Bite-size news and insight from UK business and tech – including funding, deals and appointments
Published: February 26, 2026 at 3:35 pm
Business technology provider, TalkTalk Business, has formally completed its separation from TalkTalk Group.
It marks a significant milestone in its evolution as an independent managed network service provider.
Ruth Kennedy, CEO at Salford-headquartered TalkTalk Business, said: “This marks the beginning of the exciting next phase for TalkTalk Business.
“We are now operating as a fully independent organisation with the agility and focus needed to deliver our strategy at pace.
“Our evolution into a managed network service provider is central to our growth ambitions.
“By combining our connectivity heritage with broader technology expertise and strong strategic partnerships, we are building a business designed specifically to support customers with secure, end-to-end solutions.
“This separation gives us the clarity and momentum to drive that forward.”
Following the sale of TalkTalk Business Direct in 2023, TalkTalk Business maintained access to certain core TalkTalk Group systems while rapidly developing its own independent operating environment.
Published: February 26, 2026 at 3:33 pm
The Financial Conduct Authority has chosen 4 companies to test how their crypto stablecoin services work with proposed regulation in a safe environment.
The stablecoins cohort is part of the FCA’s commitment to supporting growth and innovation in UK financial services. 20 applications were received and the FCA has chosen Monee Financial Technologies, ReStabilise, Revolut and VVTX.
The Regulatory Sandbox programme allows firms to trial stablecoin products in real world conditions with appropriate safeguards. It will help the FCA assess its proposed policy in a live environment and ensure future rules are clear, effective and support responsible innovation.
Published: February 26, 2026 at 2:29 pm
BusinessCloud joined forces with GM Business Growth Hub for our latest roundtable on the key steps to growing internationally.
The Manchester offices of RSM hosted the discussion, in which several Greater Manchester businesses shared their experiences of trading overseas.
Tom Dunlop is the founder of LegalTech Summize, which has offices in Boston and San Diego.
He said: “When you’re thinking about going abroad to a new market prove it out from the UK first. Make it repeatable before you put feet on the ground. If you put feet on the ground, I would bring your own staff in the business first for a while. Don’t just hire in that country.”
Zoe Brimelow is brand director of Manchester-headquartered packaging manufacturer and consultancy Duo. Brimelow said: “Really play on the Britishness of your brand. It worked massively for us.”
Other speakers included; Ged Tyrrell; Tim Przybysz; Susana Cordoba; James Wild; Marc Balduin; Simon Boyd; Tom Armenante; Janine Smith; Arran Kirkup; Nikki Foster Le-Grys; Ricardo Seixas; Daniel Shackleton; Fergal O’Connor; and Manish Mehta.
Published: February 26, 2026 at 12:45 pm
Kinfolk has raised more than £5m to develop its agentic AI HR platform.
The London firm says outdated ticketing systems continue to be used by human resources teams, whereas those using chatbots can only provide answers rather than truly help staff.
Its platform combines agentic AI in Slack, request management, lifecycle automation and analytics to manage employee support and people programmes.
The seed round was led by AlbionVC, with participation from PROfounders Capital and existing investors Ascension and Emerge, as well as Tony Jamous, founder and executive chairman of OysterHR.
Published: February 26, 2026 at 12:25 pm
Tattvam AI is building an AI system that understands circuit structure and autonomously solves complex design tasks, reducing chip development cycles.
Purpose-built chips can deliver up to 100x performance improvements over general-purpose hardware such as GPUs for their targeted applications, while consuming significantly less power.
Published: February 26, 2026 at 11:19 am
UK-based debt recovery firm Lawton Hathaway has partnered with fast-growing European digital debt collections specialist Debtist, marking the company’s formal entry into the UK market and reflecting growing international interest in the UK debt recovery and lending sector.
Under the agreement, Debtist UK Ltd will operate in the UK as an authorised representative of Lawton Hathaway, allowing it to work within the UK’s regulatory and compliance framework and giving lenders and financial institutions greater reassurance that work is being carried out within a fully compliant and regulated environment.
Cross-border collaborations like this are becoming more common in the sector, as firms look to expand into new markets while navigating complex regulatory environments.
Debtist is one of the biggest debt collection groups in Europe, focused on helping businesses recover unpaid invoices efficiently through technology, automation and multi-channel communications, across Europe.
Published: February 26, 2026 at 11:00 am
A Manchester-based dental surgeon has launched one of the first smile-based emotional wellbeing apps.
Dr Paul Pantiru says he is offering a new, science-informed approach designed to help users begin to regulate their emotional state in under four minutes.
