Author: Patrick Killeen

FinTech Atom bank has officially opened its new headquarters in Newcastle, bringing its 600-strong team from Durham to the newly restored Pattern Shop – a Grade II listed building once home to Robert Stephenson & Co.

The multi-million-pound investment establishes the Pattern Shop as Atom’s new innovation hub, designed to foster collaboration, creativity and a modern working culture. 

It also supports the company’s pioneering four-day working week, introduced in 2021, which remains a key part of its employee offering.

As part of its expansion, the bank is currently hiring for nearly 30 new positions across multiple departments, including 14 customer support roles. 

New openings span engineering, data and operations as part of its plans to scale from its new headquarters. 

Plural has appointed Pierre-Dimitri Gore-Coty, Uber’s former global head of delivery, as a partner.

Gore-Coty will open the €500m early-stage VC firm’s first office in Paris after leading one of the fastest international expansions in tech history from his base in France.

Plural backs Europe’s most ambitious founders.

Risers

IP Group – +4.55%

Quilter – +4.18%

Diversified Energy Company – +3.79%

Antofagasta – +3.69%

Energean +3.59%

Fallers

Unite Group – -8.42%

Empiric Student Property – -5.67%

ICG – -4.05%

Aston Martin Lagonda Global Holding – -3.48%

Coats Group – -2.33%

alongID, a reusable digital identity platform unveiled at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, is moving into an early validation phase ahead of commercial launch.

Developed by international software development company deverium, the platform is now inviting selected businesses and institutions to participate ahead of a planned global commercial release.

alongID uses a distributed architecture that allows users to verify their identity once and reuse those credentials across multiple services.

A new AI tool to automatically process invoices, simplifying international payments for businesses, has launched.

iBanFirst, described as a next-generation cross-border payment services provider, is launching iBanPay for customers operating in the UK.

iBanPay scans, extracts and validates the key payment details from invoices, such as beneficiary information, currency and amounts, and automatically creates draft payments within the user’s iBanFirst account.

Within seconds, users receive a notification prompting them to review and approve the transaction.

In recent weeks, The Net-Zero Banking Alliance has folded amid stalled funding and unclear standards; US President Donald Trump continues to label climate change a ‘con job’; the Tories have announced plans to scrap landmark climate legislation; and manufacturers are being deterred from investing in green tech as it can increase their tax bill.

Against this backdrop, a group of industry leaders has launched Insurgent – a new venture studio built to ‘close the gap between climate ambition and investable action’.

Veterans across technology, marketing and design, fashion, green energy, telecoms, business strategy and elsewhere have joined Insurgent to ready startups to receive the projected $86bn of dry powder investment intended for climate action.

The group will be led by CEO Cyrus Vantoch-Wood (ex-BBDO New York, Naked Communications, Chiel Worldwide), head of business strategy Florence Shaffer (CEO at Becoming, formerly at Estée Lauder Companies, Burberry, Lucasfilm) and fund manager Wladimir Miroschnikow (partner at SCNE Ventures, formerly of Vertum.Group and venture consultant to Deutsche Bank and Unilever).

Startups at Insurgent will also benefit from the hands-on guidance of an accomplished advisory board consisting of Jon Cropper (FutureLogic), Roland Rudolf (Chiel Germany), Arnaud Nichols (Bloqs London), Mark Lyra (TrueWind LLC US), Gill Linton (CEO and EiC at Byronesque) and Alasdair Scott (Digital innovation for Apple, Boeing, Barclays and BMW).

JPMorganChase has maintained its position as the world’s most AI-advanced bank in the Evident AI Index.

According to Evident, the leading banks for AI maturity have pulled away from their peers in 2025, consolidating earlier gains and – increasingly – realising return on investment when it comes to AI.

The annual Evident AI Index evaluates the ongoing AI performance of 50 major banks in North America, Europe, and APAC against 70+ indicators drawn from millions of public data points.

It reveals that although nearly every bank is advancing in the Evident AI Index, the top 10 banks are increasing their scores 2.3x faster year-on-year than the rest of the Index.

