Bite-size news and insight from UK business and tech – including funding, deals and appointments
Published: January 26, 2026 at 9:29 am
Revolut has ditched its plan to acquire a US bank, according to the Financial Times, and will instead seek to secure a standalone licence to operate in the country.
The UK neobank had been seeking a target with a licence to operate across all 50 states.
However sources told the FT that if it bought a community bank, it might have to commit to keeping open high street branches, while any takeover would also require engagement with US regulators.
Meanwhile the Trump administration has promoted deregulation – and so Revolut is now said to be banking on securing its own licence quickly.
Published: January 26, 2026 at 9:22 am
BGF returned more than 拢600 million during 2025 as it continued to scale its model of patient, minority growth capital across the UK and Ireland.
The growth capital investor said the performance delivered a money multiple of more than 2x, helped by a series of successful exits and continued positive trading across its portfolio.听
The London-based firm also paid a 拢75m dividend to shareholders, supported by the strength of realisations during the year.
Published: January 26, 2026 at 9:05 am
A British AI boss intends to quit Britain for the United States as the latter is more founder-friendly.
Gravitee CEO Rory Blundell is planning to relocate to Denver, Colorado with most of his senior team, reports The Telegraph.
However Blundell and his three co-founders had already chosen to headquarter the firm, founded in 2015, in Denver. It also has bases in London and Lille, France.
Last summer it was valued at $300 million in a $60m Series C round of funding.
Published: January 26, 2026 at 8:52 am
Develop North has appointed Michelle Percy as its new CEO as the North East-based investment company ramps up for its next phase of growth following the launch of a 拢58 million fundraise.
Percy鈥檚 appointment takes effect immediately and comes soon after the publication of its prospectus.
It plans to expand its activity as it continues to deploy capital into projects across the region.
Percy joins the listed company after almost nine years at Newcastle City Council, where she played a senior role in attracting inward investment and building public-private partnerships across a development pipeline valued at around 拢7 billion.
Published: January 26, 2026 at 8:26 am
An AI platform designed specifically for real estate law, has secured a $60 million (拢44m) Series B funding round as it accelerates expansion across the UK and US.
Orbital raised the funds in a round led by Brighton Park Capital (BPC), a New York-based growth fund, with the investment supporting continued scaling on both sides of the Atlantic.
It will also fund product development aimed at creating a single, secure workspace for real estate legal work across the full lifecycle of an asset.
Founded in 2018 by Will Pearce and Ed Boulle, the business has positioned itself as the UK market leader in AI for real estate legal work – a specialised area which it argues has been largely overlooked by the broader industry.
Its platform combines AI built for real estate law with mapping, spatial visualisation and real estate data, with the goal of automating the document-heavy review process in property transactions.
Published: January 23, 2026 at 3:02 pm
CLIQ has secured a seven-figure investment round as it looks to accelerate growth for its social networking and community app.
The London-based firm has designed the platform to help users turn online connections into real-life experiences.
The funding was led by Artesian, alongside a family office and a group of angel investors, and follows a 拢530,000 pre-seed round in 2024.
The company has so far attracted hundreds of thousands of users worldwide with zero marketing spend to date, positioning it a a fast-emerging social apps.
The latest investment will be used to scale operations, expand the team and strengthen the platform鈥檚 technology ahead of planned international expansion in 2026.
Published: January 23, 2026 at 2:19 pm
Top Tech Yorkshire 2026 has officially launched, bringing together a cohort of fast-growing technology businesses and expert mentors from across the region.
The six-month accelerator programme, developed by Mills & Reeve, kicked off with a speed networking event at the firm鈥檚 Leeds office this week, giving founders the chance to refine their pitches and build early connections.
The cohort reflects the breadth of Yorkshire鈥檚 tech sector, with companies spanning areas including AI, HealthTech, EdTech, digital accessibility and information exchange.
Published: January 23, 2026 at 1:34 pm
Syrenis has established a new US presence as part of its wider growth strategy to accelerate go-to-market activity across North America.
The operation will focus on sales, partnerships and customer engagement, strengthening support for enterprises facing increasingly complex privacy, consent and data governance requirements.
