Bite-size news and insight from UK business and tech – including funding, deals and appointments
Published: March 2, 2026 at 2:15 pm
Brave Bison shares have dropped on news of a strategic investment into fellow listed firm System1 and accompanying share placing.
The share-for-share exchange with John Kearon, System1’s founder and largest shareholder, and on-market purchases totalling £1.3 million, have led to a strategic 28% investment into System1 Group PLC.
The deal has seemingly caused shares in marketing and tech group Brave Bison to fall 2% today, with new shares having been issued. It stands at 72.4 pence at the time of writing.
Published: March 2, 2026 at 1:47 pm
SkinBioTherapeutics plc has appointed an interim CEO for the next six months as its former leader is investigated over concerns that he misrepresented results.
Rachel Parsonage, who currently runs her own advisory consultancy, has agreed to take the role on a temporary basis after former CEO Stuart Ashman resigned recently.
Alyson Levett, who only joined the company’s board and as chair of its audit committee in January, is overseeing a ‘forensic’ investigation into the actions of Ashman.
The Newcastle firm’s share price fell from 19.5 pence to almost 5p after the news broke of the potential misrepresentation and Ashman’s immediate resignation.
However it has since recovered to 9p at the time of writing, helped by a 12.5% jump today following news of Parsonage’s appointment.
Published: March 2, 2026 at 1:13 pm
Fieldwork Robotics, developers of autonomous and selective robotic harvesting solutions, has appointed Michelle Collis as chief financial officer.
Collis brings extensive experience across a wide range of transactions including fundraises, M&A, as well as a record-breaking IPO for one of the largest BioTech firms in Cambridge.
Her expertise will support Fieldwork as it accelerates commercialisation and international expansion, transitioning from startup to scaleup and preparing for future investment rounds.
Published: March 2, 2026 at 12:13 pm
Private equity-backed professional services firm Leonard Curtis is expanding its restructuring advisory service with Liam Griffin joining from Teneo to lead the firm’s offering alongside Dane O’Hara.
Griffin, who will be based out of Manchester, has extensive experience advising corporates and their stakeholders to deliver positive outcomes in a range of challenging situations involving financial distress.
He has worked with businesses from local mid-market operations to large, national and international corporate groups across a range of sectors including retail, manufacturing, technology and construction.
Published: March 2, 2026 at 9:14 am
The Rise Report has exposed the funding barriers against female entrepreneurship.
The new nationwide study – commissioned by one of the UK’s biggest communities of female founders, Female Founders Rise, in partnership with Barclays – has found that UK female entrepreneurs identify human connection as the cornerstone of resilience, growth and business success.
The research, launched at the Barclays Eagle Labs’ Innovation Hub in London, is one of largest grassroots studies of its kind.
The findings captured the detailed views, stories and experiences of 2,225 UK-based female founders – who collectively generate £1 billion in annual turnover – and recorded 436,000 words of qualitative data.
Published: March 2, 2026 at 8:36 am
Audit, tax and consulting firm RSM UK has announced the appointment of Jamie Baker as consulting partner and head of digital forensics.
Baker joins RSM from Deloitte, where he gained over 25 years’ experience, including his most recent role as forensic technology lead partner.
His expertise spans digital forensics, e-discovery, data analytics, investigations and software development.
Published: March 2, 2026 at 8:21 am
The new CEO of Oxford Nanopore Technologies has begun work today as he takes over from founder Gordon Sanghera.
Francis Van Parys will now lead the FTSE 250 MedTech, which is eyeing profitability after also reporting its results for 2025.
The DNA sequencing specialist reported revenues of £223.9 million, up 22.2% year-on-year, while adjusted EBITDA losses shrank 31.2% to £86.7m. Actual losses shrank 1% to £145.2m.
The firm reaffirmed its commitment to reach adjusted EBITDA breakeven in FY27 and become cash flow positive in FY28.
A trial has been set for 2027 for IP infringement against its products, while separately it has issued proceedings in the High Court alleging trade secrets infringement against the same defendant.
Published: March 2, 2026 at 7:53 am
Cardiff FinTech Delio Wealth has been acquired by US firm iAltA Holdings.
Delio, which is co-led by founder Gareth Lewis, is a provider of white-label private market operating systems for financial institutions and will continue to operate under its own name.
