Bite-size news and insight from UK business and tech – including funding, deals and appointments
Author: Chris Maguire
Online travel agent On The Beach has suspended its annual profit forecast after reporting a ‘significant slowdown in demand’ because of the Middle East conflict.
Although the Manchester-headquartered company has ‘limited exposure’ to destinations in the Middle East, they’ve suffered a significant drop in demand for holidays to Turkey, Greece, Cyprus and Egypt in particular.
On The Beach say the ongoing uncertainty will impact their profitability forcing them to suspend its annual profit forecast.
The company’s share price dropped by 10 per cent in early morning trading on the back of the news.
In a statement to the London Stock Exchange this morning ahead of its annual general meeting a spokesman said: “The timing of when the conflict will end and the shape of recovery in demand to these destinations are unknown. Both will impact group profitability and as a result the group is temporarily suspending its guidance of £39m to £43m Adj. PBT for the full year.
“Despite the volatile environment, the company continues to trade profitably and generate cash because of its asset light model with significantly lower fixed costs, commitments and exposure to increases in variable costs versus the asset heavy tour operators.
“The board remains confident in the delivery of the group’s medium-term ambition of £2.5bn TTV, £100m EBITDA, £85m PBT and 38.7p EPS.”
The timing of the Middle East conflict comes after On The Beach enjoyed a record 2025, with bookings up 10 per cent and bookings from repeat customers up 19 per cent
The Information Commissioner’s Office has today published an open letter to social media and video‑sharing platforms operating in the UK, calling on them to strengthen age assurance measures so young children can’t access services that are not designed for them.
The open letter sets out the ICO’s expectations that platforms with a minimum age must move beyond relying on children to self-declare their ages, which they can easily bypass.
Instead, platforms should make use of the viable technology that is now readily available to enforce their own minimum ages and prevent these children from accessing their services, the ICO said.
Tesla Energy Ventures Limited has been granted a licence authorising it to supply electricity to domestic and non-domestic consumers in Great Britain.
The energy regulator Ofgem said that the licence has been formally approved by its governing body, the Gas and Electricity Markets Authority.
It follows a robust application, assessment and approval process conducted over seven months, from July 2025 to March 2026, in line with statutory requirements, Ofgem said.
Tesla Motors Limited, a separate company incorporated in England and Wales, was granted an electricity generation licence in June 2020.
This licence was not relevant to Tesla Energy Ventures Limited’s application or Ofgem’s assessment or approval.
Tesla Energy Ventures, based in Manchester, can now supply electricity to homes and businesses.
The Financial Conduct Authority has banned Sendsii Ltd from operating after it was suspended by tax authority HMRC late last year.
The London FinTech is required to return all funds held for or on behalf of existing customers, the FCA said, and it has now been prevented from conducting any regulated activity.
Customers of the remittance provider who are yet to receive money have been advised to contact the financial regulator’s supervision hub.
Author: Jonathan Symcox
hedgehog lab is to create hundreds of jobs in the North of England and Scotland under new CEO Malcom Seagrave.
The Newcastle tech consultancy’s co-founder Sarat Pediredla recently said he would step aside after leading it as CEO since it was founded in 2007.
Seagrave has a strong track record of scaling digital businesses, having led BJSS from 140 to 1,400 people before its sale to CGI and helping AND Digital grow from 170 to 1,500 by heading up its Northern function.
“I’m a big advocate for the North of England and Scotland, helping to grow their economies. Job creation has been a big part of my career and something I really enjoy – the businesses I have scaled have gone on to create hundreds of jobs.
“I want to do that again with hedgehog lab in the years ahead, giving back to the regions we’re part of through our community initiatives at the same time.”
Trainline plc has published its results for the financial year ended 28th February 2026.
The listed independent rail and coach platform, whose CEO Jody Ford is to step down, said ticket sales were up 7% year-on-year to £6.3 billion.
Revenue grew 2% to £453 million, supported by the continued growth of ancillary revenues, including hotel and insurance sales, which were up 17% across UK Consumer and International Consumer.
Revolut Bank UK Ltd has today received regulatory approval from the Prudential Regulation Authority to exit the mobilisation phase and launch as a bank in the UK.
