Bite-size news and insight from UK business and tech – including funding, deals and appointments
Published: January 23, 2026 at 9:34 am
A Manchester startup claims to be building some of the most advanced AI workers in the world – despite its co-founders being the only real people in the business.
SmartFlows has flown under the radar since it was founded 14 months ago and claims to have built more than 10,000 of its Syms – virtual employees – for clients via partnerships and word of mouth.
It is also claiming astonishing revenue growth.
For my first weekly Founder Friday feature, I met Karl Percival at the Campfield cafe in the city to hear more – and was astonished to hear that his virtual sales rep Dylan is a mad Manchester United fan…
Published: January 23, 2026 at 9:24 am
YFM Equity Partners has exited its investment in Vuealta following the sale of the business to Keyrus, a global data and digital consulting group.
London-based Vuealta supports organisations with connected business planning and digital transformation, helping improve forecasting, decision-making and operational performance.
YFM backed Vuealta the business to help it scale, supporting international expansion, strengthening operational capabilities and developing its service offering in response to growing client demand.
The acquisition also strengthens France-headquartered Keyrus’ presence in the APAC region and its leadership in anaplan solutions.
Published: January 23, 2026 at 9:09 am
ClearScore Group has acquired Acre Platforms Limited, a London-based technology solutions provider to the mortgage industry.
The deal builds on the firm’s established position in unsecured credit broking and follows its acquisition of Aro Finance in early 2025, which expanded its capabilities in secured loans.
Under ClearScore’s ownership, Acre will continue to provide technology solutions for mortgage and protection businesses, while supporting ClearScore’s ambition to deliver an improved home-buying experience to its 16 million UK users.
ClearScore, also headquartered in London, plans to extend the platform into its international markets, including South Africa, Australia, New Zealand and Canada.
Published: January 23, 2026 at 8:53 am
TikTok has closed a deal that will allow the short-video platform to continue operating in the US, following years of pressure over national security concerns linked to its Chinese owner, ByteDance.
The move comes after legislation passed under former President Joe Biden required ByteDance to sell TikTok’s US operations or face a ban, with enforcement repeatedly delayed by President Donald Trump.
Under the agreement, a new entity called TikTok USDS Joint Venture LLC has been established in compliance with an executive order signed by Trump on 25th September 2025.
The majority US-owned joint venture will enable more than 200 million Americans and 7.5m businesses to continue using the platform.
Published: January 23, 2026 at 8:39 am
There was no festive cheer on the high street, which continues its long slow demise.
Non-food stores saw sales fall 0.9% in December as shoppers increasingly look online to do their Christmas shopping. That is a depressingly predictable headline, and the result is companies like Claire’s, the Original Factory Shop and Russell & Bromley going into administration.
Among online retailers, jewellers enjoyed a particularly golden Christmas. In uncertain times shoppers seem to be being drawn to dual purpose jewels that not only tick the Christmas present box, but provide a convenient long-term store of value as well.
Published: January 23, 2026 at 8:37 am
December brought little festive cheer for retailers. Beneath flat headline numbers sits a distinctly K-shaped retail landscape, with Christmas exposing a widening divide in performance. Value-led players benefited from cautious consumer behaviour, while non-food felt the full force of fragile confidence.
Households spent smarter over Christmas, particularly in grocery. Consumers leaned heavily on promotions and shifted spend from eating out to premium at-home meals. Retailers combining strong value perception with quality credentials were the clear beneficiaries.
Discretionary non-food categories faced a toxic mix of weak demand, lingering uncertainty following the late November Budget, and margin-eroding promotions. Many retailers were forced to discount earlier and harder to defend market share, putting profitability under strain.
Retail is becoming increasingly polarised – between businesses with sharp positioning, flexible operating models and a deep understanding of what customers value today, and those being left behind as the market reshapes around them.
Published: January 23, 2026 at 8:33 am
Festive spending unexpectedly picked up in December after a disappointing November and October.
Despite ongoing cost-of-living pressures, consumers splashed the cash in December, suggesting confidence returned after an uncertain few autumn months.
This rebound during a vital trading window offers a timely lift for retailers and sets a more positive tone for the year ahead. A 1.3% rise in sales volumes in 2025 points to a sector showing real resilience, following a challenging twelve months marked by Budget measures and ongoing international trade pressures.
