Author: Chris Maguire

Eka Ventures has announced the closure of its ‘milestone’ £80m ($107m) Fund II.

Eka specialises in making pre-seed and seed investments between £1m and £3m and traditionally works with founders building category-defining consumer technology companies.

It makes Eka the UK’s largest early-stage impact VC, investing across health, wellbeing and sustainability.

Fund I’s portfolio includes Runna (seed round, recently exited to Strava), Urban Jungle, Axle, Hived, Foresight Data Machines, Jude and Flok Health. Several have gone on to raise from Index Ventures, Accel and Balderton.

Author: Jonathan Symcox

Round, an AI-powered finance automation platform used by some of Europe’s fastest-growing companies and unicorns, has raised £4.5 million in seed funding. 

The round was led by Alstin Capital, with participation from BACKED VC and Love Ventures. 

Roughly 10% of Round’s existing customers also invested, alongside new angel investors including Paul Forster, co-founder of Indeed.

Existing investors, including Passion Capital, the early backers of Monzo, Tide, and GoCardless, doubled down on their investment. 

Author: Jonathan Symcox

SysGroup plc has reported improved profitability & revenues for the last financial year.

The Manchester-headquartered tech group said FY26 revenue and adjusted EBITDA was ahead of market expectations.

SysGroup provides cloud, cybersecurity and AI transformation for UK mid-market clients.

EDX Medical intends to leave the challenger Aquis Stock Exchange and list on the London Stock Exchange’s junior AIM market.

The Cambridge firm creates health testing solutions for medical professionals that improve the rapid detection and characterisation of major diseases, enabling personalised treatment and better outcomes for patients.

It was admitted to trading on the AQSE in June 2021 and was renamed EDX Medical Group Plc following the acquisition by the company of EDX Medical Ltd on 14 November 2022, which constituted a reverse takeover.

Since then the company has raised £15.5m to further develop its business, enter into commercial distribution agreements and expand its laboratory facilities in personnel.

The directors believe that its access to capital from certain funds, its liquidity profile and visibility to investors will be improved by the AIM admission.

The company currently expects to record revenue for the year ended 31st March 2026 of approximately £1.2m.

Concurrent Technologies Plc has said that CFO Kim Garrod intends to retire and step down from her position.

The designer and manufacturer of computer products, systems, and mission-critical solutions used in high-performance markets by some of the world’s major OEMs said Garrod will remain in her role until the end of 2026 to ensure there is a smooth transition process. 

The Apprentice finalist Pascha Myhill has launched an exclusive subscription service ahead of Thursday’s final.

The 22-year-old is the youngest candidate left in the show and is seeking Lord Sugar’s £250k investment for her recruitment company within private healthcare.

Karishma Vijay is the favourite to win and 22-year-old Myhill is offering a free trial to her new content subscription service.

Writing on Instagram she said: “Don’t get it twisted. Just exclusive behind-the-scenes, little bits of my life, Q&As and all that. If you want all the tea, you know where to go.”

The Apprentice finalist Karishma Vijay has revealed she wants to appear on I’m A Celebrity …. Get Me Out Of Here.

The beauty brand owner is battling it out with Pascha Myhill to win Lord Sugar’s mentorship and £250k investment in the final of series 20.

The 28-year-old has 850k social media followers and revealed her dream is to appear on I’m A Celebrity, hosted by Declan Donnelly and Ant McPartlin.

Speaking on Instagram, Vijay said: “To be honest, put me in the jungle, I’ll eat a snake, I’ll eat a worm, I’ll eat a bat. I’ll eat anything.”

Failures, love & millionaires: What happened to The Apprentice winners?

Author: Chris Maguire

Vinted, the Lithuanian-founded online marketplace, has reported annual revenues of €1.1bn in 2025, a 38 per cent increase year-on-year.

At the same time, GMV (gross merchandise value) rose 47 per cent to €10.8bn.

GMV is the total value of goods sold through a platform or marketplace over a given period.

The figures show that Vinted reported adjusted EBITDA of €151m and a net profit of €62m.

Vinted was founded in Vilnius in 2008 by Milda Mitkute and Justas Janauskas after they had a conversation at a party about creating a platform where people could buy and sell clothing from each other’s wardrobes.

Through its network of delivery partners, Vinted provides members with access to more than 500,000 pick-up and drop-off points across Europe, supporting uptake of convenient, out-of-home delivery options.

Revolut has launched AIR – AI by Revolut – an in-app AI assistant designed to transform how millions of users interact with their money, manage their lifestyle and elevate their money intelligence.

Starting to roll out to customers across the UK now, AIR moves beyond the traditional chatbot, according to the FinTech. It acts as an intelligent assistant, deeply embedded in Revolut’s ecosystem.

Revolut says this represents a fundamental shift in how customers can interact with their finances, ending the era of multi-step navigation and empowering users to get a holistic view of their money.

AIR moves beyond the traditional chatbot and allows users to navigate their financial life through simple conversation. Whether it’s a granular breakdown of last month’s coffee spend, sorting travel essentials or setting card controls, AIR can help instantly.

