Bite-size news and insight from UK business and tech – including funding, deals and appointments
Published: August 18, 2026 at 8:54 am
A listed Sheffield tech firm has rung the changes on its board amid falling revenue and profits.
Synectics plc helps to protect people, property, communities and assets around the world. Its target sectors include gaming, oil and gas, public space, transport and critical infrastructure.
For the six months ended 31st May 2026, it reported revenue of £22.2 million (H1 2025: £35.5m) and adjusted EBITDA of £1m (H1 2025: £4.2m).
Amanda Larnder, who took over as CEO of Synectics in late 2024 following the death of long-time leader Paul Webb, said the firm was on track with its transformation plan, announced earlier this year, which focused on Product, Partner-led, Market Presence, Productivity, and People.
Published: August 18, 2026 at 8:27 am
Nourish Care, a provider of software for the UK social and community care sector, has secured a strategic growth investment from private equity investor Hg.
Nuno Almeida, founder of the Bournemouth-based business, will continue to lead Nourish as CEO and remains a significant shareholder.
Livingbridge, which has backed the company since 2022, will retain a minority stake.
The terms of the transaction are not disclosed. However HgCapital Trust plc, which is managed by Hg, said it had invested approximately £20 million in Nourish, with other institutional clients of Hg investing alongside it through the Hg Mercury Fund.
Published: August 18, 2026 at 8:05 am
Pulsar Group Plc has been hit with a winding-up petition from UK tax collection body HMRC.
The AIM-listed firm is behind ResponseSource, a matchmaking tool used by journalists and PR professionals, which it acquired in 2018. ResponseSource was named in a separate winding-up petition, according to CityAM.
It also operates Pulsar, an audience insights and social listening platform; Vuelio, which provides monitoring, insight, engagement and evaluation tools to more than 3,500 organisations; and Isentia, a media monitoring and insights company operating in the APAC region which is headquartered in Sydney.
Pulsar – led by CEO Joanna Arnold – told the London Stock Exchange this morning that it expects to meet outstanding VAT and PAYE obligations in due course.
Published: August 17, 2026 at 5:39 pm
Frasers Group has taken down the Harvey Nichols website after acquiring it out of administration.
Mike Ashley’s retail group said it would not honour orders placed or gift cards bought prior to 13th August 2026, instead pointing customers towards administrators FTI Consulting.
Harvey Nichols is one of the UK’s most recognised luxury retailers, with a heritage spanning almost 200 years and a portfolio of more than 800 premium and luxury brands.
The acquisition – announced last week – includes Harvey Nichols’ portfolio of six stores, including the newly refurbished flagship in Knightsbridge, London, Manchester, Birmingham, Bristol, Leeds and Edinburgh, together with its online business, existing inventory and over 1,000 employees.
However today the Harvey Nichols website has been taken down, with a holding page stating: “We are pleased to confirm that Harvey Nichols has entered an exciting new chapter with new ownership, supporting its future, under the Frasers Group.
“Harvey Nichols is currently unavailable online whilst we complete a period of transition.
“In the meantime, our stores remain open, and our teams are on hand to assist with anything you may need.
“Thank you for your continued support.”
It added underneath: “Orders placed and gift cards purchased prior to 13 August 2026 fall under the ownership structure preceding this transition. Refunds relating to these orders cannot be processed by Harvey Nichols directly; customers with an outstanding refund from this period are asked to contact, HNCustomers@fticonsulting.com.
“Orders placed from 13 August 2026 onwards will be processed under our standard refunds and returns policy.”
Published: August 17, 2026 at 4:06 pm
Singular Machines, a UK engineering automation company, has been spun out of the UK Atomic Energy Authority (UKAEA).
A strategic investment round from the UK Innovation and Science Seed Fund (managed by Future Planet Capital), Oxford Science Enterprises, global engineering firm Arup and Japan’s Miraisozo Investments – alongside a fresh contract with Arup to use its coEngen platform – has been announced.
Fusion energy requires the efficient execution of complex, high-assurance engineering. Singular Machines applies that discipline beyond fusion, to engineering automation across wider industry.