The launch comes with an existing base of 13 million UK customers and follows Revolut’s recent commitment to invest £3 billion and create 1,000 high-skilled jobs in the UK.
This milestone means that Revolut Bank UK Ltd will be able to start offering accounts as a fully licensed bank for both retail and business customers.
Shares in FTSE 250 firm 4imprint Group plc have dropped today after it reported a reduction in annual revenue and profits.
The personalised merchandise firm, headquartered in London with a major operational hub in Wisconsin, USA, reported revenue of $1.35 billion for the year ended 27th December 2025, down 2%.
Operating profit fell 2% to $145.2m, while profit before tax dropped 2% to $150.8m.
Total orders for the year were down from 2.12m in 2024 to 2.06m. New customer orders declined 12%.
However its share price has fallen 8% since it reported the results. It remains 5% up over last six months, but 25% down over the last 12 months.
Three winners of the Mayor’s big ideas challenge have been announced, each securing a £100,000 grant to support the commercialisation of their HealthTech solutions.
The challenge was launched by Mayor Tracy Brabin in February 2025 to accelerate innovative solutions, products or services to overcome health inequalities among communities in West Yorkshire.
In July 2025, 19 finalists were selected and awarded £20,000 each as well as a package of support to accelerate the development of their solutions.
Now the three ultimate winners have been announced.
The founder of Preqin has made his first investment following a £2.5 billion exit to BlackRock.
Mark O’Hare founded Valhalla Ventures following the sale last year and it has led a £14 million investment into LegalTech platform Avvoka.
Bootstrapped from launch in 2016, with just £600k raised from angel investors, the investment is the first institutional capital raised by the company behind AI-powered drafting infrastructure for law firms.
Founded by two former Magic Circle lawyers, Eliot Benzecrit and David Howorth, Avvoka has grown by working with large, complex legal organisations, helping them turn precedent and institutional knowledge into drafting systems that can be reused, supervised, and improved over time.
Spotlight Pathology has secured a £1.4 million seed investment to further develop its AI-powered tools accelerating the diagnosis of blood cancers and move them towards clinical adoption.
The round was co-led by the UK Innovation and Science Seed Fund (UKI2S) and Liverpool City Region Seed Fund, managed by AXM Venture Capital, with participation from River Capital, alongside follow-on investment from existing backers Deepbridge, EHE Ventures, Lyva Labs and Deepbridge.
The company is based at UKRI’s Daresbury Laboratory campus in the Liverpool City Region.
CRM giant Salesforce has been announced as the headline sponsor for the 2026 everywoman in Technology Awards, which will be held next week at The Westminster Park Plaza Hotel.
The awards, now in their 16th year, play a vital role in showcasing the incredible women working in the technology sector at every career stage, from apprentices through to C-Suite.
Role models play a key role in encouraging interest in STEM careers among the next generation, and the partnership with Salesforce will further elevate the profile of women working in tech and raise awareness of their essential work.
This year’s event, which takes place on 19th March, will be named the ‘Salesforce everywoman in Technology Awards’, reflecting the company’s commitment to helping more women join and advance in the technology industry. You can find out more and book your place here.
Author: Jonathan Symcox
Northern VCTs from Mercia Asset Management PLC have raised a record £80 million.
Mercia is a regionally focused specialist asset manager with over £2 billion of assets under management.
The three Northern Venture Capital Trusts – Northern Venture Trust PLC, Northern 2 VCT PLC and Northern 3 VCT PLC – form part of its third-party funds under management.
OakNorth, a digital bank for entrepreneurs, has completed a strategic transaction with Monite, an all-in-one financial management platform for businesses.
The transaction, which includes the transition of Monite’s core technologies and the onboarding of its product and engineering teams, will enable OakNorth to integrate robust accounts receivable (AR), accounts payable (AP), and expense management functionality directly into its business banking offering.
This deal establishes the foundation for OakNorth’s future offerings in finance automation, aimed at helping lower mid-market businesses streamline complex and time-consuming financial operations. The first of these capabilities is expected to go live in Q2 2026.
Author: Chris Maguire
Fort Vale Engineering has announced the passing of its chairman, Edward Sagar Fort OBE, affectionately known as ‘Ted’.