Leeds Digital Festival returns this month with its Mini-Fest from 21st-23rd April to support skills development and growth. 

Organisers say this year’s ‘small but mighty event’ will explore how the rapid surge in AI and data science is fundamentally reshaping the Northern job market. 

A packed programme of nine interactive events across two days will showcase how this innovation is driving local employment and economic resilience.

Leeds-based tech innovation consultancy Parallax has grown its headcount significantly in the first quarter of 2026, with 30 new team members joining to support growing client demand.

The expansion marks the company’s most significant period of growth to date, following a strong 2025 in which Parallax secured 25 new clients and set its highest ever financial forecast for the year ahead.

The firm says the new hires – a mix of designers, full stack engineers, and product and delivery specialists – will strengthen Parallax’s core service offering, with a particular focus on AI innovation. 

Author: Chris Maguire

The founder of electricals retailer AO World said his gran is ‘delighted’ and hopes his ‘mum is proud’ after the company’s latest set of financial results.

John Roberts famously founded the Bolton-based retailer after a £1 bet in a pub with a mate before floating the business in 2014.

For the 12 months to March 31, 2026, AO World’s revenue growth is expected to be c. 11 per cent and B2C growth is expected to be c. 9.5 per cent, underpinned by market share gains across all key categories.

Adjusted profit before tax is expected to be in line with previously upgraded guidance, at the top end of £45-£50m.

Roberts said: “The numbers speak for themselves again and I am delighted to keep doing our talking on the pitch.

“I’d like to thank every AOer and every trading partner that has made it possible by embracing our relentless obsession with customers. In line with our values, my gran is delighted and I hope my mum is proud!”

AO expects to publish its full year results to March 31, 2026 on June 17, 2026.

Author: Jonathan Symcox

TT Electronics plc has named its next chair and CFO, while two non-executive directors are to stand down.

The listed firm saw a proposed £287 million takeover by Swiss electronics group Cicor collapse earlier this year after shareholders voted against the deal.

In the wake of that development, TT chairman Warren Tucker confirmed plans to step down as chairman in May after serving two three-year terms.

Now it has confirmed that Phil Swash will succeed him with effect from the end of TT’s Annual General Meeting, to be held on 15th May.

Two directors have also now decided to stand down, while the company has named its next CFO.

Next week’s final of The Apprentice will be contested by Karishma Vijay and Pascha Myhill.

28-year-old beauty brand owner Vijay is the red hot favourite to win Lord Sugar’s £250k investment and mentorship in the culmination of series 20.

However, Lord Sugar sprang a surprise when he fired Dan Miller in favour of Pascha Myhill, who is the youngest candidate left in the show.

Myhill, from Reading, was 21 when she appeared in the show and is seeking investment for her recruitment company within private healthcare.

Good luck to both. I’m off to eat my hat.  

Time to eat my hat after Dan Miller failed to make the final two.

The founder of loss-making student recruitment company  Young Professionals UK was told by Lord Sugar: “Your numbers are like a jungle. I’m not sure you understand them yourself.”

The first candidate to be fired on the night was Priyesh Bathia, who was told ‘don’t give up your day job’.

He was  quickly followed by PR man and Lawrence Rosenberg, who’d shocked Lord Sugar by asking for £5.5m for his startup.

“I don’t have any confidence in your business plan,” he said.

Anyone got any salt?

 

Lord Sugar might think about using AI to improve his jobs.

Priyesh Bathia’s business plan for a mobile cocktail party didn’t leave anyone ‘shaken or stirred’.

Worst ‘joke’ of the night followed the news that Karishma Vijay founded her skin care miracle product after being diagnosed with ache at the age of 18.

“I grew up in Hackney,” said Lord Sugar.

Pascha Myhill’s chances of making the final two just got a lot longer.

The youngest candidate left in the show admitted to Claude Littner that she didn’t know what profit and loss was.

Littler, who has been involved in the interview stage of The Apprentice since  series one, said her business plan was ‘woeful’.

I will eat my hat if the final two isn’t Dan Miller and Karishma Vijay.

Latest revelations include: PR man Lawrence Rosenberg’s 75-page business plan is  slammed as ‘tedious’; Pascha Myhill is branded ‘inexperienced’ after producing a seven page business plan; Priyesh Bathia’s business even isn’t registered at Companies House;  Dan Miller’s business is losing money but he has a holiday home on Marbella.

 

Terrible start  for PR man Lawrence Rosenberg in front of long-serving Claude Littner.

According to his business plan he wants an initial investment of £500k  – rather than the £250k top prize being offered by Lord Sugar.

Meanwhile Dan Miller reveals he doesn’t want to give away 50% of his student recruitment company Young Professionals UK to Lord Sugar.

This could get ugly.

‘That couldn’t  have gone any worse,” admits global account manager Priyesh Bathia after being grilled  by Linda Plant.

“You’re never going to do it,”  she said. Brutal. Puff of cheeks.

Meanwhile it’s an impressive start by Karishma Vijay when she’s grilled by Mike Soutar.

She passes her first test in being able to identify her own product.