Author: Patrick Killeen

The billionaire co-founder of Hargreaves Lansdown is stepping back from his role as a board director in the wake of the company’s £5.4 billion private equity takeover.

Peter Hargreaves’ departure comes after a short return to the board – a move he had made earlier this year to “provide continuity” through the transition.

Hargreaves, now 79, will pass his board seat to his son, Robert, who has served as a board observer since the takeover. 

Peter will, however, retain a stake in the Bristol-based FinTech which he has grown into a national giant and has pledged to remain available as a source of counsel. 

The firm says he “will maintain a close relationship” and “has offered to make his insight and experience available if needed.”

Author: Patrick Killeen

The second edition of GM Business Growth Hub’s ASCEND Scale Up Programme is underway – and it has started as it means to go on.

A total of 25 companies are set to benefit from the programme which proved a roaring success for Manchester’s tech ecosystem last year, with businesses such as Specscart, CODE Beautiful and Parker Neal reaping the rewards.

This year, monthly meetings are taking place at Brewin Dolphin’s offices in the heart of the city. I headed along to the first of these to hear how support is being ramped up even further for scaling Greater Manchester businesses.

RelyComply, a South African anti-financial crime platform, is expanding to the UK.

The firm specialises in Anti-Money Laundering (AML), Know-Your-Customer (KYC), and Know-Your-Business (KYB) processes. It says it plans to vastly overhaul how financial crime is combated across the country.

Founded in 2020, it says the business is one of a new wave of RegTechs focused on global problems that may not be considered ‘flashy’ yet can quietly save financial institutions and FinTechs millions of pounds.

Owlstone Medical has secured an award of up to £39.3m million from the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H) to support the development of next-generation breath and urine-based cancer diagnostics.

The Cambridge-based company, behind the ‘Breath Biopsy’ platform which aims to diagnose disease, will lead the POSEIDON (Platform Optimizing SynBio for Early Intervention and Detection in Oncology) programme.

The initiative aims to create synthetic-sensor-based Multi-Cancer Early Detection (MCED) tests capable of identifying more than 30 solid tumours at Stage I using only breath and urine samples.

The goal is for these non-invasive tests to be available for at-home use and sold over the counter.

The MedTech’s project is looking to deliver low-cost, accurate cancer screening to adults across the US and will be run in partnership with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Boston University, Georgia Tech Research Corporation, Qurin B.V. and Planned Systems International.

Author: Patrick Killeen

London-headquartered FinTech GoCardless has reached profitability for the first time, 14 years after it was founded.

The bank payment company recorded its first EBITDA-positive quarter on an adjusted basis, operating in the green in the final three months of FY25 (April to June 2025). 

The milestone follows a strong financial year, when the business reported a 38% rise in revenue to £127 million and cut losses by 55% to £35m. 

Since then, it has achieved a series of milestones designed to strengthen its market position and accelerate growth. 

Among them are the completion of its acquisition of Nuapay, the expansion of its indirect channel proposition and the launch of its first disbursements capability in June.

It also announced plans to open a new Northern hub in Leeds, which was praised by Chancellor Rachel Reeves and West Yorkshire Mayor Tracy Brabin.

Kanishka Narayan MP has been confirmed as the new Minister with responsibility for intellectual property.

They were appointed as Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State in the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology in September.

Intellectual Property Office CEO Adam Williams said: “I look forward to working with Minister Narayan to continue supporting the government’s growth mission by helping ensure brilliant ideas are protected, commercialised and supported to thrive.”

Author: Jonathan Symcox

Revolut founder Nik Storonsky has moved his main residency from the UK to the United Arab Emirates.

Storonsky, who founded the neobank in 2015 and renounced his Russian citizenship following the invasion of Ukraine, has built Revolut into the UK’s largest FinTech, valued at $75bn.

The updated residency was revealed in Companies House filings. There has been a rise in the number of company directors leaving the country since Labour came to power.

In September Revolut unveiled its new global headquarters in Canary Wharf alongside a pledge to invest £3 billion in the UK over the next five years.

