Author: Chris Maguire

There have been plenty of hires and promotions in the North West in recent weeks.

Sarah Smith is set to become Warrington Borough Council’s new chief executive. She’s currently executive director of health and social care at Knowsley Council.

As well as celebrating becoming a mum, Chloe Fletcher has just been promoted to the role of director at Alvarez & Marsal. “My 9-5 will look a little different for the foreseeable but I  look forward to drinking hot coffee and having adult conversations with you all again next year,” she said.

Growing North West law firm CG has announced a new partnership  with Bolesworth to become their legal services partner.  Bolesworth is a historic 6,500-acre estate in the heart of Cheshire and under the leadership of managing director Nina Barbour, has evolved into a dynamic hub for enterprise, premium events, hospitality, and long-term strategic development.

Experienced Rich Graham has started a new position as head of digital experience and optimisation at The Fragrance Shop. He’s previously worked at N Brown, musicMagpie and Pharmacy2U.

Sam Saunders has started a new position as customer success director at THG Ingenuity.

Richard Hogg has joined the Manchester office of Forvis Mazars as a VAT partner. He previously spent seven years at BDO.

Author: Claire Cole, senior solicitor, Harper James

The government’s U-turn on introducing day-one unfair dismissal rights will come as a relief to many employers who were deeply concerned about the loss of flexibility in managing new hires.

Moving to a six-month qualifying period still represents a significant shift from the current two-year position, and employers will need to prepare for a much earlier exposure to unfair dismissal claims.

While the change eases immediate fears, it also creates uncertainty. We still have no clarity on how any statutory ‘initial period’ will operate in practice, what procedures will be required, or how probationary dismissals will be treated.

The direction of travel is clear – enhanced rights for workers much earlier in the employment relationship. Employers who prepare now will be best placed to adapt smoothly once the reforms take final shape.

The Government is abandoning plans to allow all workers to claim unfair dismissal from day one, instead proposing a six-month qualifying period.

The decision is a U-turn on a manifesto commitment and follows concerns raises among businesses that the move would dissuade firms from hiring.

The Government blamed opposition to its employment legislation in the House of Lords for the climbdown.

The move is expected to prevent delays to the legislation being passed, which will still grant workers rights to sick pay and paternity leave from day one. The changes will come into effect in April 2026.

Fuel Ventures and Concrete Ventures have co-led a £750,000 investment round into Tyten – formely Fixo – an AI company bringing automation to the $1.4 trillion global facilities management industry.

Tyten is redefining how facilities teams handle repairs and maintenance by automating help desk workflows and giving technicians step-by-step, AI-driven diagnostic and repair guidance. Its platform is already accelerating help desk processing by up to twenty times, with the first automation module saving around 40% of processing time and nine further modules currently in development.

The new investment will enable Tyten to scale its engineering team, accelerate product development, and support rapid commercial growth as it expands into international markets.

Author: Chris Maguire

There have been a flurry of North West office moves.

Leading the charge is KPMG Liverpool, which  will be moving to a new office at The Plaza in Liverpool city centre in the new year.

It marks the next chapter in the Big 4’s  long-standing commitment to the region.

Office senior partner Jennifer Lee said: “For over a century, we’ve been part of Liverpool’s business community, and this move strengthens our ability to support our clients and partners across the city region.”

Meanwhile, S&P Global has celebrated the official opening of its new office at Gary Neville’s No.1 St Michael’s in Manchester, welcoming the Minister for Investment, Lord Jason Stockwood.

Sally Moore, S&P’s chief client officer, said: “This new office underscores our long-term commitment to Manchester and its exceptional talent.

“Having seen its remarkable growth over the past decade, we firmly believe Manchester as a centre of innovation and excellence, and are proud to grow alongside it.

“We look forward to opportunities ahead for the city and S&P Global.”

Finally, Jordan Stachini’s marketing consultancy Co&Co, has moved into new offices in Manchester, with a bit of help from Joe Averill.

