Aston University has opened a new million-pound AI-powered business hub in Birmingham as part of a major investment in the city’s innovation and enterprise ecosystem, supporting entrepreneurs, startups and scaleups with access to expert support, talent and collaborative workspace.

At the heart of the Aston Business Hub is the AI growth engine, designed to help businesses move beyond ideas to sustainable growth. Those basing themselves in the new hub will be able to benefit from the growth engine which includes structured business diagnostics, expert guidance and hands-on support.

Located on Woodcock Street, the Aston Business Hub offers modern, adaptable workspaces including hot desks, meeting rooms and collaborative spaces.

Companies basing themselves in the new hub will also be able to tap into a pool of industry-ready students and graduates looking for placements, internships and employment opportunities.

More than 330 businesses across Greater Manchester have been supported to grow, innovate and improve productivity thanks to the University of Salford’s Centre for Sustainable Innovation, which is marking two years since its launch.

The Centre for Sustainable Innovation was established to give local businesses access to University expertise, facilities and funding opportunities that are often out of reach for small and medium-sized businesses.

Since opening in 2024, the centre has secured over £2.5 million in external funding to deliver direct support for small and medium-sized businesses, helping them develop new products, test ideas, improve processes and build more sustainable business models.

This support has directly contributed to the development of 30 new innovations, strengthened leadership and management skills and helped businesses progress into long-term growth activities – boosting jobs, skills and investment across the region.

Zeus Sleep has been awarded £1.48 million of funding from the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) to run one of the UK’s largest multi-centre clinical trials in Obstructive Sleep Apnoea (OSA).

With the trial is being led by Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust and King’s College London, new research by Zeus has found that over half of adults (56%) reveal snoring either significantly or slightly impacts their life, offering fresh hope to millions suffering from sleep disruption due to chronic snoring.

This comes as the company’s first consumer product, a discreet anti-snoring device, is already available in the UK and helping poor sleepers and their partners.

Data giant Experian and pensions data platform Fincentive have joined together in a strategic partnership to transform the pension payslip and help providers meet regulatory obligations.

The Pensions Regulator’s November 2025 Market Oversight Report revealed that one in four schemes still have non-digitised records and fewer than 60% are confident in their data accuracy.

In addition, Consumer Duty, requires providers to evidence member outcomes, not simply prove communications were sent. Yet with 49% of UK adults showing characteristics of vulnerability, most providers have limited visibility into which members need support, and no systematic way to demonstrate they are fulfilling their obligations.

Fincentive addresses this issue by using the power of data and technology by digitalising the pension payslip and transforming it into a data-driven engagement channel.

The UK’s 10 million pension recipients typically receive just one annual statement, but the platform enables providers to offer up to 12 monthly digital updates, delivering engagement insights, identifying vulnerability risks, and ensuring regulatory compliance.

Author: Jonathan Symcox

Evaro, an NHS-licensed digital healthcare platform serving over two million patients, has closed a Series A funding round of around £18 million.

The platform already partners with period-tracking app Clue and sexual wellness retailer Lovehoney, embedding prescription services directly into their customer experiences.

The Norwich-based firm says the round will accelerate Evaro’s healthcare-as-a-service model across three markets: consumer brands seeking new revenue streams, healthcare organisations expanding digital capacity, and employers deploying health benefits.

Author: Jonathan Symcox

LegalTech Summize has completed a £40 million funding and reinvestment round to accelerate global expansion.

The Manchester-headquartered scaleup is an AI-powered contract lifecycle management provider with a growing presence in the United States.

It has offices in Boston and San Diego, and a new headquarters location in Manchester.

Alongside Maven Capital Partners, new investors Kennet Partners and Federated Hermes Private Equity, and existing investor YFM Equity Partners, also participated in the round. 

The transaction has enabled Maven to deliver a profitable partial realisation for its VCT investors of 3.7x the original investment, which includes the value of a retained equity stake.

 

London-based Flowla, which builds AI-assisted automation for sales and customer success teams, has raised $2.5 million (£1.8m) in a seed funding round.

It was led by Revo Capital, with participation from AI Startup Factory, Türkiye Development Fund, APY Ventures, Sharks & Partners and Salesforce-experienced angel investors.

The platform targets execution gaps in B2B revenue teams, where manual follow-ups, slow reactions to buying signals and poor handovers between sales and customer success often stall deals.

The business was founded by Turkish cousins Erdem and Oguz Gelal.

Funding will be used to enhance its automation engine and content generation capabilities and to establish a US-based go-to-market team.

Wealth intelligence technology provider 1fs Wealth has announced a partnership with professional services group S&W to deliver digital wealth management solutions to the firm’s family office, trust and ultra-high-net-worth personal clients.

Headquartered in London and with a growing global customer base, the 1fs Wealth platform enables wealth owners to consolidate their assets, control risk, manage ownership and derive AI insights around their portfolio through the efficient use of data. 

The company’s AI-driven solution is used by wealth owners and family offices across the world, who particularly value its ability to support long-term stewardship and succession planning.

S&W is the latest high-profile name to enter into a strategic partnership with 1fs. Launched as a standalone professional services business in March 2025, S&W draws on the heritage of Smith & Williamson, which was founded in 1881. The company has more than 2,000 employees and more than 130 partners based in the UK and Ireland.

The Lancashire Innovation Board has strengthened its leadership with the appointments of Dr Robert Holdbrook, director of science and technology at eco-chemicals firm Thrive, and Professor Andy Schofield, chair of the North West Regional Defence and Security Cluster.