The US team will initially be based in Atlanta and will work closely with the Warrington firm鈥檚 UK headquarters to maintain continuity across product development, security and customer delivery, with further investment planned throughout 2026.
Published: January 23, 2026 at 1:02 pm
Applications have opened for the third cohort of GM 老九品茶 Growth Hub鈥檚 ASCEND Scale Up programme – and it really is a fantastic opportunity for businesses of all sizes to move to the next level.
Once again, we鈥檒l be looking for 25 businesses – a mix of traditional and tech – across all 10 Greater Manchester boroughs to take part in the programme, which will be held alongside our delivery partners KPMG and RBC Brewin Dolphin. They can apply .
Those on the programme will get access to workshops, talks and discussions with successful founders spanning a broad spectrum of topics, including strategy governance, people and culture, innovation, finance and longer-term exit planning.
Published: January 23, 2026 at 12:15 pm
Elon Musk鈥檚 SpaceX is reportedly lining up four Wall Street banks as it explores a potential stock market listing, in what could become one of the biggest IPOs of all time.
The company is said to be considering Bank of America, JP Morgan, Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley for leading roles, according to reports from the Financial Times and Reuters.
SpaceX has also been linked to discussions over a private share sale valuing the business as high as $800 billion, while Reuters reports it could seek to raise $25bn if an IPO goes ahead.
Published: January 23, 2026 at 11:43 am
The builders of the ill-fated Bayesian superyacht, which sank off the coast of Sicily with tech entrepreneur Mike Lynch on board, are reportedly suing his widow for almost 拢400 million.
The Italian Sea Group (ITS), the company behind the 拢30m vessel, is said to be taking legal action against Angela Bacares for 鈧�456m (拢399m), claiming the yacht鈥檚 crew was responsible for the tragedy and that the fallout has damaged its commercial reputation.
According to reports, the case has been brought against Bacares as the legal owner of Revtom, the Isle of Man-registered company that owned the yacht.
The sinking killed seven people, including Lynch and their daughter Hannah, while Bacares survived.
ITS, which is majority-owned by Italian yacht businessman Giovanni Costantino, is understood to be arguing that alleged crew negligence led to the yacht鈥檚 sinking during a freak weather event described by some as tornado-like conditions.
Published: January 23, 2026 at 11:10 am
London-headquartered Pri0r1ty Intelligence Group has reported a strong start to FY26, with contracted revenue of more than 拢500,000 in just over three months – already exceeding its total revenue for FY25.
The AIM-listed AI-focused business, which provides growth solutions to SMEs, said the uplift reflects the rollout of its proprietary products including Advisor, Fan Sonar, Vox and Compass ID, which help clients capture, enrich and apply audience data through integrated consultancy support.
New contracts have been secured with customers such as World Aquatics, Untamd and Love Mondays, while usage has also expanded across existing clients including Aston Villa FC, Leukaemia Care and Great British Racing, with products being rolled out across all 58 UK racecourses.
With more than 100 paying users currently across its platforms, the business is targeting 500 paying users by the end of FY26.
Published: January 23, 2026 at 10:38 am
Listed GSTechnologies has completed the acquisition of Polish payments firm Metapay SP. z o.o., taking ownership of 100% of its issued share capital.
Metapay holds a small payment institution (SPI) licence and is registered under Poland鈥檚 Act on Payment Services, supporting GST鈥檚 strategy to expand its domestic and cross-border payments footprint across Europe.
Following the deal, the company has renamed Metapay to Angra Limited sp. z o.o., which is expected to support the continued growth of Angra Global as its licensing plans progress.
Published: January 23, 2026 at 10:06 am
AIM-listed energy-as-a-service provider eEnergy has reported annual revenue of 拢23 million (down from 拢25.1m), with 拢4m of previously anticipated FY25 revenue now expected to be recognised in H1 2026.
Despite the top-line dip, adjusted EBITDA jumped 183% to 拢1.7m, supported by an optimised cost base, improved operating efficiencies and a higher gross margin of 35.3%.
The London-based company ended the year with a record 拢14m contracted and awarded forward order book, double the level at the start of FY25, alongside an 鈥渋nvestment grade鈥� pipeline of 拢127m.
