Bite-size news and insight from UK business and tech – including funding, deals and appointments
Published: April 8, 2026 at 2:28 pm
MillTech has secured a 拢45 million minority investment from Apax Digital Funds, the growth equity arm of Apax Partners.
MillTech is a risk management platform which provides foreign exchange hedging and cash investments for fund managers and corporates.
The deal values MillTech at $325m. MillTech鈥檚 ultimate group holding company retains its majority shareholding.聽
Published: April 8, 2026 at 11:48 am
New tax changes implemented this week will back founders to the tune of 拢100 million a year, according to the Government.
The changes implemented at the start of the new tax year include significantly expanding the number of companies eligible for the Enterprise Management Incentives (EMI) scheme, further supporting companies to attract and reward talent.
They also include doubling the amount a company can raise through the Enterprise Investment Scheme (EIS) and Venture Capital Trusts (VCT) to boost investment through additional tax relief.
The changes, announced in Rachel Reeves鈥� Budget last year, are expected to support around 拢100m of additional investment a year.
Published: April 8, 2026 at 9:39 am
Sedulo Group has acquired accountancy practice Smith & Wallace and launched in Scotland with an office in Glasgow.
Sedulo is a national mid-tier business consultancy firm, with offices in Manchester, Leeds, Liverpool, Birmingham, London, Dubai, and now Glasgow. Following the acquisition, the group employs almost 250 advisors.
Smith & Wallace are an accountancy practice based out of Kilmarnock with growing revenues in excess of 拢1 million, led by Andrew McMorland and Martin Farrell, who will continue leading the business. They will be joined by Logan Rowan, who leads Sedulo鈥檚 Deal Advisory team, having joined two years ago from KPMG.
Published: April 8, 2026 at 9:28 am
Aptitude Software Group plc has put itself up for sale as it reports a fall in revenue and profits.
The FinTech, headquartered and listed in London, reported a 15% drop in statutory operating profit to 拢4.8 million for the 2025 calendar year.
Revenue fell 7% for the period to 拢65m while cash and equivalents at year-end were 拢29.6m, down 3%.
Published: April 8, 2026 at 8:43 am
Global logistics provider fulfilmentcrowd has announced the expansion of its US fulfilment network, introducing three new fulfilment centres located in New Jersey, Chicago and Los Angeles.
Replacing its previous two US locations, the new centres enhance fulfilmentcrowd鈥檚 North American presence, enabling coast-to-coast coverage for brands serving US customers.
The new facilities 鈥� operated in partnership with Royal Fulfillment 鈥� are strategically positioned to support high-volume eCommerce and B2B distribution across the United States, with locations in Newark, NJ (East Coast), Chicago, IL (Midwest) and Los Angeles, CA (West Coast).
With bi-coastal and central inventory positioning, brands can reduce shipping distances and offer faster, more reliable delivery to customers nationwide.
Published: April 8, 2026 at 7:53 am
WHOOP, the human performance company, has announced a multi-year partnership with football giants Paris Saint-Germain.
The European champions, who host Liverpool tonight (April 8) in a Champions League quarter-final, have named WHOOP as the premium partner of the club鈥檚 men鈥檚 and women鈥檚 teams and its official health and fitness wearable.
Last week, the tech giant announced it had raised $575m in Series G funding at a $10.1bn valuation.
UK-based GP Bullhound took part in the round, alongside high-profile investors including Cristiano Ronaldo, LeBron James, Rory McIlroy, Niall Horan, Karen Wazen and Virgil van Dijk.
As part of the partnership, Paris Saint-Germain players will have access to WHOOP advanced wearable technology, delivering continuous health insights into key physiological metrics including heart rate, heart rate variability (HRV), sleep, strain and stress.
These insights translate into personalised recommendations designed to help optimise training, recovery and overall performance.
Published: April 7, 2026 at 10:09 pm
Award-winning dealmaker Nick Cowles has joined Alvarez & Marsal as managing director of the firm鈥檚 EMEA corporate finance team.
