Author: Mark Rothwell, chief executive, Furza

There’s no escaping it – AI is reshaping the workplace.

Headlines often focus on jobs being ‘replaced’ by algorithms or automation, stoking fear and uncertainty.

However, while technology undeniably changes the employment landscape, framing AI as a threat rather than an enabler overlooks a key truth – that the talent of tomorrow will not be defined solely by what humans are unable to do, but by how we adapt, collaborate and innovate alongside machines.

The future of work may look different from what we expect, but it’s far from bleak.

The question isn’t whether AI will replace jobs; it’s whether we will shape a future where talent, technology and curiosity work together to create something better.

Imperial spinout Nanomox has raised £2.4m to produce high-performance materials and recover metals from waste sources.

Founded by Francisco Malaret and Jason Hallett in 2020 and based on the former’s PhD research, it has built a process – based on ionic liquid chemistry – to create finely tuned metal oxide particles with exceptional control over crystallinity, shape and size.

These are traits critical for performance in UV protection, electronics and catalytic applications.

The seed funding is a mixture of equity and grants. Led by TSP Ventures and Boast Trading LLC, with participation from Imperial College Enterprise Fund 3, SNØCAP VC, the Circular Innovation Fund, EIT RawMaterials and several UK angels, it includes backing from the Innovate UK Investor Partnership programme.

Nanomox says it will establish Catalyst 1, its first commercial pilot plant and R&D facility, to scale production to tonnes per month and begin supplying cosmetic industry partners.

xWatts has raised £1.6m seed funding to slash non-domestic energy waste.

The London startup is described as an intelligent energy management platform and has tripled revenues over each of the past two years.

xWatts focuses on complex estates with heavy energy loads, such as healthcare, universities and industry. It connects directly to on-site energy systems and builds real-time digital models of each facility and automatically adjusts assets.

The funding was led by Cambridge Enterprise Ventures alongside Cambridge Angels, Parkwalk and R42. It will be used to expand around Europe.

LHV Bank returned 99% growth in deposits and 136% in loans, recording a profit after tax of £5m and a 5% return on equity in its 2025 annual financial results.

The bank recorded £1.1bn in customer deposits and £0.7bn in lending, marking a strong year of growth in its second full year since launch across both retail and business services.

In 2025 it launched the UK’s first current account into the market since 2021 with a commitment to track and match Bank of England base rate.

The account offers travel-friendly, fee-free debit cards with competitive exchange rates on spending abroad and a full range of payment options. On the retail side, direct and platform customer numbers rose to over 30,000.

Author: Jonathan Symcox

BT Group has announced leadership succession within Openreach and BT International.

The telecoms giant says BT International CEO Bas Burger has decided the time is right for him to leave BT after 18 years of service, including nine years on the executive committee.

He will be replaced on 1st April by Clive Selley, currently CEO of BT’s wholly-owned fibre and cable installer unit Openreach.

Katie Milligan, currently deputy CEO of Openreach, will become CEO.

Primorus Investments plc has changed its CEO.

Matthew Beardmore has transitioned to a non-executive director role with immediate effect.

Hedley Clark has transitioned from NED to executive director.

Tekcapital Plc, an intellectual property investment group, has conditionally raised £1.5 million via a share placing.

The placing proceeds will strengthen the company’s balance sheet and support the continued execution of its investment strategy across both existing and new portfolio companies, with a particular emphasis on opportunities in generative artificial intelligence.

A Manchester entrepreneur has been reflecting on her remarkable achievement of running 100 marathons in 100 days across South East Asia.

41-year-old Hannah Cox is the founder Better Business Network and the Better Business Summit.

Although not a professional athlete she embarked on a 4,200km run across India by following a forgotten colonial boundary called the Inland Customs Line in India.

Her journey – known as Project Salt Run – was inspired by her late father, Deric Cox, who was born in Calcutta (now Kolkata) before moving to the UK in 1953.

Fittingly, she reached her destination by arriving in her father’s childhood home in Kolkata, on the India Bangladesh border.

Cox’s incredible exploits have raised more than £85,00 for her chosen four charities – 1% for the Planet, Frank Water, ClientEarth, and Big Change.

