closely with the Premier League club’s operational teams to deploy and test their technologies in real-world club environments.

Beacon Therapeutics has secured a £55.6 million Series C financing to accelerate commercial preparations for its lead gene therapy, laru-zova.

The funding comes ahead of pivotal clinical data expected in the second half of 2026.

London-based Syncona invested £18.1m in the round, alongside a syndicate led by Goldman Sachs Alternatives, with participation from new and existing life sciences investors.

The funding will support the completion of laru-zova’s development for X-linked retinitis pigmentosa, as well as advance the Flordian firm’s wider ophthalmology pipeline.

Following the raise, listed Syncona’s holding in Beacon has been written up by £29.3m, with its ownership expected to reach 38.4% once the full Series C financing is drawn down.

Author: Chris Maguire

BusinessCloud has joined forces with the UK’s largest community of board advisors to hold a series of exclusive UK-wide masterclass business events in 2026.

VirtualNonExecs is the UK’s largest community of board advisors, giving corporate partners unparalleled access to the boardrooms of over 50,000 SMEs.

The company, which was acquired by Leonard Curtis in 2024, specialises in connecting companies, private equity, venture capital and family office funds with non-executive and chair professionals.

VirtualNonExecs has big ambitions to grow and have teamed up with BusinessCloud to hold a series of face-to-face masterclass events.

Experienced Dominique Dempsey has joined as events manager and the first  business breakfast has been confirmed for Leeds at the end of February on how to scale internationally.

 

Tekmar Group has secured a $1.5 million contract with an existing EPC customer to supply engineered scour protection solutions for a major port infrastructure project in the Middle East.

Delivery is scheduled for the third quarter of 2026 and the firm’ share price has risen very slightly today.

The Newton Aycliffe-based company provides asset protection technology and offshore energy services, designing and delivering engineering-led solutions that protect and stabilise offshore wind, marine civil and energy infrastructure.

London-based SEO agency MediaVision has appointed Adam Bly as growth director as it accelerates its commercial expansion in 2026. 

Bly joins from Impression, where he spent more than eight years helping scale the agency from 25 to 130 people and building a high-performing new-business engine.

In his new role, he will focus on driving measurable growth for clients while scaling the firm’s operations through its proprietary Metis platform, which identifies market trends four times faster than competitors. 

The appointment follows a strong 2025 for MediaVision, including a UK Search Awards win for its innovative work with New Look.

Author: Patrick Killeen

Cerillion has secured its largest contract to date after winning a £42.5 million deal with Oman Telecommunications (Omantel), triggering a sharp rise in its share price.

Shares in the AIM-listed billing and CRM software provider have risen as high as 12% from 1,230p to 1,380p so far today following the announcement earlier this morning.

Under the five-year agreement, the London-based firm will supply and implement its full BSS/OSS (business support systems/operations support systems) software suite for Omantel, alongside ongoing support, maintenance, hosting and managed services, following an initial implementation phase.

Greggs has reported solid Q4 results, with FY25 total sales rising 6.8% to £2.15 billion and company-managed shop like-for-like sales up 2.4%.

Fourth-quarter sales increased 7.4%, supported by continued market share gains, disciplined cost control and strong performance from value-led meal deals and seasonal products.

The baker, led by Northern Leader Roisin Currie, expanded its estate by 121 net new shops in 2025 and expects to open around 120 net new locations in 2026.

It expects FY25 profits to be in line with previous expectations and anticipates delivering a similar underlying profit level in 2026.

Marks & Spencer has reported record Christmas trading, with like-for-like growth of 5.6% in its third quarter.

Its food division continued to outperform the market, reaching a historic 4% market share.

Fashion, home & beauty sales declined 2.5%, but performance improved online as digital sales recovered after its widely-reported cyber attack midway through 2025.

Full-year guidance remains unchanged for the retail giant, which has a free cash flow outlook of £1.4 billion to £1.8bn.

Tesco has reported strong like-for-like sales growth over Q3 and the Christmas period, with sales up 2.9% across the 19 weeks to 3rd January.

UK sales rose 3.7% over the period, delivering the listed retail giant’s highest market share in more than a decade, driven by gains in fresh food, online and convenience.

A strong Christmas trading performance has led the firm to upgrade expectations, with FY25/26 group adjusted operating profit now forecast to be at the upper end of the £2.9 billion to £3.1bn guidance range.

Mobile Streams plc has completed the acquisitions of Estadio Gana and Capital Media Sports, with the enlarged group admitted to trading on AIM today.

The transactions mark a key step in the company’s strategy to build an integrated sports, media and entertainment group focused on Latin America.

The London-based company has also launched a new corporate website to reflect its transition.

It intends to rename itself Gana Media Group plc and adopt the new ticker GANA shortly.

Enxoo has expanded its UK presence with the acquisition of CloudJungle, a Liverpool-based Salesforce consultancy, as part of a strategic push into the UK and Ireland market.

The deal strengthens the Polish firm’s capabilities in Salesforce implementation, cloud services and digital transformation, with a particular focus on communications and digital infrastructure.

The combined group is aiming to accelerate time-to-value for customers.

London-headquartered MedTech Engitix has raised $25 million in a Series A extension round led by Netherton Investments, a fund investing on behalf of BlueCrest Capital Management co-founder Mike Platt.

The funding will be used to advance preclinical development across the firm’s pipeline targeting cancer and fibrosis, as well as to further expand its proprietary extracellular matrix data platform.

Engitix is developing therapies designed to act precisely within diseased tissue microenvironments, using one of the largest ECM datasets in the field.

The company also has existing drug discovery and development partnerships with Dompé and Takeda.

Author: Chris Maguire

The share price of The Beauty Tech Group has surged 5 per cent in early morning trading on the back of another positive trading update.

In a statement to the London Stock Exchange this morning, the Cheshire-based company said revenue and adjusted EBITDA in 2025 will be at least £136m and £35.5m, respectively.

This is an upgrade on the  previous projections of £128m and £32m respectively.

The result was an immediate increase in its share price from 292p to 308p, although it dropped back to 304p.

The group, which encompasses CurrentBody Skin, ZIIP Beauty and Tria Laser, has performed strongly after bursting onto the London Stock Exchange in October with a share price of 271p – valuing it at £300m.

Laurence Newman, chief executive officer of The Beauty Tech Group, said: “The group has delivered the best quarter in its history, which is huge testament to the quality of our staff.”