Counter, the consultancy arm of Northcoders, has appointed Tom Legg as its newest tech lead.

Legg has a background across various technologies including machine learning web apps, as well as experience in leading high-performing tech teams. He has previously worked at Aiimi and Sykes Holiday Cottages, where he played key roles in building and maintaining innovative digital solutions.

In his new role, he will be responsible for setting the technical direction of engineering teams deployed across client projects.

IT provider Renewtech has acquired Harrogate-based Intelligent Servers, bringing the refurbished IT specialist into its European group.

The deal lifts the Denmark-based firm’s overall business volume by around a quarter and strengthens its position in what it calls a key growth market for refurbished data centre hardware. 

Intelligent Servers was founded in 2011 by managing director Andy Hughes and is known for supplying refurbished server, storage and networking kit, with a particular focus on HPE systems as well as Dell and Cisco equipment. 

Amazing AI’s shares have been suspended on the Aquis Exchange as the FinTech ramps up its legal fight with investor commentator Tom Winnifrith and Share Prophets Ltd.

In a statement this morning, the AQSE-listed group said it has appointed Rosenblatt Law Limited as its new company legal adviser to pursue defamation proceedings against Winnifrith and Share Prophets, following its cease-and-desist letter earlier this week. 

CEO Paul Mathieson has also instructed Rosenblatt in a personal capacity to coordinate a separate legal action for damages against the same parties and associates. 

A sports nutrition company that started with bedroom packing sessions in Nottingham has landed a major partnership in professional boxing with Eddie Hearn’s Matchroom Boxing.

Ten Percent Club was launched in December 2022 by Luke O’Reilly, who at the time was working full-time as an engineer while fulfilling supplement orders from home in the evenings. 

Three years on, the 38-year-old entrepreneur has secured a 12-month agreement to become the official supplement partner for the boxing giant. 

The founder of essensys plc is pondering an all-cash offer for the firm as it issues a profit warning.

The London-based software and cloud service provider for the flexible workspace industry said its FY26 results were expected to fall short of expectations.

essensys expects £19.2m in revenue for the year ending 31st July, reduced from £24.1m a year before. However it expects a profit of £1.3m, swinging from a £900,000 loss in FY24.

Microlise Group plc, a provider of transport management software to fleet operators, has seen its share price dip by over 30% since it announced on Monday that it would make redundancies after its global sales were hit.

The firm, based in Nottingham and listed on the junior AIM market, said EBITDA for 2025 will not be less than £8.3 million – well below previously reported market expectations of £12.7m.

Based on trading results for the year to date and its pipeline for the remainder of FY25, it now expects to deliver revenues of not less than £84m, compared with market expectations of £91.3m.

 

JPMorganChase has unveiled plans for a new 3 million sq ft headquarters tower at Canary Wharf that could house up to 12,000 staff, signalling a long-term commitment to London as its main UK base. The building would sit on the Riverside development and be designed by Foster + Partners, with the bank working alongside Canary Wharf Group as co-developer. 

An independent study commissioned by the New York-headquartered banking giant has estimated that the combined Riverside project and refurbishment work could add around £10 billion to the UK economy over the next six years and support more than 7,800 jobs across construction and related industries. 

JPMorganChase said its existing London operations already contribute nearly £7.5bn annually to the local economy, supporting around 38,000 jobs in the surrounding ecosystem.

 

Hybrid fitness app ROXFIT has doubled its user base since closing an £800,000 funding round in May, as demand surges for tools tailored to the fast-growing HYROX-style training scene. 

The round was led by DSW Ventures with co-investment from York Angels, alongside additional angel backing from across Europe and the US.

The Leeds-based platform has lifted downloads from 90,000 to more than 180,000 since taking on the cash, while expanding its team from two to eight people. 

 

IDHL, one of Europe’s largest digital commerce and performance agencies, has acquired London-based eCommerce consultancy, strategy and performance agency, Vervaunt.

Founded in 2017, Vervaunt has established a global reputation working with premium brands including Mulberry, APC, Paul Smith, Represent and Champion.