Cowles, who went on gardening leave after leaving his role as CEO of Zeus Capital in September 2025, will lead Alvarez & Marsal鈥檚 newly formed public company advisory group.
He鈥檒l be working with legendary dealmaker Jonathan Boyers, who is head of corporate finance for EMEA at Alvarez & Marsal.
Cowles said he was 鈥榝ully recharged and energised for this exciting new chapter鈥�.
Published: April 7, 2026 at 9:06 pm
Car finance FinTech Zuto is on track to hit 拢100m turnover this year after another stellar performance.
The Manchester-based firm saw turnover rise by 34 per cent from 拢61.8m to 拢83.1m in the financial year to the end of June 2025.
Over the same period, EBITDA rose from 拢7.2m to 拢11.4m.
The company continues to gain market share, with one in 16 used car purchases currently financed through its platform.
In October 2025, Bridgepoint, one of the world鈥檚 leading quoted private asset growth investors,聽became a majority shareholder in the business.
The investment will accelerate the development of Zuto鈥檚 platform and support further product expansion.
David Parsons, CFO at Zuto, said: 鈥淲e are primed for future growth, with the market continuing to recognise the simplicity and transparency of our model and new exclusive partnerships being secured.
鈥淭he Bridgepoint investment is a strong validation of that, and we鈥檙e excited to continue transforming the car finance market with their backing.”
Published: April 7, 2026 at 11:58 am
Foresight Group has announced a 拢4m growth capital investment into SAMP Technology Holdings (t/a Asset Performance Partners) alongside investment from Lloyd鈥檚 Central Fund.
APP is a leading technology-enabled engineering group providing technical services and software to the energy, infrastructure and speciality insurance sectors.
APP employs 103 staff and is headquartered in the UK with operations in South Africa, the US and West Africa.
Commenting on the investment, Andrew Carr, CEO of APP, said: 鈥淥ur team is more committed than ever to advancing asset performance and strengthening risk-transfer strategies alongside equity owners of energy and power infrastructure.
鈥淪trong electricity and energy systems are the foundation of thriving societies, and we are dedicated to enhancing our products and services to unlock greater value from both existing and new power, energy, and infrastructure assets.
鈥淭he investment from Foresight and Lloyd鈥檚 of London marks an exciting new phase in APP鈥檚 journey that will unlock further growth and help us support our customers with our unique, full-service offering.鈥�
Published: April 7, 2026 at 10:26 am
, a provider of cloud-based core insurance administration software for insurers, MGAs and brokers, has appointed Hugh Hessing and Gavin Routledge as non-executive directors.
The firm says the appointments come at a pivotal moment as Genasys establishes itself as a true mid-market challenger to the enterprise policy administration software incumbents.聽
Both appointments bring significant depth of experience across insurance operations, technology transformation and strategic growth, further strengthening the company鈥檚 leadership as it enters its next phase of expansion.
Published: April 7, 2026 at 8:56 am
The fight for control of Physiomics plc has turned nasty ahead of a showdown vote later this month.
Last week the firm鈥檚 chairman Dr Jim Millen was accused of 鈥減ersonally derailing鈥� a boardroom coup led by activist investor Michael Whitlow, and of 鈥�throwing his fellow directors under the bus at every opportunity to cling to control鈥�.
Towards the end of the week, Physiomics agreed to requisition a general meeting allowing shareholders to vote on whether to remove its entire board and replace it with new directors including Whitlow.
However the requisition notice included a stinging letter from Dr Millen which he used to attack the credibility of the proposed new directors.
Whitlow has responded to those claims with stinging criticism of the company’s board.
Published: April 7, 2026 at 7:30 am
Distology founder and CEO Hayley Roberts told The Naked Founder podcast about the personal cost her divorce had on her and her business
Professionally, she founded specialist IT cybersecurity distributor Distology in 2015, growing turnover to 拢63m, with 50 staff and offices in the UK, Netherlands and Germany.
Numerous awards followed and the proud mother of three grown-up children forged a reputation as one of the most respected voices in the industry.
Then she got divorced, and everything changed.