The board has upgraded FY26 expectations to 拢34m revenue and 拢4.5m adjusted EBITDA.
Published: January 23, 2026 at 9:34 am
A Manchester startup claims to be building some of the most advanced AI workers in the world – despite its co-founders being the only real people in the business.
SmartFlows has flown under the radar since it was founded 14 months ago and claims to have built more than 10,000 of its Syms – virtual employees – for clients via partnerships and word of mouth.听
It is also claiming astonishing revenue growth.
For my first weekly Founder Friday feature, I met Karl Percival at the Campfield cafe in the city to hear more – and was astonished to hear that his virtual sales rep Dylan is a mad Manchester United fan…
Published: January 23, 2026 at 9:24 am
YFM Equity Partners has exited its investment in Vuealta following the sale of the business to Keyrus, a global data and digital consulting group.
London-based Vuealta supports organisations with connected business planning and digital transformation, helping improve forecasting, decision-making and operational performance.听
YFM backed Vuealta the business to help it scale, supporting international expansion, strengthening operational capabilities and developing its service offering in response to growing client demand.
The acquisition also strengthens France-headquartered Keyrus鈥� presence in the APAC region and its leadership in anaplan 蝉辞濒耻迟颈辞苍蝉.听
Published: January 23, 2026 at 9:09 am
ClearScore Group has acquired Acre Platforms Limited, a London-based technology solutions provider to the mortgage industry.
The deal builds on the firm鈥檚 established position in unsecured credit broking and follows its acquisition of Aro Finance in early 2025, which expanded its capabilities in secured loans.
Under 颁濒别补谤厂肠辞谤别鈥檚 ownership, Acre will continue to provide technology solutions for mortgage and protection businesses, while supporting 颁濒别补谤厂肠辞谤别鈥檚 ambition to deliver an improved home-buying experience to its 16 million UK users.听
ClearScore, also headquartered in London, plans to extend the platform into its international markets, including South Africa, Australia, New Zealand and Canada.
Published: January 23, 2026 at 8:53 am
TikTok has closed a deal that will allow the short-video platform to continue operating in the US, following years of pressure over national security concerns linked to its Chinese owner, ByteDance.听
The move comes after legislation passed under former President Joe Biden required ByteDance to sell TikTok鈥檚 US operations or face a ban, with enforcement repeatedly delayed by President Donald Trump.
Under the agreement, a new entity called TikTok USDS Joint Venture LLC has been established in compliance with an executive order signed by Trump on 25th September 2025.听
The majority US-owned joint venture will enable more than 200 million Americans and 7.5m businesses to continue using the platform.
Published: January 23, 2026 at 8:39 am
There was no festive cheer on the high street, which continues its long slow demise.
Non-food stores saw sales fall 0.9% in December as shoppers increasingly look online to do their Christmas shopping. That is a depressingly predictable headline, and the result is companies like Claire’s, the Original Factory Shop and Russell & Bromley going into administration.
Among online retailers, jewellers enjoyed a particularly golden Christmas. In uncertain times shoppers seem to be being drawn to dual purpose jewels that not only tick the Christmas present box, but provide a convenient long-term store of value as well.
Published: January 23, 2026 at 8:37 am
December brought little festive cheer for retailers. Beneath flat headline numbers sits a distinctly K-shaped retail landscape, with Christmas exposing a widening divide in performance. Value-led players benefited from cautious consumer behaviour, while non-food felt the full force of fragile confidence.
Households spent smarter over Christmas, particularly in grocery. Consumers leaned heavily on promotions and shifted spend from eating out to premium at-home meals. Retailers combining strong value perception with quality credentials were the clear beneficiaries.
Discretionary non-food categories faced a toxic mix of weak demand, lingering uncertainty following the late November Budget, and margin-eroding promotions. Many retailers were forced to discount earlier and harder to defend market share, putting profitability under strain.
Retail is becoming increasingly polarised 鈥� between businesses with sharp positioning, flexible operating models and a deep understanding of what customers value today, and those being left behind as the market reshapes around them.
Have Your Say