 

Fractile is to invest £100m to scale production of AI chips.

The London chipmaker will invest the money over the next three years to build a hardware engineering facility in Bristol and testing lab for software.

The government said it will support work on next-generation systems designed to run advanced artificial intelligence models faster than current hardware.

It added that it will assemble Fractile’s chips into full AI systems.

Eleco Plc has acquired Kivue, a provider of project portfolio management software and associated services, for an enterprise value basis of £2.3m – £1.84m cash and £460,000 of equity.

Eleco is an AIM-listed specialist software provider for the built environment.

Reading-based Kivue’s Perform platform provides immediate and automated, visual portfolio insights, governance, risks and portfolio performance for project teams and enterprise-level executives.    

Primarily focused on the private sector with some public sector clients, notable customers include London City Airport, Aon, Bentley, Virgin Atlantic and The Government of Jersey.

Its most recent annual results showed £1.5m in revenue and adjusted EBITDA of £200,000.

Listed Nottingham-based eCommerce business Huddled Group plc has raised £740,000 via a share placing and retail share sale.

Huddled Group buys surplus stock from manufacturers and retailers before selling it online at a fraction of the usual price through its brands DiscountDragon, Nutricircle and BOOP Beauty.

It claims to have saved millions of items from being unnecessarily wasted, while it has donated and distributed hundreds of thousands of items to food poverty charities in the UK.

The funds raised will be used will be used to further strengthen the group’s stock and working capital position across its various brands, as well as provide additional working capital to fund the expansion into new channels such as KwikSales and marketplaces such as Amazon and Temu.

4basebio PLC has appointed a CEO to take over from the founder of the BioTech.

The firm, which accelerates development of advanced therapy medicinal products through synthetic DNA products, said Dr Amy Walker will succeed Dr Heikki Lanckriet.

Dr Lanckriet has stepped down to lead a newly formed entity which will be focused on advancing the Hermes nanoparticle platform into the clinic. David Roth will join him and step down as CFO and as a director at 4basebio, following an orderly handover period.

Dr Walker has been with the company for more than five years, most recently serving as COO.

One of the most important figures in Greater Manchester’s digital sector is to leave his role this week.

After eight years at Greater Manchester Combined Authority, Phil Swan will be leaving his post as director of digital on February 13^th.

He’ll be taking up a new position at Government Digital Service (GDS) as the director with responsibility for GDS Local, service standards, inclusive digital design, and pan‑Government digital capability.

GDS local is a new unit within the Government Digital Service (GDS) that brings central and local government together to deliver the ambitions set out in the blueprint for a modern digital government.

Swan said: “It’s been a real privilege to lead digital services at GMCA and help shape and deliver on the Greater Manchester Digital Blueprint. I’m hugely proud of what we’ve achieved, but even more proud of the collaborative, can‑do way Greater Manchester works. It’s a special place.”

Author: Jonathan Symcox

The founder of White Label Loyalty says the Leeds tech firm is to enter a ‘major scaling phase’ in 2026.

Achille Traore is CEO of the company which featured in second spot on our MarTech 50 last year and is plotting further international expansion after successful launches in the United States and Middle East.

“We’ve continued to add high-profile clients over the past year, including several global brands,” Traore tells BusinessCloud. “Two major programmes are launching this quarter, reinforcing our growing international footprint.

“We’ve expanded into new markets, particularly the US and Saudi Arabia, while supporting clients such as Kitopi with international expansion initiatives from Dubai. 

“This momentum reflects both the scalability of our platform and the increasing global demand for more effective loyalty solutions.”

Author: Jonathan Symcox

Plus500’s share price has hit an all-time high after it reported a rise in annual revenue and profits this morning.

The FinTech group, which floated in 2013, saw shares fly past 4,850 pence after a 7% uplift in value today.

FTSE 250 firm Plus500, headquartered in Israel and listed in London, operates technology-based trading platforms. It has delivered a total shareholder return of more than 8,000% since its London IPO, the most of any company.