The firm, which featured on our recent FinTech 50 ranking, achieved profitability in 2024 and appointed industry heavyweight Felicia Meyerowitz Singh as chair late that year.
Published: March 1, 2026 at 7:34 pm
BusinessCloud has set an all-time record for website traffic in February
A total of 88,900 people from more than 100 countries visited our website in February – beating our previous highest figure of 87,700 in March 2025.
In a busy month, BusinessCloud also hosted our inaugural event with VirtualNonExecs in Leeds and our latest roundtable with GM Business Growth Hub.
Other highlights included growing our LinkedIn connections to nearly 10,000 and the launch of BusinessCloud’s EdTech 50 ranking for 2026, which will be published in March.
BusinessCloud’s editor Jon Symcox said: “It’s been an amazing start to 2026, which is also our 10th anniversary year.
“Records are there to be broken and 88,900 is a stunning performance, especially when you consider February is the shortest month of the year. We’re delighted.
“We’re on the cusp of hitting 10,000 LinkedIn connections and our new Founder Friday newsletter is proving very popular.
“Our breaking news section – BusinessBite – was our third best performing section on the website but we feel as though the best is yet to come.”
Published: February 28, 2026 at 12:39 pm
Javed Huq has announced his exit from UK tech investment bank GP Bullhound after nearly a decade.
Manchester-based Huq worked as managing director, specialising in technology advisory and investment.
Huq, who previously worked at Rothschild and Deloitte, joined GP Bullhound in August 2016.
Writing on LinkedIn he said: “After the best part of a decade, it is with huge excitement (and some sadness) that I have decided to leave GP Bullhound and explore new opportunities.
“I would like to say a massive thank you to Hugh Campbell for giving me the opportunity to take over the running of the Manchester office, lead our engagements on behalf of so many fantastic clients and host the Northern Tech Awards.
“The firm has come such a long way since I joined 10 years ago and it has been a fantastic experience helping contribute towards its growth.
“Turning towards the future, I look forward to remaining heavily involved across the Northern tech community and hope to catch with as many people as possible over the coming months. Watch this space.”
Published: February 28, 2026 at 10:26 am
THG CEO Matt Moulding has warned of a ‘tsunami impact’ coming from AI.
The entrepreneur was speaking out after Twitter founder Jack Dorsey announced 40 per cent job cuts at his tech company Block, as a result of AI.
Moulding said: “Make no mistake, the key players in the US are moving fast around AI, and we all need to take note.
“Anyone still asleep about the tsunami impact coming from AI, then today’s news is another wakeup call.
“Jack Dorsey, founder and chair of Block, the US group behind Square and Cash App, has announced he’s cutting 40 per cent of his workforce, by rolling out mass adoption of AI.
“4,000 highly paid global jobs will be gone by this weekend, adding to the near 30,000 head office job losses announced by Amazon in the past five months alone.
“Most of the US tech giants are making dramatic changes to their business models and people teams, because they clearly see something coming.
“Dorsey is no mug. He founded Twitter, sold it to Elon Musk, and has gone on to be serious player in the global payments market.”
Published: February 28, 2026 at 9:52 am
Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey is cutting the workforce of his new technology firm Block by almost half because of the impact of artificial intelligence.
The US FinTech, which owns Square, Cash App and Tidal, is cutting the number of staff from just over 10,000 to under 6,000.
The company’s share price spiked by more than 20 per cent on the back of the announcement
Dorsey predicted ‘the majority of companies will reach the same conclusion and make similar structural changes’ in the next year.
In a letter to shareholders, he said: “Intelligence tools have changed what it means to build and run a company. We’re already seeing it internally.
“A significantly smaller team, using the tools we’re building, can do more and do it better. And intelligence tool capabilities are compounding faster every week.
“I don’t think we’re early to this realisation. I think most companies are late.
“I’d rather get there honestly and on our own terms than be forced into it reactively. And this isn’t just about efficiency.”
Published: February 27, 2026 at 4:12 pm
Vanessa Tetteh-Squire was the sixth candidate to be fired by Lord Sugar in The Apprentice after her team lost a task described as ‘turning petals into profits’.
The North Londoner is the founder of Ayorkoh, a contemporary swimwear for fuller-busted women.