We reported yesterday how M&A expert Max Thomas says the $75bn valuation, achieved following a funding round & employee share sale, raises critical questions about its sustainability ahead of a potential IPO.

125 of the UK’s most prominent CEOs, entrepreneurs, university Vice Chancellors and cultural institutions will join the Prime Minister on a trade mission to India this week.

Following the signing of a landmark trade deal in July, the likes of Rolls-Royce, British Telecom, Diageo, London Stock Exchange and British Airways will join Keir Starmer’s delegation as he looks to secure opportunities for them to grow and expand into the Indian market.

According to the Government, the UK-India trade deal is set to increase UK GDP by £4.8 billion each year, add £2.2b to wages and benefit communities right across the country.

A listed company developing circulating tumour cell (CTC) solutions for use in research, drug development and clinical oncology is ‘transitioning’ its CEO and CFO out of the business.

ANGLE plc said chief exec Andrew Newland and finance chief Ian Griffiths – neither of whom is on the company’s board – will have their contractual entitlements honoured over the next 12 months.

Chairman Dr Jan Groen has moved into an executive role to lead the company as it pursues a revised strategy, focused on tight cost control, accelerated commercial progress and a clear plan towards becoming a sustainable business.

Dr Groen has over 25 years of experience in the commercialisation of clinical and personalised oncology diagnostics, and has led the turnaround of several companies.

The company has a cash runway into Q1 2026 and will need to raise funds in the coming months. It is also proposing to change its name to CelLBxHealth plc.

Author: Jonathan Symcox

Imperial College spinout Monolith AI is to be acquired by CoreWeave, a specialised cloud provider for AI based in the United States.

Last year Nasdaq-listed CoreWeave opened an office in London as its European headquarters as part of a broader expansion into the continent, with the promise of £1 billion investment.

Its data centres support some of the largest deployments of high-performance GPU clusters in the world, and the infrastructure through which those clusters are consumed is designed with engineers and innovators in mind. 

It is working with NVIDIA, Microsoft and Nscale to scale the UK’s AI infrastructure.

Now it has agreed to acquire Monolith, a pioneer in applying artificial intelligence and machine learning to solve complex physics and engineering challenges, for an undisclosed sum.

Author: Hannah Churchman, head of innovation and growth, Bruntwood SciTech

Ahead of FUEL Manchester on Thursday, we spoke with Bruntwood SciTech’s head of innovation and growth Hannah Churchman about moving the needle for growing businesses.

Before moving into innovation-focused roles in Lancashire and now Manchester, Hannah helped scale an EdTech SaaS firm to £3 million ARR.

Having worked in roles from technical sales to product management and managing director, she has done everything from leadership and marketing to product development and business operations.

“That was a brilliant learning experience and really taught me what it takes to build and scale a tech business from the inside,” she said ahead of the breakfast event at No.1 Circle Square.

“I understand the operational realities behind growth. I can relate to the challenges that entrepreneurs and scaleups face. I understand the difference between what sounds good in theory and what actually moves the needle for growing businesses.

“I think most importantly, it taught me that innovation isn’t just about having great ideas – it’s about execution, building the right structures, tech and teams, and creating sustainable pathways for growth.”

Wilmslow-headquartered digital skills and apprenticeship provider Apprentify Group has been named as one of the 50 fastest-growing firms in the North of England in the UK Fast Growth Index 2025.

Apprentify is a skills, training and apprenticeship provider. Through its specialist brands, the group delivers employer-focused learning solutions that empower individuals with digital, technical and professional skills.

All the firms on the list have also been entered for the 2025 UK Fast Growth Awards being held in London on November 26th where the winners will be recognised as the fastest growing in their sectors and their regions.

UK credit technology company Abound has passed £1 billion in total lending volume, less than five years after launching.

The London-based FinTech uses open banking and AI to analyse customers’ bank transactions in real time. This provides a more accurate view of affordability compared to traditional credit scores, which often rely on statistical averages and limited data.

For the year to February 2025, Abound reported £8m in net profit.