The founder of Preqin has made his first investment following a £2.5 billion exit to BlackRock.

Mark O’Hare founded Valhalla Ventures following the sale last year and it has led a £14 million investment into LegalTech platform Avvoka.

Bootstrapped from launch in 2016, with just £600k raised from angel investors, the investment is the first institutional capital raised by the company behind AI-powered drafting infrastructure for law firms.

Founded by two former Magic Circle lawyers, Eliot Benzecrit and David Howorth, Avvoka has grown by working with large, complex legal organisations, helping them turn precedent and institutional knowledge into drafting systems that can be reused, supervised, and improved over time. 

Spotlight Pathology has secured a £1.4 million seed investment to further develop its AI-powered tools accelerating the diagnosis of blood cancers and move them towards clinical adoption.

The round was co-led by the UK Innovation and Science Seed Fund (UKI2S) and Liverpool City Region Seed Fund, managed by AXM Venture Capital, with participation from River Capital, alongside follow-on investment from existing backers Deepbridge, EHE Ventures, Lyva Labs and Deepbridge.

The company is based at UKRI’s Daresbury Laboratory campus in the Liverpool City Region.

CRM giant Salesforce has been announced as the headline sponsor for the 2026 everywoman in Technology Awards, which will be held next week at The Westminster Park Plaza Hotel.

The awards, now in their 16th year, play a vital role in showcasing the incredible women working in the technology sector at every career stage, from apprentices through to C-Suite. 

Role models play a key role in encouraging interest in STEM careers among the next generation, and the partnership with Salesforce will further elevate the profile of women working in tech and raise awareness of their essential work. 

This year’s event, which takes place on 19th March, will be named the ‘Salesforce everywoman in Technology Awards’, reflecting the company’s commitment to helping more women join and advance in the technology industry. You can find out more and book your place here.

Author: Jonathan Symcox

Northern VCTs from Mercia Asset Management PLC have raised a record £80 million.

Mercia is a regionally focused specialist asset manager with  over £2 billion of assets under management.

The three Northern Venture Capital Trusts – Northern Venture Trust PLC, Northern 2 VCT PLC and Northern 3 VCT PLC – form part of its third-party funds under management.

OakNorth, a digital bank for entrepreneurs, has completed a strategic transaction with Monite, an all-in-one financial management platform for businesses.

The transaction, which includes the transition of Monite’s core technologies and the onboarding of its product and engineering teams, will enable OakNorth to integrate robust accounts receivable (AR), accounts payable (AP), and expense management functionality directly into its business banking offering.

This deal establishes the foundation for OakNorth’s future offerings in finance automation, aimed at helping lower mid-market businesses streamline complex and time-consuming financial operations. The first of these capabilities is expected to go live in Q2 2026.

Author: Chris Maguire

Fort Vale Engineering has announced the passing of its chairman, Edward Sagar Fort OBE, affectionately known as ‘Ted’.

Born in Lancashire in 1937, he founded Fort Vale in 1967 and built it into a globally respected engineering business.

From its headquarters and main manufacturing facility near Burnley, Lancashire, the company manufactures precision valves and fittings for the safe transport of bulk liquids worldwide.

Under his leadership, Fort Vale received some of the UK’s highest business honours, including multiple Queen’s Awards for Enterprise and the King’s Award for Enterprise.

Beyond industry, Fort was a committed philanthropist. Through the Fort Foundation, he supported education, project development and local community initiatives, taking a personal interest in the individuals whose lives were positively impacted.

Paying tribute, his long-standing business partner, and current group managing director Ian Wilson, said: “Ted was a remarkable man, bold, determined and completely committed to the business he built from the ground up.

“Working alongside him for so many years was both a privilege and an education. His belief in people, in Lancashire, and in what this company could achieve never wavered. Fort Vale stands today as a testament to his vision and perseverance.”

London-headquartered Komerz has acquired brand and marketing consultancy Glassbox.

Komerz is described as a £260m firm which helps retail brands to scale across all commerce channels.

The deal signals the emergence of a new ‘creative commerce’ category, Komerz says, where brand storytelling, AI-driven distribution and measurable sales operate within one integrated
platform.

Aquis Stock Exchange, the UK’s challenger market, has launched The Aquis IPO Academy in partnership with Barclays Eagle Labs, one of the UK’s largest incubator networks for startup and scaleup business.