The app, Radismile, provides short, guided audio experiences built around smiling, breath and nervous-system regulation to help interrupt stress and emotional fatigue.
Published: February 26, 2026 at 10:18 am
Seraphim, a pioneering SpaceTech investment group, has announced the latest closing of its oversubscribed early-stage venture fund, exceeding its previous $100 million target.
Key investors include the British Business Bank (BBB),The National Security Strategic Investment Fund (NSSIF). alongside new strategic corporate backers such as Arabsat, join existing partners Eutelsat, NEC, and SKY Perfect JSAT. This latest closing further strengthens Seraphim Space’s global network of partners and its ability to back the next generation of visionary SpaceTech entrepreneurs.
Building on the success of Seraphim’s preceding SpaceTech focused venture fund, which delivered top-decile performance globally, this latest fund’s focus remains on seed and Series A investments in transformational businesses driving the next generation of commercialisation and technological acceleration in the Space sector.
Published: February 26, 2026 at 8:50 am
HealthTech startup Holly Health has received peer-reviewed validation for its digital coaching platform.
Research published in the Journal of Medical Internet Research (JMIR) confirms that Holly Health meaningfully improves subjective well-being in people living with multiple chronic conditions.
The research, conducted with University College London (UCL), tracked 565 users over 12 weeks and found significant improvements in life satisfaction, happiness, sense of purpose and anxiety across all age groups, including older adults.
The study also identified how the platform drives change. The app’s chatbot, habit-tracking tools and small-goals framework were found to reduce feelings of loneliness, build self-compassion and support sustained behaviour change.
Published: February 26, 2026 at 8:36 am
Northern-focused venture capital firm PXN Ventures has reopened applications for PraeSeed, its cohort-based investment programme designed to bridge the funding gap for preseed founders across the North of England.
Applications are now open with PXN Ventures recruiting a third cohort of 10-12 startups who will secure places on the six-week programme. Up to eight will receive £200,000 each from NPIF II – PXN Equity Finance, which is managed by PXN Ventures as part of the Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund II.
Since launching in 2024, PraeSeed has already invested a total of £3m into 15 startups across Manchester, Lancashire, Cheshire, Cumbria, Liverpool, Leeds, Newcastle, Durham and Sheffield.
85% of businesses funded in the 2024 cohort have since raised additional funding.
Published: February 26, 2026 at 8:08 am
A London PropTech has secured a £69 million funding deal to fuel the expansion of its AI-powered rental marketplace across the UK.
Dwelly says it leverages AI to significantly enhance the user experience throughout the entire letting cycle, streamlining tenant-landlord matchmaking, maintenance and rent collection.
The firm secured the debt and equity investment to continue its acquisition of lettings agencies. To date it has snapped up eight and currently manages over £200m in GMV.
Published: February 25, 2026 at 5:52 pm
Chelsea have agreed a deal with IFS which they hope will see the AI software firm boost performance on and off the pitch.
The multi-year global partnership sees IFS elevated to principal partner with immediate effect, featuring on the front of the Blues’ shirt for the remainder of the 2025/26 season.
It marks the beginning of a long-term collaboration that places advanced AI agents at the heart of football performance, operational excellence and fan engagement, according to the club.
Published: February 25, 2026 at 4:44 pm
Firms must be bold, brave and unafraid of risk if they want to succeed internationally.
That was one of the key messages at BusinessCloud’s latest event in association with VirtualNonExecs.
VirtualNonExecs is the UK’s largest community of board advisors, giving corporate partners unparalleled access to the boardrooms of over 50,000 SMEs.
The Leeds office of Eversheds Sutherland hosted Wednesday’s business breakfast, entitled ‘How to scale internationally’.
The audience of 70 delegates heard from two panels of international experts and business leaders.
Alexander Celik is the CEO of Sowerby Bridge-based material science company Rosehill Polymers, which is set to hit £50m turnover this year.
Rosehill was established in 1998 and Celik joined in 2005, growing the firm’s export from 25 per cent to 80 per cent
He told the audience “Don’t be afraid to take risks and be bold. Find products that are novel, interesting and desirable.
“Having an understanding of the cultural elements of each individual market is important.”
Peter McCormack is a partner at Eversheds Sutherland and the head of the firm’s international commercial product group.
He said: “We’ve got around 3,000 people in 70 offices in 30 jurisdictions around the world. Advising clients on multi-jurisdictional contracts, legal issues and needs is really what we do and stands us apart from the competition.”
Published: February 25, 2026 at 1:22 pm
Moneybox, a wealth management platform, has appointed Sir James Leigh-Pemberton as a non-executive director to its board.