Author: Jonathan Symcox

NatWest Group has lost 7.5% off its share price today after announcing a £2.7 billion swoop for wealth management firm Evelyn Partners.

The deal sees an exit for British private equity giant Permira and US peer Warburg Pincus.

NatWest said the transaction creates the UK’s leading private banking and wealth management business and will transform its savings and investment offering for its 20 million customers. 

It also announced a share buyback of £750m to return capital to shareholders.

However its shares dropped following the announcements. They are  valued at 610.5 pence at the time of writing (3.15pm).

NatWest’s share price remains up by almost 40% over the last 12 months.

Author: Jonathan Symcox

Ripjar has replaced its CEO Tom Obermaier with a former executive at Featurespace.

Obermaier was installed as CEO in late 2024 by private equity firm Long Ridge as it became the majority owner of the Cheltenham RegTech, with founder Jeremy Annis moving to a pure board position.

Obermaier is still listed as CEO on his LinkedIn profile but reference to him has been removed from the company’s team page on its website, with Mills now listed as CEO.

Neither Ripjar nor Mills referred to Obermaier in a press release announcing the new appointment.

Ripjar, a technology provider of risk and threat screening intelligence solutions for financial services firms, corporations and governments, has turned to Mills. He spent a decade at RegTech Featurespace as chief commercial officer and general manager and helped grow the organisation from 12 to more than 400 employees before the company’s acquisition by Visa in 2024. 

Mills also led innovation, sales and partnerships for Aurasma, later acquired by HP, where he expanded the business to over 10,000 commercial customers and partners during his three‑year tenure.

Obermaier had operated as a chief risk officer at leading financial institutions including Citibank and Deutsche Bank. As CEO at RDC, he pioneered a leading customer risk diligence standard before its acquisition by Moody’s Analytics.

Propel Healthtech West Yorkshire is inviting innovators with ambitious healthtech solutions to apply for the next cohort of its flagship accelerator programme, supporting businesses to develop, test and scale innovations within the NHS and wider healthcare system.

The programme is free for successful applicants and offers a comprehensive package of support, including enhanced business development, regulatory guidance, access to NHS networks and tailored advice to support sustainable growth.

Propel Healthtech has recently secured £4.5 million in funding through the West Yorkshire Mayor’s Investment Zone, part of a wider £160 million regional Investment Zone aimed at accelerating growth across the health innovation and technology sector.

Over the next four years, the programme will support hundreds of businesses, helping them to scale in the NHS, contribute to regional economic growth and develop life-changing innovations for patients.

Delivered in collaboration with a strong network of national and international partners, Propel Healthtech provides innovators with access to organisations that bring lived experience of operating and scaling in global markets.

The programme is open to both early-stage innovators and scale-up organisations that can demonstrate traction within the NHS. Applicants must have an existing presence in West Yorkshire or be willing to establish one.

Pharmacy2U has today relaunched its veterinary care platform, as Pharmacy2U Pet Health, becoming the only online pharmacy to offer pet services alongside ‘human’ health services via an app that customers can access on the go.

Pharmacy2U, which has 1.8 million customers in England, says its website and app now gives people the ability to look after the health, wellbeing and prescriptions of their whole family using a combined basket feature.

The move comes amid a major probe with the CMA investigating prescription pricing in the veterinary sector, with a final decision due to be announced in early spring.

The watchdog has rung the alarm on a lack of price transparency, high costs and ineffective competition within the industry – finding average vet prices rose 63% between 2016 and 2023, well above the rate of inflation.

Author: Jonathan Symcox

A dentist is using AI to tackle the children’s dental health crisis.

Dr Ramzan Mohammed founded Manchester startup My Dental Buddy in 2023 and says it has developed a ‘world-first’ in AI functionality. 

The platform now offers a live dashboard for supervising tooth brushing sessions and tracking engagement for children and their guardians. At home or in schools, parents, guardians and professionals can access free tools including interactive brushing guides, habit trackers and dentist-approved educational content to reinforce healthy routines.

My Dental Buddy has been awarded a £248,000 two-year oral health programme contract with Oldham Council.

The company is projecting £1.6m of total revenue in the next three years.