The Aquis IPO Academy is the UK’s only public markets readiness programme led by an exchange. The Academy is a long-term investment in the UK’s growth economy at a pivotal time for scaling businesses and aims to act as an engine for IPO activity while addressing a perception gap around accessing public markets.

Open to UK growth companies, with a focus on tech-enabled businesses and an ambition of 50% female-founded participation, the first cohort is expected to join the Academy in September 2026.

Author: Chris Maguire

London-headquartered startup, Outpost, the AI-powered platform that enables merchants to sell worldwide with zero liability, has  raised £13m ($17.5m) in Series A funding.

The round was led by Ribbit, which is known for backing category-defining companies such as Revolut, Coinbase, and Stripe.

The investment round was supported by existing investors, including Better Tomorrow Ventures, which previously led a $3m seed round less than a year ago.

Angel investors also include executives from Revolut, Uber, Affirm, Airwallex, Checkout and others.

Outpost is already supporting merchants operating across Europe, North America, LATAM and Asia, including subscription platforms, consumer software companies, and cross-border eCommerce brands.

At the core of the platform is Outpost’s proprietary AI engine – critical infrastructure designed to make international trade as simple as domestic commerce.

Over the next few months, Outpost will use the funding to significantly accelerate product development, expand jurisdictional coverage, and increase headcount to meet the rapidly rising global demand for liability-free commerce infrastructure.

Ex-Revolut Will Mahon-Heap, CEO and founder at Outpost, who previously led Revolut’s international expansion, said: “Brexit, shifting tariffs, and regulatory fragmentation have made cross-border commerce more hostile than at any point in the last two decades.

“Merchants are forced to choose between spending millions on consultants and local entity setup, or carrying enormous risk on payments and compliance.

“Outpost exists to eliminate that trade-off.”

Author: Chris Maguire

Dragons’ Den star Steven Bartlett has made another senior hire to his FlightStory team.

The Diary of CEO host has appointed Bryony Hopkins as the production director of FlightStory Studio and will lead the storytelling team.

Hopkins has previously worked at Strong Watch Studios; LADbible Group; and BBC News.

She’ll work closely with 33-year-old Bartlett on Behind The Diary to build its impact across all platforms.

Hopkins said: “If you’re in the creator economy or digital media, it is impossible to ignore what FlightStory are building, how they are innovating and why sweating the small stuff really pays off.

“In life it is rare to see a role that aligns with your skillset, your ambitions and also your personal interests – and this for me does all three.

“I am so excited to work with the incredible talent in the building, and for this next chapter.”

FlightStory is the media company owned by Steven.com and is behind some of the world’s most influential podcasts.

Author: Jonathan Symcox

The name Ocado has long been synonymous with cutting-edge technology.

Founded at the turn of the century and floated in London in 2010, Ocado – which had built warehouse automation technology – launched an app in the early smartphone years and runs an online-only supermarket.

John Lewis was an early backer and it also provided the tech for the online business of its Waitrose subsidiary.

In 2019, after nearly two decades, Ocado ditched Waitrose and agreed a joint venture (Ocado Retail) with rival M&S – which saw the latter pay £750 million – to sell its food instead.

However, as THG found with its technology division Ingenuity, R&D and robotics require a constant stream of investment and are rarely profitable compared with their retail counterparts.

THG eventually demerged Ingenuity, which like Ocado has retail clients, in January 2025 to protect the value of its retail arm’s shares, which had dropped dramatically since IPO.

Ocado’s valuation remains higher than at flotation in 2010, but that may not be the case forever – and at 200 pence today, it is some way short of the more than 2,200p it reached at the height of COVID.

It’s a complex picture.

So, as Ocado’s share price rises 4% today, what does the future hold?

Author: Jonathan Symcox

Shares in Bytes Technology Group plc have dropped again after its MD departed.

The listed firm said Jack Watson, who left ‘by mutual consent’ yesterday, won’t be replaced.

It has been a turbulent two years for Bytes, which in 2024 began investigating the shock resignation of its former CEO Neil Murphy after he was accused of unauthorised trading in the company’s shares.

The firm rebounded under new CEO Mudd, but has fallen again in the last six months.

A University of Edinburgh spinout has secured £1.6 million in fresh funding as it launches its liquid biopsy kits in the United States.

Liquid biopsy is when fragments of tumour DNA circulating in a patient’s bloodstream are analysed by scientists – a less invasive process to study cancer.