Roberts is one of a growing number of female founders to get divorced and has opened up about her experiences in the latest episode of
She said: 鈥淚’ve changed a huge amount through my 20s, 30s, 40s that I think you start on a road of wanting to achieve something and be with somebody forever.
鈥淏ut forever is actually a really long time nowadays. I think that what happens is we change the path in which we take, we change the desires we have, we change the goals that we have.
鈥淚 think you either evolve together or you evolve apart. And it’s a bit like somebody explained it to me once. It was like one degree of separation so you鈥檙e on a railway track.
鈥淵ou don鈥檛 notice a change of one degree straight away but as you go further down the track, that one degree gets wider and wider. I think you suddenly just look and go, 鈥業 don’t know whether I want this anymore鈥�. It’s a horrible thing to go through.鈥�
Published: April 6, 2026 at 9:49 pm
A campaign to raise 拢500,000 in memory of Abi Godfrey, a director of Grant Thornton鈥檚 North West corporate finance business who died in February at the age of 34, has topped 拢60,000.
The money will be used to support her baby son, Leo, and her family.
On May 28, her former colleagues at Grant Thornton will be taking part in the Yorkshire 3 Peaks Challenge in her memory.
A JustGiving page aiming to raise 拢500,000 was launched by Alex Parry and has already raised 拢63,730.
More than 200 people have now donated.
You can donate .
Published: April 6, 2026 at 9:40 pm
Fast-growing cybersecurity recruitment firm Hubscale has strengthened its Manchester headquarters.
In the last year, the company has grown from one office with nine staff to three offices around the world and 26 staff.
After securing an office in London, Hubscale has acquired the leasehold of a 3,825 sq ft office on the fourth floor of Annex, 15 Quay Street.
Elliott White, founder of Hubscale, said: 鈥淲e鈥檙e really pleased to be moving into Annex. It鈥檚 a natural next step for us as the team continues to grow.
鈥淢anchester鈥檚 been a brilliant place for us so far. There鈥檚 a strong talent pool here and a real sense of momentum, which fits how we like to work.
鈥淭he new office gives us the room to keep building the team, but just as importantly it鈥檚 somewhere people will actually enjoy being day to day.鈥�
LEVEL advised Hubscale on the leasehold acquisition.
Joe Averill, managing director at LEVEL, said: 鈥淲e鈥檙e delighted to have supported Hubscale in securing space at Annex.
鈥淢anchester continues to attract high-growth, innovative businesses, and this deal reflects the ongoing demand for well-located, high-quality office space in the city centre.鈥�
Freya Sharpe, commercial surveyor at JLL, said: 鈥淲e鈥檙e pleased to have secured Hubscale as a tenant at Annex.鈥�
Published: April 6, 2026 at 7:30 pm
Investor Mercia Ventures is the latest sponsor of 老九品茶Cloud鈥檚 new聽Founder 250 list.
Mercia Ventures is one of the UK鈥檚 leading seed and Series A investors and is looking to back ambitious founders.
They join our three other sponsors 鈥� leading audit, tax and consulting firm RSM UK, fast-growing law firm CG and property specialist OBI.
老九品茶Cloud鈥檚 Founder 250 list is searching for the UK鈥檚 top 250 founder-led or founder-influenced businesses that are truly moving the dial 鈥� whether that influence comes from a founder as CEO, chairman or in another board role.
To qualify, companies must have a significant UK presence, be cash-generative, and have been founded no later than 2024.
While not essential, judges will also favour businesses with a clear purpose, including B Corp status, ESG strategies or a commitment to charity or social impact initiatives.
The deadline for nominations is April 30.
Nominations have been pouring in since the list was launched last week while our new聽Naked Founder podcast聽entered Apple鈥檚 top 100 podcast charts.
Published: April 6, 2026 at 12:25 pm
Ten weeks ago, 20 candidates set out to become Lord Sugar鈥檚 latest business partner in the 20th series of The Apprentice.
The 2026 series started in Hong Kong and has also included tasks in Egypt and the Isle of Wight.