Published: August 17, 2026 at 3:52 pm
GALLOS Technologies, a security, defence and resilience technology venture studio and investor, has announced a £35 million balance sheet investment round.
The round was led by Ventura Capital and Aberdeen Investments and will fund the next phase of growth at GALLOS. Founding investor Lansdowne Partners also participated in the financing, and the round remains open to a small number of additional strategic investors.
The raise comes at a moment of heightened geopolitical tension, with allied governments rearming and the private sector waking up to security and resilience as a strategic imperative rather than a cost line.
Published: August 17, 2026 at 3:32 pm
The UK competition regulator has approved Paramount Skydance’s $110 billion takeover of Warner Bros. Discovery.
The Competition and Markets Authority confirmed on Monday that it is among regulators from almost 70 countries to green-light the deal, despite opposition inside the United States.
The deal was announced in February after Paramount threatened legal action against Warner Bros. in January following the news that the latter had snubbed it in favour of a lower bid from Netflix.
However a dozen US states are currently blocking the deal in the courts, accusing Paramount of violating antitrust laws. It believes the deal could lead to price increases for cable bills and movie tickets.
Published: August 17, 2026 at 3:03 pm
Thirty years after it was founded, digital healthcare platform Patient.info is celebrating a major milestone, following a year of strong growth since becoming part of Navigate Health.
The business entered a new chapter in May 2025 when it was acquired by the UK-based digital health company, bringing together two organisations with a shared vision of delivering innovative, technology-led healthcare solutions and high-quality editorial.
Since the acquisition, Patient.info has experienced significant growth, including a revenue increase of 45%, continued customer growth and the launch of new digital products that further strengthen its offering to medical professionals and patients, including a healthcare insights platform driven by NHS data and a healthcare jobs portal.
Today, the platform serves eight million monthly visitors with 11,000 pages of healthcare content and articles including patient information leaflets, medicine guides and professional references, 770,000 subscribers, millions of social media users and 284 active patient communities.
Published: August 17, 2026 at 2:35 pm
Home pizza oven firm Ooni has announced the appointment of Jim Rowan as chair of its board.
Rowan joins Ooni following senior leadership roles at some of the world’s most recognised design-led businesses, including CEO and President of Volvo Cars, CEO and COO of Dyson, and COO of BlackBerry.
He currently also chairs Lime and STAC and serves as an independent director at Lotus Cars.
Ruth Chandler, former chief people officer at Skyscanner, and Scott Maguire, president and COO of On and former CEO of Specialized and COO of Dyson, have also joined the board as non-executive directors.
Since launching its first portable pizza oven in 2012, Ooni has sold more than three million globally.
Published: August 17, 2026 at 11:08 am
Healthcare education provider Pastest has announced the acquisition of Medics’ Money, marking a significant milestone in the company’s long-term growth strategy and expanding its support for healthcare professionals beyond traditional examination preparation.
The acquisition brings together two established organisations serving doctors at different stages of their professional journeys. Pastest has spent more than five decades supporting healthcare professionals through high-stakes examinations and assessments, while Medics’ Money has become one of the UK’s leading financial education platforms for doctors.
Founded in 1972, Pastest has grown from a family-run publishing business into one of the UK’s most established healthcare education providers. Today, the company supports approximately 50,000 healthcare professionals each year through its educational products and services.
Published: August 17, 2026 at 10:06 am
Private equity firm Foresight Group has invested in SpaceAM, a UK-based aerospace and defence technology company developing ultra-lightweight autonomous sensing systems for deployment in contested and extreme environments.
The investment follows a period of rapid progress for the business. Over the past months, SpaceAM has secured contracts with the UK Ministry of Defence (MOD) and the European Space Agency (ESA), been selected as one of 13 ‘future British defence unicorns’ receiving UK Government support through a new scheme designed to help grow future British defence technology businesses, expanded its team to 13 people and established new R&D facilities in Gloucestershire.