BioCaptiva was founded by Jeremy Wheeler, Matthew Simmonte Owens and Mark Bradley to prepare blood samples in a way that preserves fragile cell-free DNA. Its msX platform uses magnetic bead technology to capture DNA directly from whole blood.

The round was led by Archangels, with support from Old College Capital, BBI, Scottish Enterprise and new investor EverQuest Capital Partners.

Isembard has raised £37 million in Series A funding less than 12 months after its seed round.

The capital will accelerate the London company’s plan to open 25 factories by the end of 2026, expand its engineering teams while launching into Germany, France and Ukraine.

The round was led by Union Square Ventures, an early backer of Twitter, Coinbase, Etsy, Abridge and Twilio. 

New investors Tamarack Global and IQ Capital joined the round alongside existing investors Notion Capital and CIV. 

Angel investors include Alex Bouaziz (Founder and CEO of Deel), Andrei Danescu (Founder and CEO of Dexory Robotics) and Matt Briers (former CFO of Wise).

Reflo, a sustainable sportswear brand backed by England captain Harry Kane, has launched a £2.5 million crowdfunding raise – giving the public the opportunity to invest alongside one of world sport’s biggest names.

Founded in 2021 by childhood friends Rory MacFadyen and Peter Philippou, Reflo has generated millions in revenue since launch, including £5m in 2025 alone. 

Kane, England’s record goalscorer, joined Reflo in 2024 as lead ambassador and investor, citing belief in the brand’s long-term vision and commitment to genuine sustainable innovation over marketing-led claims.

Rather than pursuing traditional venture capital, the founders have chosen to open this round to their community.

Open for five days, Reflo has raised £51k so far from 73 investors.

Personnel Checks, a Blackburn-based background screening provider, has acquired Manchester screening firm Know Your Candidate in a six-figure deal.

The acquisition will add around 2,000 SME clients to Personnel Checks’ customer base, while expanding the company’s capability to deliver a broader range of compliance and screening services to UK employers.

Founded more than 20 years ago, Personnel Checks provides background screening services to organisations across the UK, primarily supporting SMEs and employers operating in regulated sectors. 

As the UK government faces growing pressure over AI and copyright, the publishing industry is moving to set out a practical solution.

Days after a House of Lords committee warned that the UK’s creative industries face a “clear and present danger” from generative AI, Publishers’ Licensing Services (PLS) has unveiled a new collective licensing initiative at the London Book Fair.

The scheme will invite publishers across the sector – including news, magazine, academic and book publishing – to opt in to a framework enabling AI developers to legally license text for training and related uses through a transparent, paid licence.

Backed by the UK’s major publishing trade bodies, the initiative represents the industry’s most significant attempt yet to establish a workable licensing route for AI developers while ensuring publishers and authors share in the value created by the technology.

Augmented reality company Blippar has acquired Plattar, a 3D product configuration and AR commerce platform with a strong presence in Australia and New Zealand.

The acquisition marks a significant milestone in Blippar’s wider M&A strategy to build a group of industry-specific AR products designed to deliver scalable, commercially impactful AR solutions across global markets.

Plattar is a profitable business with an established customer base. It has built a powerful 3D product configuration and AR commerce engine that enables brands to showcase products interactively and drive measurable results across eCommerce and digital channels.

It will continue to operate under the same leadership and team and will operate as a wholly owned subsidiary of Blippar.

The transaction follows a period of strong momentum for Blippar. Over the past year, the company has significantly expanded its global development capacity, opened a new engineering and development office in Bangalore, launched a new global headquarters in Waterloo, London, and continued to exceed internal growth expectations across its platform and services.

i247 Group, a technology-led fleet management and software provider for the automotive leasing sector, has secured investment from private equity firm LDC to support its next phase of growth.

Headquartered in Poole, i247 manages more than one million vehicles through its Flex 247 platform, providing 24/7 SMR support, tyre management and preventative fleet services to major leasing companies.

SportTech platform SPORTL has launched and closed a pre-seed fundraise of £250,000.

The London-based pay-as-you-train gym and studio booking platform, aiming to transform the fitness industry, has gone live with 50 gyms and studios across London – with 300 in the queue to join.

Onboard are investors and strategic partners such as Kevin Hewitt, former EMEA chairman of FTI Consulting, who will also join as chairman of the board at SPORTL; as well as James Hardy, former Deliveroo executive and co-founder of Bioniq; and HealthTech investor Jamie Hearne.