Sir James will draw on his deep expertise in corporate governance, regulatory oversight and complex stakeholder management, developed through senior roles at the intersection of government and financial services, to further strengthen Moneybox’s governance as the business continues to scale.
He joins Moneybox in its 10th anniversary year after becoming a shareholder back in 2017.
Published: February 25, 2026 at 1:01 pm
Enginuity, an AI platform helping innovators find and commercialise existing inventions, has raised £500,000 in a funding round led by Fuel Ventures alongside Symvan Capital and angel investors.
Enginuity is described as the market demand system for intellectual property, using multi-agent AI to map global IP against live market demand signals – helping innovators, research and development teams, universities and corporates to commercialise dormant assets.
The investment will accelerate product development, grow engineering and business-development teams, and expand partnerships with companies, universities and innovation ecosystems across the UK, US and Europe.
Published: February 25, 2026 at 12:48 pm
A former VP at Amazon has joined Multiverse as chief product officer.
The upskilling platform for AI and tech adoption said Jay Richman will move from New York to London to take up the role.
Richman, a veteran product leader who most recently led the development of agentic AI systems at Amazon, also worked on the launch of Hulu – one of the first major streaming platforms – before spending a decade at Spotify, where he was instrumental in scaling the company’s advertising, subscription and podcasting businesses.
Multiverse’s platform has enabled more than 30,000 learners across 1,500 customers to close their skills gaps through an end-to-end solution that unlocks productivity through a mixture of human expertise and a Socratic AI coach, Atlas. Atlas has more than tripled its daily active users in the last year, according to the firm.
Published: February 25, 2026 at 12:17 pm
CodeBase co-founder and CEO Stephen Coleman OBE is to move to the role of group chair with chief strategy officer Jon Hope stepping into the CEO role on an interim basis.
Former Skyscanner leader and Current Health exec Richard Lennox has joined the CodeBase board and steps in as interim COO to support the transition.
Coleman took up the CEO role in 2016, overseeing and guiding CodeBase’s growth and evolution over the last ten years, from an Edinburgh startup hub to a global tech ecosystem platform.
CodeBase now operates across Scotland, the UK, and internationally, delivering programmes for the Scottish Government, UK Government, European Union and other strategic partners.
Published: February 25, 2026 at 12:02 pm
Amber Therapeutics has strengthened its board and leadership team among other major business updates following its £80 million Series A financing in July 2024.
Amber has appointed Dave Amerson as an independent board member and strengthened its executive leadership team with the appointment of Claire Smith as VP, commercial.
Amerson previously served as president and CEO of NeoTract, Inc. through its $1.1 billion acquisition, and as chairman of the board at Palette Life Sciences through its $600m acquisition.
Smith joins from Nevro. She led the launch of multiple innovative products, helped establish and expand new markets, and developed scalable business model solutions that enabled the delivery of world-class patient care.
The Series A financing has also enabled Amber to significantly expand its operational footprint, including the opening of its new headquarters and manufacturing facility at Harwell, the UK’s leading science and innovation campus.
The Harwell site will support clinical-scale manufacturing, product development, and team growth as the company prepares for pivotal trials to treat mixed urinary incontinence.
Published: February 25, 2026 at 11:38 am
Brainomix, a global leader and pioneer of AI-powered imaging tools in stroke and lung fibrosis, has announced a £4.8 million extension to its Series C financing, in addition to the £14m secured in March 2025.
With existing operations in the US and an extensive portfolio of FDA-cleared AI imaging solutions, the additional capital will enable Brainomix to further expand in the US market as the company advances deployment of its AI imaging platforms, Brainomix 360 Stroke and e-Lung, across multiple hospitals.
The extension round was led by existing investors, Parkwalk Advisors and Hostplus via the IP Group Hostplus Innovation Fund, and includes participation from a new US-based investor, Modi Ventures.
Published: February 25, 2026 at 11:12 am
A London-based AI infrastructure platform has merged with Radiant, a newly launched portfolio company of global investment giant Brookfield.
The deal caps off a seven-year journey for Ori Industries, which has been led by founder Mahdi Yahya since inception.
Ori provides telecommunication companies and corporates with the software stack to build, manage and deploy AI cloud.
Ori will be the software and team layer sitting on top of Radiant’s compute and physical data centres, with Yahya now serving as president of Radiant and Ori’s senior team becoming the senior team at the merged firm.
Radiant says it is one of the world’s first infrastructure companies engineered from the ground up to deliver integrated AI compute, with access to scaled capital from Brookfield.
It is the second seed investment from Brookfield’s AI Infrastructure Fund and provides Radiant with a direct pipeline to a $100 billion investment program for AI Infrastructure.
Have Your Say