Author: Patrick Killeen

IT infrastructure specialist Softcat has reported another year of record results, achieving its 20th consecutive year of double-digit gross profit growth.

The Buckinghamshire-based FTSE 250 constituent also completed its first-ever acquisition this financial year as it continues to scale its operations and expand its technology offering.

For the 12 months to 31 July 2025, gross invoiced income rose 26.8% to £3.6 billion, while gross profit increased 18.3% to £494.3 million.

Underlying operating profit grew 16.9% to £180.1m, with statutory operating profit up 12.2% to £172.9m.

The company also maintained strong cash conversion at 95.6%, ending the year with £182.3 million in net cash.

Risers:

NCC Group – +6.18%

Playtech – +5.82%

Softcat – +5.17%

THG – +4.68%

Ibstock – +4.08%

Fallers:

ITV – -8.18%

International Personal Finance – -3.98%

Raspberry Pi Holdings – -3.08%

BlackRock World Mining Trust – -2.28%

W.A.G Payment Solutions – -2.11%

Birmingham-based AI startup Unloq has officially launched during Birmingham Tech Week 2025, aiming to transform how organisations create and adapt business strategy using AI.

Founded by Dr Yiannis Maos MBE and Satyen Fakey, the company operates across AI services and AI products, developing a proprietary platform that powers what it calls “Strategy as a Service.”

Already supporting more than 40 companies in stealth mode, the business has formed partnerships with SF Technology and Aston University, where it will help launch an AI growth engine in 2026 to support SME innovation.

Global engineering and project management firm Amentum has promoted Loren Jones to senior vice president for energy & environment-international, tasking him with driving growth across the UK, France, Europe, Australia, Japan and other key markets.

Jones, who has more than 20 years of nuclear industry experience, previously served as senior VP of operations within the same division.

Before joining the US-based company in 2022, he was a board member at Cavendish Nuclear, overseeing business development and operations in North America and Japan.

Earlier, he held positions at Westinghouse, Nuvia and Hyde Group.

Chelsea FC have expanded its partnership with FPT, naming the Vietnamese technology giant a principal partner for the 2025/26 season.

The move will see FPT’s branding appear on the sleeves of Chelsea’s men’s, women’s and academy kits as the two organisations deepen collaboration on digital transformation and AI innovation.

The partnership, which began earlier this year, has focused on enhancing the club’s digital platforms, fan engagement and business operations.

The business has been working with the Premier League ever-present through workshops in Vietnam to integrate its AI and automation solutions across the club’s systems.

Creator management company Arcade, best known for representing YouTube supergroup The Sidemen, has appointed Pete Cory as chairman following investment from Lumina Media.

Cory previously spent 18 years at Google, most recently as managing director for YouTube’s EMEA partner development, and has over 35 years’ experience across media, tech and advertising.

He will work with Arcade co-founders Jordan Schwarzenberger and Sam Uwins to expand the firm’s brand partnerships and creator-first strategy, helping advertisers better connect with Gen Z audiences.

Allica Bank has swooped to acquire Kriya, the SME lending FinTech specialising in SME working capital and embedded finance.

The SME credit and payments firm was formerly known as MarketInvoice and MarketFinance. The acquisition will see Allica move into the embedded payments market for the first time.

Since first opening its doors to lending in 2020, Allica’s impressive growth means its total outstanding lending to SMEs has now reached £3.5 billion.

With the Kriya acquisition, Allica is targeting advancing an initial £1 billion of working capital finance to SMEs over the next three years. 

Circular economy firm refurbed has closed its latest funding round at £44 million as it prepares to launch in the UK.

The Vienna-founded company is Europe’s fastest-growing marketplace for refurbished electronics, household and sports products.

The round was led by Alex Zubillaga, investor in Spotify, Fever and Wallapop, together with Orilla, investment platform of the Riberas family – known for backing leading European marketplaces such as Vinted, Playtomic and Cabify, with strong participation from existing shareholders Evli Growth Partners, Bonsai, Almaz, C4 Ventures, and Speedinvest. 

Social entertainment group LBG Media, the company behind the LADbible network, has reported a 10% increase in revenue to £92.2 million for its financial year, with profits also edging higher. 

The Manchester-based firm said performance was in line with expectations, supported by growth across its direct advertising and branded content business.

Adjusted EBITDA rose to £25m, up from £24.5m the previous year, while net cash increased to £30.1m from £27.2m. 

The Government is funding 16 cutting-edge technology projects which it says will bring groundbreaking innovations to market more quickly.

£8.9 million funding will be delivered through the Regulatory Innovation Office to support projects including drones delivering medical supplies in the Scottish islands; AI tools that are helping get new medicines safely approved for use sooner; an AI smartphone app helping London Fire Brigade to risk-assess homes and businesses; and street-sweeping robots in Milton Keynes.

 

The cyber attack which targeted Jaguar Land Rover cost the UK economy almost £2 billion, according to an independent report.

The report published by independent non-profit the Cyber Monitoring Centre said more than 5,000 organisations were affected and that further losses could accrue if JLR – owned by India’s Tata Motors – was unable to return to pre-hack levels quickly.

