Author: Jonathan Symcox

A high-profile capital markets figure has returned to the board of boohoo group plc seven months after stepping down – and been named its chair.

Iain McDonald personally invested £3 million in a fundraise when leaving his role as a non-executive director amicably in February 2026, having spent nine years with the firm.  

Now, as the company which trades as Debenhams Group transitions from pure online retailer to a marketplace model, it has brought him back as chair.

It has also appointed Michael Stewart and Stephen Rothwell as independent non-executive directors, with immediate effect.

McDonald is an experienced figure in the markets and seen as the right man to guide the company in its next phase of growth following a turnaround. Tim Morris, the outgoing chair, is a lawyer by background and also well-regarded. The move is thought to be amicable.

Author: Jonathan Symcox

New York advertising technology giant Taboola has agreed the acquisition of UK rival Dianomi in a deal worth up to £27 million.

Dianomi – founded more than 20 years ago – listed in 2021 with a share price of 332.50 pence and hit a high of 485p that year. However it has been largely downhill since then: it had sunk as low as 12p earlier this year, and was recently sitting around 26p.

Earlier this month it said it had returned to top-line growth after reporting a 2% rise in first-half revenue to £13.4m, underpinned by widened partnerships with CNN News and Associated Press. Dianomi also signed up 67 new premium advertisers in the period, a 56% jump on the prior year, and heralded the launch of AI-powered tools. 

 

iGii, a DeepTech advanced materials company behind the proprietary carbon nanomaterial Gii, has raised £22.7 million in new funding to accelerate the commercialisation and industrial adoption of its technology. 

Grown rather than mined, Gii can perform across many different applications and industries, giving manufacturers a high-performing material platform from which to differentiate their next generation of products.

The round comprises an £11.7m Series B investment led by the Scottish National Investment Bank, with additional backing from PXN Ventures and Archangels, alongside £11m funding from Scottish Enterprise.

Author: Jonathan Symcox

Revolut is exploring a dual listing in the US and UK which has been hailed as a “positive sign” for the London capital markets.

Nik Storonsky, founder of global FinTech founded and headquartered in London, had previously seemed set to snub its home city when it eventually goes public in a potential £100 billion IPO.

However he told French newspaper Les Echos that it is actively considering a dual listing, with the primary listing being in the US.

Admitting again that he “prefers” the US, he explained: “It’s a larger market. It includes institutional investors, hedge funds, fund managers and a considerable number of individual investors.

“So we have the choice between selling in a small market with few buyers, or in a gigantic market with a huge number of buyers who will compete fiercely for our shares. Therefore, yes, we prefer the United States.”

Manchester-based payments company Ryft has secured a £20 million Series B to support the next stage of its international growth.

The £20 million Series B, led by Gresham House Ventures, follows a period of rapid growth for Ryft. The business tripled its processing volume over the past 12 months and more than 6,500 businesses, including Epos Now, Chaiwalla, the Disasters Emergency Committee, Daytrip and Sprive are now using its payment system. 

The investment will support Ryft’s expansion across Europe and the US, while accelerating its product development and move upmarket.

Economic Secretary to the Treasury Lucy Rigby said: “Ryft’s success is a vote of confidence in Manchester’s thriving fintech sector and shows how British businesses can start, scale and compete on the global stage.”

Godel Technologies has announced a major strategic transformation of its business as it responds to the accelerating impact of artificial intelligence on the software engineering and technology services industry.

The move will see the company evolve beyond the traditional software engineering services model on which it has built its business, and have a particular focus on the mid-market.

CEO Gareth Ainsworth explained: “AI isn’t simply another technology cycle. It is beginning to change the economics of our industry. For technology businesses like ours, there is a choice. We can use AI to make the traditional services model incrementally more efficient, or we can rethink what that model should look like altogether.

“We have chosen to rethink it. This is therefore much more than adding AI capabilities to our existing business. We are repositioning Godel around how we believe technology services will need to be delivered in an AI-native world.

“We aren’t walking away from engineering. Quite the opposite. We are asking what world-class engineering looks like when AI becomes fundamental to how technology is understood, built and improved. We believe the answer will look very different from the traditional model.

“The businesses that recognise that early have an extraordinary opportunity. In the next technology cycle, being bigger won’t necessarily make you faster. And when technology is moving at this speed, fast eats slow.”

Author: Jonathan Symcox

All boohoo group plc’s brands have returned to growth after it reported its trading update for the six months ended 31st August 2026.