Now only five candidates, Priyesh Bathia, Pascha Myhill, Lawrence Rosenberg, Dan Miller and Karishma Vijay, remain to try to win Lord Sugar鈥檚 拢250,000 investment and mentorship.
On Thursday, the remaining five will have their business plans picked apart by Lord Sugar鈥檚 hard-nosed associates to see which two make it through to the grand final.
老九品茶Cloud鈥檚 executive editor Chris Maguire looks at the remaining five candidates and predicts it will be a shoot-out between social media expert Karishma Vijay and established entrepreneur Dan Miller.
Published: April 4, 2026 at 8:14 am
Estate agent Kieran McCartney was good to his word when he walked from the competition after his team failed to secure victory as project manager.
McCartney had made the promise to Lord Sugar at the end of the previous episode and went 鈥榳alkies鈥� when his team narrowly lost a challenge to create a new pet product for major UK retailers.
Student wellbeing adviser and keen baker Rothna Akhtar was also fired after ending up on the losing team and failing to secure any sales.
It leaves the final five candidates – Priyesh Bathia, Pascha Myhill, PR specialist Lawrence Rosenberg, Dan Miller and Karishma Vikay – all competing for Lord Sugar鈥檚 拢250,000 investment and mentorship.
Published: April 3, 2026 at 8:17 am
Sandy Lindsay has sold her remaining shares in Manchester-based PR and social agency Tangerine to co-CEOs Sam Gregory and Mary Harding.
Gregory and Harding have increased their shareholding to 36 per cent as a result, and the news comes just weeks after winning Head of Agency at the Campaign UK Awards.
Back in 2017, Tangerine made history when it became the first creative agency in the UK to go employee-owned.
Gregory said: 鈥淭he co-CEO partnership that Mary and I have developed over the years is grounded in trust, unwavering support and a vision to make a difference.
鈥淲e have always shared a belief that our industry can be better and a determination to challenge the status quo and push it forward.
鈥淭hat belief has shaped the business we鈥檝e built: one that鈥檚 grown into a national and international force, powered by brilliant people and exceptional clients who share our ambition to stay ahead and do work that truly matters.
鈥淭onight, I鈥檒l be raising a glass to all of you who鈥檝e been part of the journey so far, but especially to Mary. I now pronounce us work wife and work wife!鈥�
Published: April 3, 2026 at 7:28 am
Rochdale Development Agency (RDA) has appointed Rachel Laver as its new managing director.
Most recently, Laver served as chief executive officer at Staffordshire Chambers of Commerce, where she championed sustainability focused investment, business growth and a culture of innovation.聽
Prior to this, she led the Marches Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) as CEO, delivering multi-million pound regeneration initiatives
She has successfully overseen 拢50m+ projects across the environmental, transport and education sectors, and is widely recognised for translating ambitious regional priorities into long-term, measurable outcomes.
Laver joins RDA at a pivotal moment, as Rochdale Town of Culture 2025 shines a national spotlight on the borough鈥檚 creative identity, community spirit and cultural ambition.聽
Published: April 2, 2026 at 4:12 pm
Manchester-headquartered delivery tech firm Sorted Group Holdings is set to be sold for 拢1, subject to shareholder approval.
The news comes just two years after Location Sciences completed its reverse takeover of the delivery tech platform聽Sorted in a 拢66.73m reverse takeover deal.
Since the acquisition, the board has undertaken a significant restructure, including reducing staff numbers from 90 to 37, closing its London office, and selling its Clicksit App for 拢775,000.
In a statement to the LSE this morning, the company said: 鈥淣otwithstanding the above progress, as a Software as a Service business that remains in its growth phase of development, it remains apparent to the board that the business continues to require significant cash consumption in order to scale and reach profitability in the medium term.
鈥淭he board believes that committing further significant investment towards enhancing elements of the business is not in the best interests of shareholders.鈥�
The disposal will take place in the form of the sale by SHL to the buyer of the entire issued share capital of SGL for a nominal cash consideration of 拢1 and become an AIM 鈥榗ash shell鈥�.
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