Last month the Government agreed to support JLR’s suppliers with a £1.5bn loan after the company had to shut down its UK operations due to the incident, which occurred at the end of August.

Nearly a thousand jobs are to be created in a major boost to communities across the UK after over 10 billion in investments were announced at today’s first Regional Investment Summit.

Over £10 billion in investment commitments were announced at the Regional Investment Summit in Birmingham yesterday.

Almost 1,000 high-quality jobs are to be created in the UK’s regions and nations, the Government claimed, with major investments in the key sectors of life sciences, AI and innovation.

They include £200m from Leeds United to redevelop its Elland Road ground and a Crown Estate acquisition in Oxfordshire for increased laboratory and manufacturing space that could boost UK GDP by £2.5bn.

There was a £300m commitment from Woven Capital, Toyota’s growth-stage investment arm, to build its European growth capital team in the UK, while Hines announced a £400m investment to support the £4bn Birmingham Knowledge Quarter, a centrepiece of the West Midlands Investment Zone.

The Government is also announcing two life sciences investments which it said would ‘unlock over £30m’. Biocomposites will expand its Keele facility which produce medical products which allow antibiotics to be administered directly into bone and soft tissue, while Sterling Pharmaceuticals will build a 60,000 sq ft centre in Birmingham.

Atos is announcing £10m for AI centres.

CyanConnode Holdings plc saw turnover rise 31% to £7.4 million in its latest half-year – despite revenues from a new £70m contract being yet to commence.

The global provider of IoT communication and smart metering solutions said its DigiSmart subsidiary in India had secured a ‘landmark’ first contract as an advanced metering infrastructure service provider with the Government of Goa.

The April deal materially strengthened the group’s contracted order book, which remains robust at approximately £157m.

Spirax Group plc has appointed a new non-executive director in Andrew Kemp.

The thermal energy management and fluid technology solutions group said Kevin Thompson will step down from the board next year.

Kemp holds board roles at The Berkeley Group Holdings plc and Irwin Mitchell Holdings. He is also a governor of Birkbeck University of London.

Oxford BioDynamics Plc has conditionally raised £7 million through a share placing and new subscriptions.

The precision clinical diagnostics company is bringing specific and sensitive tests to the practice of medicine through its EpiSwitch 3D genomics platform.

 

Liverpool-based contracting software company Videosign has appointed Jack O’Sullivan as its new business development manager as it continues to expand in the UK and beyond.

O’Sullivan, who previously worked in sales and business development roles across the legal and financial sectors, will focus on growing the firm’s customer base and helping professionals adopt its secure, AI-powered contract signing platform.

Videosign was founded in 2019 and enables remote document signing and identity verification through video conferencing.

It recently launched a major software update introducing new tools such as the Videosign Contract Creator and AI Assistant.

Author: Curtis Holmes, executive vice president, global payroll, Vistra

The outage is a powerful reminder of payroll’s role as a business-critical function that keeps organisations running.

When systems go down, HR and finance teams lose access to the very tools they depend on to process pay, manage employee records, and meet tax obligations.

When pay is interrupted, even temporarily, the consequences are immediate, from financial stress for employees to operational disruption for employers.

Modern payroll systems rely on cloud platforms for accuracy, compliance and speed, and this interdependence highlights the importance of robust systems and contingency plans that ensure employees are paid accurately and on time, regardless of external events.

Pizza Hut UK’s dine-in arm has fallen into administration, placing more than 1,200 jobs at risk and confirming the closure of 68 restaurants across the country.

However, the company’s online ordering, delivery and takeaway operations are expected to continue trading, offering a potential lifeline through its digital infrastructure.

The franchisee behind the UK fast-food giant, DC London Pie Limited, appointed administrators from FTI this week after what it described as challenging trading conditions.

Around 64 restaurants will continue to operate under new ownership through a deal backed by parent company Yum! Brands, which also owns KFC and Taco Bell. This agreement will see 1,276 jobs saved.

London-based MedTech CoMind has raised $102.5 million (£76.7m) to advance its non-invasive brain monitoring technology aimed at transforming care for critically ill patients.

The round was led by Plural, the investment firm founded by tech entrepreneurs including Taavet Hinrikus and Ian Hogarth, with participation from Angelini Ventures, LocalGlobe, Octopus Ventures, Crane, Backed VC and Entrepreneurs First.

The funding will be used to complete clinical trials, scale manufacturing and secure regulatory approval for its first product, CoMind One.

Durham-based eCommerce agency Visualsoft has appointed Lucy Dixon as its new CFO as the company continues to expand its Shopify offering and strengthen its financial foundations for growth.

Dixon joined the business six years ago from KPMG, where she trained and qualified as a chartered accountant before moving into industry.

During her time at Visualsoft, she has overseen the evolution of the company’s finance function, introducing new systems, improving profitability visibility and embedding data-led decision-making across the business.

In her new role, she will be responsible for driving financial strategy, operational efficiency and long-term value creation as Visualsoft focuses on scaling its Shopify partnerships and deepening relationships with larger enterprise clients.