However, sales have yet to recover from the decline seen in 2023 and remain below pre-pandemic 2019 levels, underlining the ongoing financial pressures facing many businesses.
Looking ahead, sticky inflation could keep interest rates higher for longer, limiting disposable income and dragging down consumer spending. The wider global and domestic backdrop also offers little reassurance for retailers, with renewed trade tensions and geopolitical uncertainty stoking market volatility and threatening supply chains.
As we head into 2026, retailers will need to stay vigilant amid an unpredictable trading environment.
Published: January 23, 2026 at 8:30 am
Retail sales volumes are estimated to have risen by 0.4% in December 2025, following a fall of 0.1% in November 2025 and a fall of 0.8% in October 2025.
Non-store retailers’ volumes rose in December, following falls in October and November, with online jewellers reporting that demand for precious metals picked up in December.
Retail sales volumes rose by 1.3% in 2025, following a rise of 0.2% in 2024, and falls in both 2022 and 2023.
Despite this being the second consecutive annual rise, volumes did not recover from the 2023 fall, and remained below 2019 COVID-19 pandemic levels.
Published: January 22, 2026 at 5:00 pm
Computacenter shares rose by more than 10% today after the IT services group reported a stronger-than-expected second half and lifted profit guidance for its financial year.
The Hertfordshire-based firm now expects adjusted profit before tax for 2025 to be no less than £270 million – comfortably ahead of market expectations.
The company said it delivered a strong fourth quarter, meaning performance for the year ended 31st December 2025 came in ahead of expectations.
Published: January 22, 2026 at 4:31 pm
Strava is planning to expand its London footprint, cementing the capital’s role as the fitness platform’s European hub as it continues to scale its global operations.
The move comes as the San Francisco-based firm reported a standout year of growth and product development, with the company launching more than 100 new features in 2025 and growing its global community to more than 180 million users across over 50 sport types.
Alongside London, the company is also increasing its presence in San Francisco and New York, in a broader push to invest in key markets and attract talent as it expands.
It has recently expanded its global headquarters at 181 Fremont Street in San Francisco, adding additional floors to bring its total space to around 85,000 sq ft.
Published: January 22, 2026 at 4:03 pm
EA Technology has appointed Gareth Burton as its new CEO, with the appointment taking effect from 9th February.
The Chester-based company, which provides technology solutions supporting the energy transition, has hired Burton at a key stage as it expands its hardware and software capabilities, grows its international presence and looks to deliver greater value for customers.
He brings more than two decades of senior leadership experience across enterprise software and global technology services.
Most recently, he served as CEO of Orbus Software, where he led a team of around 300 employees across the UK, Australia, the US and the Middle East.
Published: January 22, 2026 at 2:46 pm
Open Cosmos has launched the first two satellites in its new low-Earth-orbit telecom constellation, marking the start of real-world testing for its planned network.
The satellites were launched by Rocket Lab from New Zealand on the Electron mission ‘The Cosmos Will See You Now’, just a week after the Oxfordshire-based company secured high-priority Ka-band spectrum.
Now operating in a 1,050km orbit, they will be used to test satellite operations and validate the system ahead of a wider rollout in the coming months.
Published: January 22, 2026 at 2:29 pm
Eleven Nordic HealthTech companies have been selected to bring their innovations to the UK through the Propel International Boot Camp, delivered by Health Innovation Yorkshire & Humber.
The cohort will introduce solutions aligned with NHS priorities, including tech supporting maternal mental health, tools promoting healthy ageing and social inclusion, and improved wound care products.
The programme is designed to help SMEs navigate the UK healthcare system and speed up their route to market, with Yorkshire and Humber acting as the first region to explore adoption and impact.
The selected companies are YetiCare, EchoVoice, Omaia, Abomics, Upptimely, ExAC, Crisis Linguistics (Som Sagt AS), Nil Medical, Global Health Technology, MoniDose Oy and Dossier.
Published: January 22, 2026 at 2:10 pm
LendInvest has announced a new £250 million funding partnership with global asset-based private credit specialist Castlelake, in a move designed to strengthen the alternative lender’s firepower in the UK bridging market.