Born in Lancashire in 1937, he founded Fort Vale in 1967 and built it into a globally respected engineering business.
From its headquarters and main manufacturing facility near Burnley, Lancashire, the company manufactures precision valves and fittings for the safe transport of bulk liquids worldwide.
Under his leadership, Fort Vale received some of the UK’s highest business honours, including multiple Queen’s Awards for Enterprise and the King’s Award for Enterprise.
Edward Sagar Fort OBE, affectionately known as ‘Ted’
Beyond industry, Fort was a committed philanthropist. Through the Fort Foundation, he supported education, project development and local community initiatives, taking a personal interest in the individuals whose lives were positively impacted.
Paying tribute, his long-standing business partner, and current group managing director Ian Wilson, said: “Ted was a remarkable man, bold, determined and completely committed to the business he built from the ground up.
“Working alongside him for so many years was both a privilege and an education. His belief in people, in Lancashire, and in what this company could achieve never wavered. Fort Vale stands today as a testament to his vision and perseverance.”
London-headquartered Komerz has acquired brand and marketing consultancy Glassbox.
Komerz is described as a £260m firm which helps retail brands to scale across all commerce channels.
The deal signals the emergence of a new ‘creative commerce’ category, Komerz says, where brand storytelling, AI-driven distribution and measurable sales operate within one integrated
platform.
Aquis Stock Exchange, the UK’s challenger market, has launched The Aquis IPO Academy in partnership with Barclays Eagle Labs, one of the UK’s largest incubator networks for startup and scaleup business.
The Aquis IPO Academy is the UK’s only public markets readiness programme led by an exchange. The Academy is a long-term investment in the UK’s growth economy at a pivotal time for scaling businesses and aims to act as an engine for IPO activity while addressing a perception gap around accessing public markets.
Open to UK growth companies, with a focus on tech-enabled businesses and an ambition of 50% female-founded participation, the first cohort is expected to join the Academy in September 2026.
Author: Chris Maguire
London-headquartered startup, Outpost, the AI-powered platform that enables merchants to sell worldwide with zero liability, has raised £13m ($17.5m) in Series A funding.
The round was led by Ribbit, which is known for backing category-defining companies such as Revolut, Coinbase, and Stripe.
The investment round was supported by existing investors, including Better Tomorrow Ventures, which previously led a $3m seed round less than a year ago.
Angel investors also include executives from Revolut, Uber, Affirm, Airwallex, Checkout and others.
Outpost is already supporting merchants operating across Europe, North America, LATAM and Asia, including subscription platforms, consumer software companies, and cross-border eCommerce brands.
At the core of the platform is Outpost’s proprietary AI engine – critical infrastructure designed to make international trade as simple as domestic commerce.
Over the next few months, Outpost will use the funding to significantly accelerate product development, expand jurisdictional coverage, and increase headcount to meet the rapidly rising global demand for liability-free commerce infrastructure.
Ex-Revolut Will Mahon-Heap, CEO and founder at Outpost, who previously led Revolut’s international expansion, said: “Brexit, shifting tariffs, and regulatory fragmentation have made cross-border commerce more hostile than at any point in the last two decades.
“Merchants are forced to choose between spending millions on consultants and local entity setup, or carrying enormous risk on payments and compliance.
“Outpost exists to eliminate that trade-off.”
Author: Chris Maguire
Dragons’ Den star Steven Bartlett has made another senior hire to his FlightStory team.
The Diary of CEO host has appointed Bryony Hopkins as the production director of FlightStory Studio and will lead the storytelling team.
Hopkins has previously worked at Strong Watch Studios; LADbible Group; and BBC News.
She’ll work closely with 33-year-old Bartlett on Behind The Diary to build its impact across all platforms.
Hopkins said: “If you’re in the creator economy or digital media, it is impossible to ignore what FlightStory are building, how they are innovating and why sweating the small stuff really pays off.
“In life it is rare to see a role that aligns with your skillset, your ambitions and also your personal interests – and this for me does all three.
“I am so excited to work with the incredible talent in the building, and for this next chapter.”
FlightStory is the media company owned by Steven.com and is behind some of the world’s most influential podcasts.
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