SpaceAM builds lightweight, AI-enabled sensor systems that can be deployed from the air or into extreme environments to collect critical data where conventional systems are too heavy, costly or difficult to use. Its nature-inspired flight technology helps small sensor payloads slow their descent without parachutes or propulsion, while onboard AI turns raw sensor readings into useful insight in real time.
Originally developed for space exploration, the technology is now also being used for several applications in the defence and security markets, where demand for advanced intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance capabilities continues to grow.
Published: August 17, 2026 at 9:02 am
Redx Pharma, a drug discovery and development company, has sealed a long-term funding deal that will see it list on the US-based Nasdaq exchange as Fibrx Therapeutics.
Based in Macclesfield, Redx is a clinical-stage biotechnology company focused on the development of novel, small molecule, targeted medicines for the treatment of fibrotic disease.
The news follows the announcement that Redx and Sky Bioscience Inc have agreed a ‘transaction agreement’ amid a $125 million financing deal with new and existing investors.
Published: August 17, 2026 at 8:29 am
A £55 million deal has been agreed which will take Time Finance plc private after 20 years as a listed business.
The board of the Bath-based alternative finance company, which was founded in 2000 and listed in London in 2006, has agreed a takeover by private lender Ultimate Finance.
Bentley Park (UK) Limited, the parent company of Ultimate Finance, has seen its offer of 59.1 pence in cash accepted. It values the entire issued share capital of Time Finance at £55.13m.
The offer represents a premium of approximately 12.6% to the closing price of 52.50p on Friday.
Published: August 17, 2026 at 8:01 am
RelyComply has announced a partnership with LSEG Risk Intelligence to integrate World-Check On Demand into its financial crime compliance platform, helping global financial institutions strengthen screening, due diligence and ongoing monitoring workflows.
World-Check On Demand delivers structured, machine-readable risk intelligence through an API-first architecture, enabling organisations to access sanctions, politically exposed persons, adverse media and enforcement information in real time as part of customer onboarding, screening and ongoing monitoring processes.
As regulatory expectations continue to rise, many compliance teams face a growing challenge: managing the increasing volume of alerts, investigations, and reporting requirements without significantly expanding resources. False positives remain one of the biggest operational burdens in AML programmes, consuming valuable time and resources that could be directed towards genuine financial crime risks. At the same time, financial institutions are under pressure to streamline customer onboarding and due diligence processes while maintaining strong controls against financial crime, sanctions breaches and fraud.
Through the partnership, RelyComply integrates LSEG World-Check On Demand into a single AI-driven platform that supports customer screening, identity verification, enhanced due diligence and ongoing monitoring. The integration is designed to support more efficient screening and investigation workflows by bringing together relevant risk intelligence within existing compliance processes, while leaving institutions responsible for their own risk assessment and decision-making.
The announcement comes at a time when financial institutions in South Africa, the United Kingdom and other regulated markets are under increasing pressure to strengthen financial crime controls, demonstrate effective compliance with the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) recommendations, and meet evolving AML, counter-terrorist financing and Know Your Customer requirements.
Published: August 17, 2026 at 7:28 am
Mindgard, a DeepTech startup specialising in security for AI, has raised £22 million in funding as it eyes further expansion in the United States.
The Lancaster University spinout is now headquartered in London and Boston in the US.
The company claims to have created the first platform that successfully captures and exploits the newly discovered psycho-technical attack surface manifesting within AI models, agents and applications. It says its technology has discovered over 150 publicly disclosed high-impact vulnerabilities in AI applications including OpenAI’s ChatGPT, Google and Cursor.
Published: August 15, 2026 at 10:31 am
Hayden Evans has been promoted to a new role as chief product officer at sports technology business Urban Zoo.
It follows Urban Zoo’s £20m investment in July from BGF to support the development of the company’s proprietary technology.
Evans, who was previously the chief creative officer, said: “After eight years with the business, it feels like a natural next step, continuing to help shape our products, bring teams together and support the next stage of Urban Zoo’s growth.
“The role will see me working across product and delivery, helping to shape what we build, how we build it, and how we continue to create the best possible experiences for our clients and their fans.”
