Bite-size news and insight from UK business and tech – including funding, deals and appointments
Published: February 16, 2026 at 8:51 am
American investment giant Carlyle has injected £150m into debt-laden Liverpool eCommerce group Very, according to reports.
Carlyle is seeking a buyer for Very, which sells a wide range of goods online and offers ‘buy now pay later’ terms to potential customers.
Carlyle, which was previously Very’s main corporate lender, took control of the firm in November 2025 from the Barclay family.
The Telegraph reports that the investor has pumped cash into Very and also converted some of its debt into equity, easing financial pressure on a firm which posted £500m losses. The total support package is said to be worth £150m.
Barclays and JPMorgan have been tasked with selling the business, with an estimated price tag of £2bn.
Abu Dhabi media vehicle International Media Investments is also a shareholder in Very.
Published: February 16, 2026 at 8:38 am
Medpal AI plc has acquired the assets of Universal Pharmacy out of administration.
The deal, for a total sum of £45,000, sees it enter the online pharmacy market and triple its robotic warehouse footprint.
Medpal, listed in London and Frankfurt, is an AI-powered healthcare services group which had sought approval from NHS England of its pharmacy licence application – confirming fitness to practice and change of ownership in respect of the NHS pharmacy contract previously held by Universal Pharmacy.
Published: February 16, 2026 at 8:33 am
Katy Leeson, former MD at Social Chain, and her business partner, Kate Brown, have decided to close Blank Space Content Studio, in Manchester.
Located on Portland Street, the pair opened the facility last year to offer a flexible, modern home for content creation and brand events.
The purpose-built venue featured five versatile content zones, including a TikTok Live suite and podcast studio but it will close its doors this week.
Leeson, a former MD of Social Chain who now works as a creative strategist and speaker, said: “This studio has been one of the biggest learning curves of my life, and I’m so proud of everything we built, the incredible community, the clients who believed in us, the creative work we brought to life.
“The truth is, the studio evolved into something different than we’d envisioned, more community-led, which was wonderful but pulled us away from our core purpose.
“Rather than compromise on the care, consistency and service we’re committed to, we’re choosing to channel that energy into our individual businesses instead.
“A huge thank you to Bruntwood SciTech, who have been an incredible partner over this journey.
“To everyone who supported us, whether you booked with us, spread the word, or just cheered us on, thank you from the bottom of my heart. You made this worthwhile.”
Brown also too took to LinkedIn to explain they’d decided to close Blank Spare Content Studios ‘after a lot of thought’.
The experienced brand marketer and content strategist wrote: “Blank Space began as an idea for a content studio. Very quickly, it grew into something much bigger – a community-led space filled with shoots, launches, events, conversations and connection.”
Published: February 16, 2026 at 8:17 am
The former CEO of SkinBioTherapeutics plc has been accused of misrepresenting results by the company’s board.
Stuart Ashman, who joined in 2024, was briefly suspended by the listed Newcastle firm last week and he resigned soon afterwards.
SkinBioTherapeutics said on Friday that it was investigating Ashman over ‘matters relating to his conduct’.
Now it says new information has given the board ‘reason to believe that the former CEO has misrepresented material information to the board and senior management, the company’s auditors and advisors’.
Published: February 14, 2026 at 7:48 pm
The number of UK FinTech unicorns has now hit 46.
The research, which has been carried out by valuation data platform Multiples, includes neobanks, payments infra, insurance, wealth management, lending, and crypto.
The majority of UK FinTech unicorns are still private.
Only a handful are public (like Wise or Admiral), and several have already been acquired (e.g. Preqin or esure).
The list is broken down into valuation; revenue multiple; and ownership.
Revolut top the list after being valued at $75bn in November, 2025.
Another company to make the list is Cleo, which was founded by Barney Hussey-Yeo to change the way customers manage their money through its AI-powered technology.
Published: February 14, 2026 at 7:46 pm
Tanmay Hingorani was the fourth candidate to be fired by Lord Sugar in The Apprentice after a disastrous negotiation with a corporate client.
The AI product consultant at Capgemini Invent found himself in the losing team during a chicken and egg-themed challenge.
The latest instalment saw teams tasked with creating dishes from either 25kg of chicken or egg, serving both the public and crafting bespoke canapés for corporate buyers.
Hingorani found himself in Lord Sugar’s boardroom alongside team leader Carrington Saunders and Megan Ruiter.
He joins Georgina Newton; Nikki Jetha; and Marcus Donkoh in leaving series 20 of the BBC show.
There are now 16 candidates vying for Lord Sugar’s £250k investment and mentorship.
Published: February 13, 2026 at 2:59 pm
Revolut has become the official back of shirt sponsor for Manchester City Football Club’s men’s and women’s first team.
London-based Revolut is Europe’s most valuable FinTech and private tech firm, reaching a $75bn valuation in November 2025.
A spokesman said: “Revolut and City are built on a shared DNA: high performance, infinite ambition, and a desire to innovate where others haven’t. That’s why expanding this partnership makes perfect sense.
“But for us, sponsorship isn’t just visibility — it’s a way to create a better fan experience, which will include:
• 4 new co-branded virtual cards, now available in the UK & EEA.
• Hospitality, VIP experiences, and exclusive discounts for our customers.
• Future implementation of Revolut Pay, Revolut’s secure checkout tool, allowing fans and customers to earn more RevPoints¹ as they spend.
“Proud to rep the Sky Blues.”
Revolut now has over 65 million customers worldwide.
Published: February 13, 2026 at 8:52 am
Nscale, a UK hyperscaler focused on AI, has signed a £1 billion delayed draw term loan backed by GPUs.