The agreement will allow Castlelake to purchase up to £250m of loans, giving LendInvest additional capacity to grow its bridging proposition and offer greater flexibility to borrowers across the property sector.
The London firm said the arrangement represents a strategic expansion of its funding stack, optimising support for its bridging solutions and enabling the platform to take on larger and more complex transactions.
Under the partnership, it will be able to fund individual projects of up to £15m, while also expanding its ability to provide regulated bridging loans and offer additional products such as development exit financing.
Published: January 22, 2026 at 1:44 pm
Delta Gold Technologies has published its half-year report covering the period from incorporation to 31st October 2025, outlining early progress in building an IP-focused business in quantum computing.
The listed company is targeting the development and commercialisation of high-value intellectual property, with an initial focus on nano-scale gold and advanced materials to address challenges such as qubit stability and scalability.
It reported a loss of £126,431 for the period and ended October with £47,443 in cash, reflecting its early-stage investment and R&D spend linked to its University of Toronto research programme.
After the period end, the company completed its IPO on the AQSE Growth Market on 1st December 2025, raising £2.5 million and achieving an initial market capitalisation of around £7.8m, with funds earmarked to advance research, secure IP and support working capital.
Its market cap is currently in excess of £15m.
Published: January 22, 2026 at 1:26 pm
Defence Holdings has appointed Jim Clover OBE to its advisory board as it builds out defence-led capability across software, national security and information advantage.
Clover is a former senior national security and cyber operations leader with more than 25 years’ experience spanning cyber operations, open-source intelligence and digital forensics, including serving as Deputy Director of Cyber Operations within HM Government.
The London-based company said the appointment supports its expanding Defence Technologies division and follows the recent launch of a new national security pillar focused on applying sovereign software and AI to defence-led challenges.
It is UK’s first listed software-led defence company and recently appointed Andrew McCartney as its CTO and Field Marshal Lord Nick Houghton of Richmond as its non-executive chairman.
Published: January 22, 2026 at 1:01 pm
NCC Group has partnered with identity security specialist Delinea to deliver cloud-native solutions designed to protect organisations from cyber-attacks and insider threats.
The news comes a day after the Manchester-based firm agreed to sell its Escode business to TDR Capital LLP for £275 million.
The partnership will focus on privileged access management (PAM), helping businesses secure critical accounts and systems as they adopt AI, modernise identity controls and respond to increasing compliance requirements.
It comes as NCC Group looks to become a pure-play global cyber security and resilience company.
Delinea’s platform is designed to help organisations discover identities, set appropriate levels of access and respond to threats in real time, supporting the shift towards Zero Trust Architecture.
Published: January 22, 2026 at 12:24 pm
London and San Francisco-based Asymmetric Security has raised $4.2 million in an oversubscribed pre-seed round to accelerate how organisations investigate cyberattacks.
The funding was led by Susa Ventures, with participation from Halcyon Ventures and Overlook Ventures, alongside angels including Charlie Songhurst, Matt Clifford and Geoff Ralston.
Founded by Zainab Ali Majid, Pippa Thompson and Alexis Carlier, the startup is building an AI-native cyber forensics platform designed to speed up threat hunting and incident response using secure automation and expert validation.
It plans to use the funding to grow its engineering and incident response teams while expanding into areas such as ransomware, insider threats and nation-state incidents.
Published: January 22, 2026 at 12:06 pm
Allocation Strategy, a London-based analytics platform for institutional investors, has raised £1.6 million in a funding round led by Fuel Ventures.
The company provides tools that help investment teams assess risk and return trade-offs, test portfolios across different market conditions and improve long-term resilience.
Published: January 22, 2026 at 11:54 am
The board of Beazley plc has ‘unanimously rejected’ the £7.7 billion takeover bid from fellow insurance giant Zurich.
The FTSE 100 firm said the offer of 1,280p in cash per share ‘materially undervalues Beazley and its longer-term prospects as an independent company’.
The offer represents a 56% premium to Beazley’s 820p closing price on 16th January 2026. However Beazley’s share price has risen around 40% since then and currently stands at 1,138p, giving it a market cap of £6.8bn.
The board said it had received three proposals from Zurich in June last year and provided it with certain limited due diligence information in ‘good faith’.
The last of those – also rejected – was for 1,315p per share at an implied equity value of £8.4bn.
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