Performance was most notable across the Debenhams brand, where gross merchandise value grew 14.1% to represent 41% of group GMV – but growth was also reported at boohoo, Pretty Little Thing and Karen Millen.

Adjusted EBITDA at the group was up 14%, with reported EBITDA up 731% and GMV up 1.8%.

Author: Jonathan Symcox

The recovery has continued at Bytes Technology Group plc after it upgraded guidance for its FY27 results.

Shares in Bytes – a software, security, AI and cloud services specialist based in Surrey – had climbed 13% today by 1pm to 454 pence, passing a market cap of £1 billion.

It has been a remarkable recovery from Bytes, which six months ago saw its share price drop as low as 253p after a disappointing trading update and the departure of MD Jack Watson ‘by mutual consent’.

Shares are now up 52% in six months, although they remain below the 2024 high water mark of 657p – achieved before an authorised trading scandal concerning former CEO Neil Murphy sent the London-listed stock plummeting.

Digital mental health company Psyomics has appointed experienced US healthcare executive Raj Malik to its board as the business grows in the UK and focuses on international expansion.

Malik brings more than 30 years’ experience across digital health, technology, law and business leadership. He has built and scaled businesses in the US, the UK and internationally, supported major capital raises and acquisitions, and helped grow Rally Health from launch to $2 billion in revenue ahead of its acquisition by Optum.

His appointment comes as Psyomics enters a new stage of commercial growth. The company is expanding the use of its digital mental health platform and is preparing to launch its biomarker technology.

Malik will work with CEO Dr Melinda Rees, the senior leadership team and fellow board members, providing strategic guidance on commercial growth, investor engagement and future international expansion, including opportunities in the US.

Author: Jonathan Symcox

Shares in The Beauty Tech Group plc have soared in early trading following the publication of its half-year results.

For the six months ended 30th June, revenue increased by 44.3% to £79.7m (H1 FY2025: £55.2m).

Profit before tax increased by a huge 250% to £17.5m (H1 FY2025: £5m), reflecting strong margin growth and the removal of financing costs before its £300m IPO in October 2025.

Adjusted EBITDA increased by 53% to £21.3m (H1 FY2025: £13.9m) with margin expansion to 26.7% (H1 FY2025: 25.2%).

The Beauty Tech Group, based in Cheshire, owns brands including CurrentBody Skin, ZIIP Beauty and Tria Laser, which are used by stars such as Serena Williams and Kim Kardashian.

It saw its share price rise 12% in early trading, hitting 392 pence by 9.25am to give it a market cap of more than £430m. It is 42% up over the last six months.

This morning the group also signalled an intention to launch an up to £20m share buyback programme.

The Competition Appeal Tribunal has approved the £260 million settlement secured by Professor Barry Rodger in his opt-out collective action against Google, brought on behalf of thousands of UK app developers.

A £160m fund will go directly to compensating eligible developers, including sole traders and SMEs. 

This is the largest settlement pay-out for class members the Tribunal has ever approved, following its finding that the agreement is just and reasonable, and in the interests of the class.

 

Author: Jonathan Symcox

Cirata plc’s share price tanked 32% today after reporting its half-year results.

The data integration company rebranded from WANdisco following a 2023 fraud scandal and was looking to rebuild from the ground up.

Despite positive signs in the last two years, its share price has sunk further. Even before today’s half-year results were reported, it had fallen below 12p. And by the end of the day’s trading, it was at just 7.88p – giving it a market cap of £12.85m.

This morning it reported revenue for the six months ended 30th June 2026 of just $1m, compared with $4.8m in the corresponding period a year earlier. Total bookings were just $500,000, down from $3.8m. Adjusted EBITDA loss was $5.3m (H1 FY25: $4.6m loss).

Medovate and JEB Technologies are to become one company – combining their teams, operations and expertise under the Medovate name.

The combined expertise across both companies will become part of an expanded offering spanning medical device design, development, manufacturing, regulatory approval, international launch and commercialisation.

The move follows two years of close collaboration between the businesses, during which their products have launched in more than 12 international markets, including the USA, Australia, New Zealand, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and several European countries.

Its current portfolio includes SAFIRA, a system designed to help improve safety during regional anaesthesia; and CamPROBE, a simple and cost-effective solution that is intended to facilitate transperineal prostate biopsies under local anaesthetic. Products currently in development include LumeVac and TransiCap.

Medovate plans to secure regulatory approval for a new medical device and launch it in the USA and Europe during 2027. Further products are expected to progress towards regulatory approval and international launch in 2028.