The raise follows the recent announcement of Nscale’s $1.1bn Series B equity raise – the largest Series B ever in European history, and the announcement of Nscale’s $433m pre-Series C round.
The GPU DDTL was led by funds managed by PIMCO, Blue Owl, and LuminArx Capital Management, with support from additional asset managers and banks.
Headquartered in London and operating globally, Nscale is an AI-native infrastructure platform, providing vertically integrated compute, networking, storage, managed software and AI services delivered in Nscale-owned and colocated data centres.
The latest raise will finance multiple cluster deployments located in Norway, Portugal, Iceland and the UK.
Published: February 13, 2026 at 8:29 am
The CEO of SkinBioTherapeutics plc has resigned over ‘matters relating to his conduct’.
Stuart Ashman was suspended by the listed Newcastle firm’s board prior to the resignation and it has promised a full investigation.
The life science HealthTech, which is focused on skin heath, said non-executive chair Martin Hunt will temporarily become executive chair.
Published: February 13, 2026 at 7:53 am
Admiral Group has acquired London Insurtech Flock for £80m.
Flock has revolutionised motor fleet insurance through its fully digital platform.
The easy-to-access digital channel uses proprietary AI-driven risk models trained on hundreds of millions of miles of real-world driving data to reward commercial motor customers demonstrating improved safety throughout the lifetime of a policy.
It now provides insurance for hundreds of connected vehicle fleets which receive personalised, real-time safety guidance and recommendations based on live driving patterns.
Admiral’s UK Insurance business insures almost six million motorists and is known for its innovation and leadership in data.
It is one of the market leaders in telematics products, offering discounted premiums for good driving practice.
Flock will become Admiral’s telemetry fleet insurance proposition, and its existing technology platform and the team will form an important part of Admiral’s fleet insurance offering.
Flock’s CEO, Ed Leon Klinger, will join Admiral Pioneer’s leadership team.
Published: February 12, 2026 at 9:36 pm
Coleen Rooney has increased her shareholding in Liverpool-based Applied Nutrition.
The sports nutrition, health and wellness brand has been working with Rooney since 2024, taking a key ambassadorial role and co-created an exclusive range of five health and wellness products.
She said: “Alongside being an ambassador for the business, I had the opportunity to invest in the company and couldn’t be happier with my decision as the business continues to grow.
“I am excited about the future of the company as it expands into new markets and products and have decided to invest further.”
Applied Nutrition was founded in 2014 by CEO and fitness enthusiast, Tom Ryder, and listed on the London Stock Exchange in 2024.
Published: February 12, 2026 at 9:00 pm
Thank for joining me for the latest episode of Dragons’ Den – we’ll see you next week!
Published: February 12, 2026 at 8:59 pm
They are leaning towards Steven but 10% is their upper limit.
Steven says: “You’ve got a deal!”
The cats have got the cream…
Published: February 12, 2026 at 8:58 pm
Susie is out as £200k is a lot of money.
Peter is impressed by the technology but is also out.
Steven says they have something cool and disagrees with Deborah that they don’t need a Dragon. He offers them £200k for 12.5% of the business.
Touker says there is a lot to do here. He says he can bring the cost down of the product to stop competitors taking their market share. He offers half the money (£100k) for 10% if another Dragon comes in.
Deborah also makes an offer: £200k for 12.5%, same as Steven.
Published: February 12, 2026 at 8:52 pm
Their experience is in B2B not B2C, hence why they are looking for a Dragon.
They are also not social media experts, which they can also get from a Dragon.
Deborah doesn’t see a reason for them to get the investment.
Susie wants to know whether there is a benefit in terms of the cats not killing prey.
They begin to speak about initial data… Deborah challenges that and it is just their own experience…
Published: February 12, 2026 at 8:48 pm
The product is £450. It costs them £160 to manufacture.
They are looking for £200k for 4% of the business.
At the time of filming, they had generated £353k turnover in the previous year with zero net profit.
They anticipate £1.9m turnover and £339k net profit in the coming year.
They tell Deborah that the algorithms in the camera are the barrier to entry for competitors.
Published: February 12, 2026 at 8:44 pm
Last to pitch are Northumberland brothers Martin and Tomas Rosinski, co-founders of OnlyCat, an AI-powered cat flap.
The smart pet product detects and prevents cats from bringing prey into the home via an AI camera which keeps the flap locked while sending the owner a video alert.
Like other products already on the market, it also includes microchip-based access control to prevent other cats from entering the home.
The business, which launched through crowdfunding, has since generated more than £2 million in revenue. However at the time of filming, it had raised £750k in pre-orders.
Published: February 12, 2026 at 8:42 pm
The founders ask whether he has connections in the industry they are targeting and he says not.
They deline his offer!
“Good for you,” says Susie.
In the lift, Erica says they were willing to go to 10% perhaps but not 20%.
Published: February 12, 2026 at 8:40 pm
Deborah has worked in the caravan industry and says toilets in RVs are plumbed in. It will take a lot of persuasion to get the industry to change the layouts of vehicles.
Steven is out.
Touker is also out as he can’t see when he’ll get a return.
Susie says she isn’t passionate about it and therefore is out.
Peter wants to invest! He offers the money for 20%, not 3%! And he is willing to share.
Deborah says that is a fair offer but will not be making an offer.
Published: February 12, 2026 at 8:37 pm
Steve asks for the profitability figure last year and is told £75k.
They are forecasting £1.2m revenue with a £300k loss in the next year.
They want investors for the long-term and tell Steven he wouldn’t be taking a dividend any time soon…. seven years in fact!
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