Following IDHL’s acquisition of The MTM Agency in February, the move supports the Leeds-based firm’s further growth ambitions across UK and US markets.

Author: Patrick Killeen

The UK’s biggest listed companies steadied today after Rachel Reeves’ Autumn Budget, with the FTSE 100 down only 0.12%, whilst the 250 has risen by 0.69%.

Bank shares were among the clearest beneficiaries after the Chancellor chose not to introduce new levies on lenders’ profits.

NatWest (+2.23%), Lloyds (1.98%), St James’s Place (+1.54%) and Barclays (1.36%) all moved up in that context, helped by the view that the tax backdrop for the sector is now more stable heading into 2026.

Trainline (+2.01%) also rose after recently sliding to its lowest level of the year, despite posting growth for the first six months of its financial year earlier this month.

Raspberry Pi’s gain was modest (3.48%), whilst WPP slipped again, continuing the trend of caution around advertising and marketing companies, coupled with its recent results.

Playtech was the standout riser at 10.72% as, despite new gambling tax changes in the UK, the company remains comfortable that it can meet market expectations for the year.

In the same sector, Rank Group fell sharply (-7.12%), calling the Budget ‘a significant blow’ and expecting an operating profit reduction of around £40 million before mitigation.

Revolution Beauty Group has reported a sharp fall in half-year sales (H1 2026) while losses before tax almost doubled.

The firm says decisive action since the period end, heading into H2 2026, has stabilised the business and restored profitability.

The AIM-listed beauty brand, which sells across retail and online channels, saw revenue drop 32% to £49.4 million for the six months to 31st August 2025.

Adjusted EBITDA loss widened to £12.5m while losses before tax were £18.4m, compared with £10.9m a year earlier.

 

boohoo group plc, which trades as Debenhams Group, has dramatically cut its half-year losses but revenues have declined significantly.

For the six months ended 31st August 2025, revenues dropped 23% to £296.9 million.

Debenhams, the department store brand it acquired out of administration four years ago, was the only one to grow in the period as the group transitions towards a marketplace model.

 

Flutter Entertainment has warned that new UK gaming tax rises set out in the government’s Autumn Budget will dent its earnings significantly from 2026, even after mitigation. 

Under the plans set out by Chancellor Rachel Reeves, the iGaming duty rate will rise by 19 percentage points to 40% from April 2026, while online sports betting will increase by 10 points to 25% from April 2027.

The online gambling giant, which owns brands including Paddy Power and Sky Bet, is estimating a pre-mitigation adjusted EBITDA hit of about $320 million in fiscal 2026 and $540m in fiscal 2027. 

Author: Sasha Haco, co-founder and CEO, Unitary

If we want AI to genuinely raise productivity, the government must go beyond investment and needs to become an enthusiastic customer for startups.

As an AI founder, I see daily how much potential there is to make public services and regulated industries more efficient. If the UK wants to build and keep world-leading AI companies, procurement frameworks must reward technologies that deliver trustworthy, consistent automation.

As well as capital, founders need customers willing to adopt, test and scale innovative products. By using its own buying power, alongside targeted R&D programmes, the government can set the pace for the wider economy. That’s the clearest way to ensure the UK remains a global home for ambitious, high-growth companies.

Author: Nicholas Hyett, investment manager, Wealth Club

There’s a certain logic to ISA reform. Anyone who hits the maximum £20,000 cash ISA allowance year-after-year should really be thinking about investing some of that in the stock market.

However, the reality is that this policy needn’t affect your savings decisions at all. Money market and other short dated fixed income funds available in a stocks & shares ISA mean investors can effectively hold cash within a stocks & shares wrapper.

On the plus side this means investors really don’t need to worry too much about this ISA reform – though banks may find the fall in cheap deposits more problematic.

It’s less good news for the Chancellor though. The reform was designed to encourage investment in UK-listed companies, but she may find that she has positioned herself against the UK’s army of committed savers and not achieved much at all.