Private equity investor LDC has exited its investment in Vista Technology Support (Vista) to TRG, a global managed services provider.

The transaction follows a nine-year partnership during which revenue and headcount have more than doubled.

Cardiff-based Vista is a specialist technology managed services provider operating in fast-paced physical trading environments, including retail, hospitality and healthcare. Founded in 1995, the business is a trusted partner to more than 100 businesses across the UK and Ireland, with a customer base that includes fast-growing supermarkets, the world’s largest restaurant chain and many well-known brands.

Vista has demonstrated strong growth during the partnership, more than doubling revenue from £17m to £44m and headcount from 200 to 432.

Tech Nation has today unveiled the latest cohort of high-growth scaleups joining its Future Fifty programme, the UK’s most prominent initiative for high-impact tech ventures. 

The 25 successful companies represent the UK’s most dynamic tech businesses, spanning sectors including AI, FinTech and health. Among this year’s cohort are digital wellbeing platform Healf, AI training platform Prolific and finance app LemFi.

The 25 startups have raised a combined £1.47 billion, and employ nearly 4,000 people across the UK and internationally. Nearly a quarter of the cohort is headquartered outside London – from Oxford AgriTech pioneers to Glasgow deeptech, Scottish biotech to South West defence AI – reflecting the depth of scaleup talent across every region of the UK.

The University of Salford is launching a community consultation to share proposed plans and generate feedback for a new Business School building, in what is set to be the University’s most significant investment to-date into its campus estate.

Taking place on Wednesday 23rd September between 3-7pm in the reception of the University’s Maxwell building, the event provides an opportunity for students, colleagues and the wider Salford community to view the plans, ask any questions and share feedback, ahead of the planning application being submitted later this year.

The site located at 43-44 The Crescent in Salford has been earmarked for the new building, with plans forming part of the University’s ongoing Salford Campus Connectivity Plan, which is the most ambitious expansion of its estate to date. 

Maven Capital Partners has announced two new appointments to its local team, further strengthening its capability as it continues to support the growth ambitions of businesses across the North East of England.

Catherine Earl and Graham Palmer have joined as portfolio managers.

Earl brings more than a decade of board-level experience across private equity-backed and family-owned businesses, with a strong track record in M&A, business expansion and finance transformation, alongside overseeing financial reporting and operational performance.

Prior to joining Maven, Palmer was group CFO at Indigo Software, where he played a key role in the company’s successful sale to Aptean.

Author: Jonathan Symcox

Brave Bison’s largest shareholder has slammed the ‘hypocrisy’ of its board amid its latest offer for fellow listed MarTech firm System1.

Lord Michael Ashcroft took aim at the group – parent company of SocialChain – which earlier this week made a fourth cash-plus-shares bid of £47.5 million for marketing effectiveness research company System1 Group plc. Brave Bison is System1’s largest shareholder.

System1 said it had secured written rejection support from shareholders representing nearly 23% of its issued share capital — including Lord Ashcroft, who owns 23% of Brave Bison and 8% of System1.

Lord Ashcroft said: “I have no intention of accepting this wholly inadequate fourth offer.”

He continued: “From my own dealings with Brave Bison I have questions regarding their board and despite several requests for improved governance within their business and representation on their board, my efforts continue to fall on deaf ears. 

“The hypocrisy of how they interact with other boards in their position as a major shareholder does not escape me.”

Author: Jonathan Symcox

boohoo group plc’s selling spree has continued after it sold Nasty Gal to a New York company for $16 million (£12m).

The group, which now trades as Debenhams, acquired Los Angeles-based Nasty Gal in 2017 for $20m after it collapsed into bankruptcy.

Fast forward almost a decade and Nasty Gal is described as a “non-core” asset as Debenhams Group – which owns the boohoo, PrettyLittleThing and Karen Millen brands – transitions from pure online retailer to a marketplace-led business model.

Cambridge Cognition Holdings plc increased revenue and narrowed losses in its latest half-year.

The neuroscience technology company said that for the six-month period to 30th June 2026, revenues were £5m, up 16% (H1 2025: £4.3m). This included first revenues from the company’s new healthcare and consumer wellness pilots of £100k.

Adjusted EBITDA loss improved to £300k (H1 2025: loss £400k).

The company expects to deliver significant growth in full year revenue compared to the prior year – and this is after taking account of £700k of secure contracted revenue which has been rescheduled to next year based on its clients’ study requirements.