CEO Chris Grannell said: “Feels like this is the perfect role for you mate as we move onto the next growth phase. Well deserved.”
Founded in 2013, the Warrington-based company provides world-leading digital platforms for sports brands, clubs and federations – across mobile, web, streaming, eCommerce and retail – to drive fan engagement and strengthen revenue streams.
Since its launch, the company has disrupted the highly competitive global digital sports market through a differentiated all-in-one platform solution, Gamechanger.
It was developed in collaboration with global sports leaders and organisations to streamline content workflows, drive ROI and deliver feature- and data-rich websites and apps.
The technology has enabled Urban Zoo to win a significant share of the UK market, working with more than 60 professional clubs across all tiers of the English and Scottish football leagues, including Aston Villa, Everton and Celtic, as well as the Professional Darts Corporation, Motocross GP and the Rugby Football League.
Published: August 15, 2026 at 10:01 am
Published: August 15, 2026 at 9:53 am
Northern Gritstone, the investment company scaling early-stage life sciences and technology companies in the North of England, is opening an office in San Francisco.
Chief executive Duncan Johnson said the move will give the company better access to US capital.
He said: “It means you can grow quicker, because the US is better at procuring, and their risk appetite for technology is higher. It allows us to recruit more talent into our businesses.
“UK companies trade at a discount in the US, and capital is good at finding opportunities. But you’ve got to make the effort to go and make it easy for them.”
Five of Northern Gritstone’s portfolio companies already have US investors, including B+ Series companies Pragmatic Semiconductor, Iceotope and Phagenesis.
Active since May 2022, Northern Gritstone has already made 50 investments.
Published: August 12, 2026 at 3:04 pm
Swedish unicorn Lovable has announced that it has raised $400m in Series C funding at a $13.3bn valuation.
The round was led by Menlo Ventures and co-led by the Scaleup Europe Fund, managed by EQT.
Menlo Ventures has backed some of the most consequential companies of the AI era, while EQT has chosen Lovable as one of the first investments from its Scaleup Europe Fund.
The company was founded in 2023 by CEO Anton Osika (pictured) and CTO Fabian Hedin and launched in 2024.
Published: August 11, 2026 at 7:57 am
Ruth Percival had seen the highs and lows of a corporate career before becoming a first-time founder in her 50s – and hasn’t looked back.
Just two years after launching built environment consultancy Contollo Group, she’s made five acquisitions and grown the business to £37m turnover and 230 staff – and has ambitious plans to double in size.
In the latest episode of The Naked Founder podcast, Percival has spoken about how she’s found her favourite job and her regrets at not asking her investors for more money at the beginning.
“It’s my favourite (job) so far,” she said of being a founder. “I’ve absolutely loved this role. I feel like I’m thriving in it. I’m a deeply curious person and I’m stretched all the time but in a good way. It’s forced me to stretch myself.”
Percival had enjoyed a stellar 20-year career in M&A and made her name as a partner at BDO, where she regularly advised clients on exits and buy-and-build strategies.
She became the firm’s first female M&A partner and told The Naked Founder podcast about the misogyny she encountered in the wider industry while forging a career in the male-dominated world of corporate finance.
Ennis, who spent more than 25 years at the technology giant, has joined the High Value Manufacturing (HVM) Catapult as a non-executive director.
HVM Catapult works with business, research and government to transform UK manufacturing.
Steve Bagshaw CBE, HVM Catapult chair, said: “Carl brings an exceptional combination of industrial leadership, technical expertise and passion for skills and innovation.
“His insight will be invaluable as we continue to help industry adopt new technologies, improve productivity and strengthen the UK’s global competitiveness.”
Ennis said: “I am privileged and excited to be able to offer my experience in support of the team at HVM Catapult and their goal to enable the delivery of the UK’s industrial strategy and deliver economic growth from industrial endeavour to all corners of the UK.”
HVM Catapult has also announced changes to its executive leadership team as it sharpens its focus on delivering the government’s modern industrial strategy.