She was shown the exit door in week five after being on the losing team.
The candidates were tasked with selling flowers to the public and creating a floral installation for corporate clients.
Tetteh-Squire was the losing project manager in the task.
There are now 14 candidates vying for Lord Sugar’s £250k investment and mentorship.
Published: February 27, 2026 at 1:58 pm
Amid the quiet hum of a coffee shop in Liverpool, a group of people sheltering from the bitter cold outside are chatting away.
Jack Brewitt, founder of 92 Degrees Coffee – which has grown from this shop on Hardman Street to 22 locations nationwide – peels away from the group.
Later we will discuss the “long play” of connecting up brand recognition from his coffee shops to products in retail stores. Everything begins with that comfortable experience – and, of course, the taste of a delicious coffee.
“We serve 1-2 million customers a year and so you hope that the majority of their visits are good, happy and tasty,” says Jack when we met a fortnight ago. “Then when they go to their local supermarket, they might go: ‘I’ve had a coffee from there. I’ll take a bag of that home.”
Jack has grand plans for 92 Degrees, which you can read about. But let’s start at the beginning: even before he and four co-founders had the idea of turning this space into their first store.
Published: February 27, 2026 at 10:49 am
Neilson, an ‘active holiday’ provider, has announced the appointment of entrepreneur and TV presenter Sara Davies MBE as its new chief customer ambassador.
The ex-BBC Dragon will work closely with Neilson on marketing and growth opportunities, leveraging her passion for fitness and extensive business experience.
Neilson’s handpicked resorts contain 25 activities and kids’ clubs.
Davies is kicking off this week with a family holiday to Neilson’s latest ski hotel in Val D’Isere, which opened in December 2025. Two new ski hotels opened in Val D’Isere this winter, and a further two new Beach Clubs will open in Sicily and Mauritius for the summer 2026 season.
Published: February 27, 2026 at 9:16 am
The CEO of recruitment giant Hays plc is stepping down.
Dirk Hahn is leaving for personal reasons and will be replaced by Mark Dearnley, chief digital and technology officer, on an interim basis.
Michael Findlay, non-executive chair, will work closely with the leadership team while a permanent successor is found.
Published: February 27, 2026 at 8:28 am
Real-time clearing bank ClearBank has opened its new London headquarters at Broadgate Tower in the City.
The FinTech has also revealed that it now holds £18bn in customer deposits – more than Monzo and Starling – as it continues to scale and expand its footprint.
ClearBank employs 700 people and powers major brands such as Revolut, Coinbase and Wealthify. The HQ move builds on a pivotal 12 months for the bank, after it launched its embedded banking, payments and clearing services to corporate businesses as well as appointing new senior leaders Tristan Kirchner (CEO of ClearBank Europe), Neil Drennan (CTO) and David Samper (group CFO).
The new headquarters was opened by Lucy Rigby KC MP, Economic Secretary to the Treasury.
Published: February 27, 2026 at 8:11 am
Revenue and profits have jumped at online property portal Rightmove.
The firm reported £425.1m revenue for 2025, a 9% increase on the prior year.
Operating profit climbed 12% to £287.9m.
Published: February 26, 2026 at 10:13 pm
Co-founders Jack Malin and Dave Rushton have announced their joint exit from gym software firm Membr.
The duo initially launched the business to help personal trainers manage their clients, payments, and fitness programmes all in one place.
Their joint departure comes two years after Manchester-based Membr was acquired by US global platform Xplor Technologies for an undisclosed sum.
Malin said: “There were defiantly some highs and lows but the journey took me to places I never expected to go and allowed me to experience things I never imagined I would – I’m incredibly proud of what we achieved together. Now I’m excited to see what comes next.”
Rushton added: “After nearly 15 years, this is where the Membr and Xplor chapter ends for me.”
Published: February 26, 2026 at 9:28 pm
A dating app with a difference was pitched on Dragons’ Den tonight – and bagged an investor in Steven Bartlett despite being pre-revenue.
hati is a dating app launched in 2025 by Zaahirah Adam, who told the Dragons she founded the startup after a bad experience with being ghosted.
Bartlett – who knows the founders of the world’s highest-profile dating apps – said there was a market for hati.
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