Author: Jonathan Symcox

Shares in Experian plc have dropped 7% so far today (writing at 2pm) following the publication of its quarterly results.

The FTSE 100 credit reporting and data company posted 10% revenue growth at constant exchange rates for the three months ended 31st December 2025.

It confirmed that its full-year outlook remains unchanged (total revenue growth of 11%).

However the Dublin-headquartered firm’s main products are credit checks, data requests and identity tools, so when loan levels drop, so does demand for its services – which may explain why its market cap has dropped to £27.5 billion today.

Author: Jonathan Symcox

A prominent lawyer and gaming industry expert has warned parents and policymakers that unrestricted access to video games may carry the same risk of harm as social media platforms, amid increasing calls for regulation for under-16s.

Zohaib Hashim, founder and CEO of Manchester media and entertainment specialist Blackmont Legal, said that if the UK proceeds with a ban or significant restrictions on social media for children, video games should not be overlooked unless reforms are introduced.

Parliament is currently considering amendments to the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill which would see an outright ban on social media access for under-16s.

Hashim pointed out that many popular games now serve as social media platforms in their own right, with in-game messaging, voice chat and online communities forming a core part of the user experience for young players.

“If the aim of an under-16 ban is child protection, then we need to open up a conversation about the potential harms of video games,” he said.

“Communication within games is often less visible, less regulated and more persistent than on traditional social media.”

Author: Patrick Killeen

Retail apps specialist One iota has appointed Joe Till as CEO, marking the return of one of the company’s early senior leaders.

Till rejoins the business after first working at the Greater Manchester-based business in 2016, when he was appointed head of multi-channel solutions.

In that role, he supported retailers in better connecting online and in-store experiences.

As CEO, Till will lead the firm’s overall strategy, with responsibility for driving growth, strengthening partnerships and continuing to evolve the platform in line with retailer needs.

Author: Patrick Killeen

A Cheshire-based MedTech has secured £4.5 million of investment and grant funding to help transform treatment for glioblastoma (GBM) and potentially extend thousands of lives each year.

QV Bioelectronics, based at Alderley Park, is said to have developed a world-first implantable device designed to improve outcomes for patients with hard-to-treat GBM. 

Cancer Research UK says glioblastoma accounted for around 32% of all brain tumours diagnosed in England between 1995 and 2017.

It is the most common type of primary brain cancer in adults, affecting around 2,200 UK adults each year and is known for being fast-growing and difficult to treat. 

Author: Pippa Begg, CEO, Board Intelligence

Conversations at Davos have centred on geopolitics, productivity and the promise of AI, but the UK’s challenge is far more practical.

There is no shortage of talent or high-quality businesses, yet our rate of decay is currently outpacing our rate of innovation.

UK boards are highly effective at managing risk, but far less confident when it comes to enabling growth.

Too much time is spent looking backwards, while investment, technology adoption and organisational change are slowed by caution and process. Our data shows this is not a marginal issue.

Only 32% of UK directors believe their board is an essential tool for value creation, compared with 38% in the US and 48% in the Middle East.

When two-thirds of directors say their board is underperforming or adding little value, productivity inevitably suffers.

If the UK is serious about growth, it has to start in the boardroom.

TiE UK North has appointed Harinder Dhaliwal as its new president, beginning a two-year term leading the entrepreneurial network’s work across the North of England.

Established in 2012, the organisation supports hundreds of businesses each year through mentoring, networking, education, funding and incubation.

It operates as part of TiE Global, one of the world’s largest entrepreneur networks.

Dhaliwal is a TiE charter and board member and the founder and managing director of Step-Places, a Manchester-based property company focused on regeneration.

He succeeds outgoing president Sunil Mohindra, following a period of sustained growth for the organisation.

University of Cambridge spinout PeroCycle, which is developing a closed carbon loop system to help decarbonise foundation industries, has announced two senior board appointments.

Société Générale managing director Allan Baker joins as a non-executive director, while Ruth Herbert, a senior leader at Essar Energy Transition, has been appointed as a board advisor.

The company’s technology aims to capture CO2 from industrial processes and convert it into useful products or fuels that can be reused within the same or neighbouring industrial cycles, creating a circular carbon economy.

The business said the appointments strengthen its strategic capabilities by adding deep expertise across sustainable finance, CCUS policy and industrial decarbonisation, as it targets sectors including cement, steel, glass, ceramics and chemicals.

Snap, the parent company of Snapchat, has settled a social media addiction lawsuit days before the case was due to go to trial in LA.

While the terms of the agreement have not been disclosed, Snap told the BBC the parties were “pleased to have been able to resolve this matter in an amicable manner”.

The case, brought by a 19-year-old woman, alleges the platforms’ algorithmic design left her addicted and harmed her mental health.

It is still expected to proceed against the remaining defendants – Meta, TikTok owner ByteDance and YouTube – with Mark Zuckerberg expected to testify.

Formula E has achieved B Corp Certification in its 12th season.

The certification recognises the championship’s decade-long focus on delivering positive environmental and social impact, supported by strong standards at race events, community programmes, worker wellbeing policies and a commitment to transparency. 

The announcement was made at the World Economic Forum in Davos, alongside the recent launch of the new GEN4 car, featuring 100% recyclable construction and 20% recycled materials ahead of its race debut next season. 

Formula E is also rolling out its biggest calendar to date, with 17 races across 11 locations, designed to cut emissions by grouping events by continent and reducing freight mileage.

London-based startup BillBob has officially launched its AI-powered bill-splitting app, designed to take the hassle out of splitting group payments.