The additions bring deep expertise in environmental science, biotechnology, defence, security and advanced manufacturing as the county accelerates delivery of its Innovation Plan.

Separately, Lancashire County Council-owned Fraser House co-working hub in Lancaster has appointed Rebecca Latham as business development and community manager to grow membership and develop new revenue opportunities.

Manchester-based startup Voxelo has raised £300,000 in the first close of its pre-seed round as it brings an AI-powered 3D product content studio to market.

The platform is looking to allow retailers and brands to generate 3D, AR and product imagery from a single uploaded video, using its proprietary UG3D technology to create digital twins in around two hours.

Voxelo is already working with early customers including Cosatto and British Attire and has received backing from Innovate UK and multiple accelerator programmes.

The round remains open, with the business now progressing towards a final close as it scales product development and go-to-market activity.

Injection moulding specialist MGS Technical Plastics has been acquired by its three directors in a full management buyout.

Long-serving owner John Sturgess sold equal shares in the Blackburn-based business to chairperson Neil Garrity, managing director Judson Smythe and commercial director Mark Preston.

The directors said operations and strategy will remain unchanged as the business continues to focus on customers, community and long-term growth.

The deal completes a transition to full management ownership following an increase in the directors’ stake in mid-2024.

Just Eat has launched a new AI voice assistant on iOS and Android, allowing customers to place orders by speaking naturally rather than browsing menus.

Rolling out first in the UK, the tool is designed to reduce “choice overload” by acting as a personalised delivery concierge, recommending restaurants, cuisines and products across food, pharmacy, beauty and electronics.

The assistant understands informal, conversational requests in multiple languages and can switch between voice and touch, improving accessibility for users with limited mobility or visual impairments.

Early trials showed rising usage and higher conversion rates among customers using the feature, which is now live within the app.

Kinaxia Logistics has announced a multi-million-pound investment in technology to boost the digital transformation of its nationwide logistics operation.

The group has selected Qargo’s transport management software and Samsara’s connected operations platform to improve customer visibility, route efficiency, driver safety and sustainability performance.

The rollout will provide real-time freight tracking, automated proof-of-delivery and invoicing, and enhanced operational insight, alongside telematics, in-cab cameras and digital vehicle inspections to boost safety and reduce downtime.

Headquartered in Greater Manchester, the business operates a national network delivering end-to-end logistics services across sectors including retail, food and drink, leisure and manufacturing.

Multiverse has acquired StackFuel, Germany’s leading data and AI training provider, to accelerate AI upskilling across Europe’s largest economy.

The combined entity has set an immediate target of training 100,000 German workers.

StackFuel works with major corporates including Mercedes-Benz, IAV and Telefónica, and its founders Leo Marose and Stefan Berntheisel will join the senior leadership team of the combined business.

The acquisition strengthens Multiverse’s European expansion strategy, combining the London-based unicorn’s AI-led learning platform with StackFuel’s strong German market presence.

The British Business Bank has committed up to £10 million to Ascension Ventures through its Regional Angels Programme, which aims to address regional imbalances in access to early-stage equity finance.

The funding will be deployed alongside Ascension’s existing EIS and SEIS funds, as well as its institutional impact vehicle, Ascension Fund III.

The commitment is designed to improve access to patient capital for early-stage technology businesses outside London and the South East.

Ascension is one of the UK’s most active seed investors and has been recognised in recent years for its work in both technology and impact investing.

The British Private Equity & Venture Capital Association has formally rebranded as UK Private Capital following member approval at its AGM.

The change reflects the evolution of the association, which now spans private equity, venture capital and private credit and supports around 13,000 UK companies, employing 2.5 million people and contributing 7% of GDP.

The new name is intended to better reflect how the sector describes itself and to strengthen its voice in public policy, research and political engagement.

GoCanopy, an AI-powered operating system for institutional real estate investors, has raised €2.1 million (£1.8m) in seed funding led by ISAI, with backing from BNP Paribas Développement, Yellow and a group of angel investors.

The platform is designed to solve data fragmentation across real estate investment and asset management teams by turning unstructured documents into a single, AI-driven system of record.

Founded in 2023, it enables investors to analyse historic deals, support investment decisions and proactively manage portfolios using a shared “institutional memory”.

The funding will be used to develop its enterprise platform and support international expansion, including opening a London office alongside Paris.

Houlihan Lokey has appointed Mark Ward as a managing director in its business services group.

Based between Manchester and London, Ward will focus on expanding the firm’s IT services coverage, working closely with senior colleagues.

He joins from DC Advisory, where he advised clients across IT consulting, software development, data analytics and managed services, and previously held roles at Clearwater International and PwC.

The appointment further bolsters the New York-listed firm’s European platform in business services M&A and corporate finance.

Sage has reported a strong start to FY26, with first-quarter revenue rising 10% year-on-year to £674 million.

The growth has been driven by continued momentum across its cloud-based products, with Sage Business Cloud revenue increasing 15% to £574m.

North America led regional performance with 13% growth, alongside increases in the UK, Ireland and Europe.

The listed North East-based tech giant will continue to invest in AI-driven innovation to support productivity for small and mid-sized businesses.

Revenues rose at AIM-listed Dotdigital in the last six months of 2025, with total group revenue up 4% to £44.2 million.

Recurring revenue from the core CXDP business increased 11% to £37.3m, accounting for 84% of total revenues, while forward-looking contracted ARR grew 13% to £75.4m.

The London-headquartered business, which provides cross-channel marketing automation technology to marketing professionals, ended the period with £36.1m in cash.

This followed a $20m consideration payment for the Social Snowball acquisition, which has delivered around 30% annualised ARR growth since completion.