Created by 26-year-old founder Oscar Brown, the mobile-first platform aims to let users scan a receipt, allocate items in seconds and collect money via secure peer-to-peer transfers.

Only one person needs to download the app, with others joining by scanning a QR code and paying in just a few taps.

It is free to use, charging a 3% fee only when users settle up through its in-app payment feature, supported by integrations with Revolut and Stripe and built-in cross-currency support.

The app is now available on the iOS App Store across the UK, EU, USA, Australia and New Zealand.

London-based no-code AI platform LaunchLemonade has raised £357,000 in an oversubscribed pre-seed round from backers including Spring Syndicate and Ventures Together.

Founded in 2024, the startup is aiming to democratise AI agent creation, allowing users to build, deploy and monetise intelligent agents across tasks such as content creation, analysis and research, powered by more than 21 AI models.

The company has already grown to over 6,000 users through bootstrapping, with founder and CEO Cien Solon opening the funding round to accelerate growth and meet rising demand.

The investment will support the development of a built-in marketplace, enabling users to sell the AI agents they create and helping LaunchLemonade build an ecosystem for AI creation and deployment.

AIM-listed Huddled Group has reported FY25 unaudited revenue of around £19 million, up 47% year-on-year, with an adjusted EBITDA loss of approximately £2.5m. 

The circular economy eCommerce group said it has strengthened the product range across Discount Dragon and Nutricircle, while moving all brands to THG Fulfil to boost automation and delivery performance. 

It has also begun trialling new growth channels, including Temu, with plans to expand its marketplace presence via Amazon and OnBuy. 

The Nottingham-headquartered firm has now signed agreements with deal communities Latest Deals and HotUKDeals, after a January trial offer sold out in under 24 hours and generated £40,000 in revenue.

Its share price has returned to over 2p (2.16p as of today) this year and it has a market cap of £8.46m.

Author: Patrick Killeen

Stream, the workplace finance provider formerly known as Wagestream, has raised $90 million (£67m) in a Series D funding round as it looks to expand its offering and partner with more employers globally.

The raise brings the company’s total funding to £170m and will support the London FinTech’s push to provide workers with tools such as saving, budgeting and access to affordable credit through their workplace.

The round was led by Sofina, with continued backing from existing investors including Ascension Ventures, Balderton, Northzone, Smash Capital, LocalGlobe, Latitude, the British Business Bank and participation from Better Society Capital.

The company now has more than 75 investors, spanning major financial institutions and social impact firms, and supports over 2,000 brands and 4m workers across the UK, Europe and the US.

Author: Jonathan Symcox

An Aquis-listed FinTech business which changed its leadership team this summer has agreed a $200 million funding deal, with the provision of extending this to $1 billion – and plans to list in the United States.

Valereum Plc, which is focused on tokenised digital markets and headquartered in Gibraltar, has entered into an agreement to raise $200m of royalty and streaming capital from Valereum QGP-SP – a new company formed by Cayman Islands-based Quorium Global Photonics, an asset-backed financing firm.

In return, the company will grant Valereum QGP-SP a one-year option to purchase up to a maximum 49.9% of ordinary shares in Valereum Plc.

Author: Patrick Killeen

Drax has agreed to acquire Flexitricity, an Edinburgh-based optimiser of flexible energy assets, from energy transition investor Quinbrook in a deal valuing the business at £36 million.

The FTSE-listed group, which produces sustainable biomass, said the acquisition is expected to complete in Q1 2026, but will remain conditional on regulatory approvals and processes.

Flexitricity, founded in 2004, helps owners of flexible energy assets optimise and sell their power into wholesale, balancing and ancillary markets. 

Author: Jonathan Symcox

Listed data firm 1Spatial is set to be taken private in an £87 million cash deal.

The Cambridge company is recommending an offer from VertiGIS, a London-based provider of geographic information systems, to its shareholders after the latter completed its due diligence.

The deal for 73 pence per share represents a premium of 57% to the closing price of 46.5p on the final day of trading before the announcement of the possible offer in December.

JD Sports has reported a fall in like-for-like sales.

Sales fell 1.8% in the 9 weeks to 3rd January, while they fell 2.1% in the year-to-date (the 48 weeks to 3rd January).

JD said it expects full-year profit in line with current market expectations.

Currys plc has updated its profit guidance for the year after strong trading over the peak Christmas and New Year period.

For the 10 weeks ended 10th January 2026, group revenue growth accelerated to +6%.

Group adjusted profit before tax for the year is now expected to be £180-190m, +11-17% YoY.

City of London, a specialist asset management group, has appointed Cooper Abbott as CEO and executive director with immediate effect.

Abbott served as president and chairman at Carillon Tower Advisors, which he founded and built into a $70+ billion global multi-boutique asset management company providing equity, fixed income and multi-asset class solutions to a range of institutional and retail investors.

He also served as chairman and CEO of Matthews International Capital Management.

Author: Patrick Killeen

Reach plc shares rose by more than 7% to 58.2p today after the newspaper and digital publisher said it expects to deliver full-year results ahead of current market expectations.

The company, which is headquartered in Canary Wharf, has been helped by the resilience of its print business and continued cost control.

It expects digital revenues for the year to be 1% lower than last year’s figure of £130 million, after being hit by a “material reduction” in Google referral volumes and ongoing “macroeconomic weakness”. 

Despite the pressure on online traffic, Reach highlighted strategic progress during the period, including the launch of digital subscriptions, expanded video output and growth in off-platform audiences.

It expects adjusted operating profit of £99.1m for the year – slightly below the £102.3m it stood at for FY24.