老九品茶

Author: Jonathan Symcox

Fuse Energy has been valued at almost 拢4 billion in just its third year after raising an additional 拢52 million in funding.

Europe鈥檚 fastest-growing energy company, based in London, said it will accelerate international expansion with the money – beginning with Ireland, Spain and the US.

The round was led by global investors Balderton Capital and Lowercarbon Capital. It featured new investors, including Revolut founder Nik Storonsky鈥檚 QuantumLight, and included participation from every major existing backer.

The company was founded in 2022 by ex-Revolut executives Alan Chang and Charles Orr.聽

 

Belfast-based Fibrus Networks has won a 拢34.6 million UK government-funded Project Gigabit contract to deliver gigabit-capable broadband to more than 9,000 rural homes and businesses across Northern Ireland, with work starting immediately.

The rollout is aimed at hard-to-reach communities that have struggled to access fast, reliable connectivity.

It also builds on the firm鈥檚 previous involvement in Project Stratum, which extended high-speed broadband to 81,000 premises across Northern Ireland.

Author: Patrick Killeen

Blackmont Legal has begun offering specialist services to OnlyFans creators and adult-content agencies on the back of rising demand for representation, as growing numbers of people turn to subscription platforms to generate income.

The Manchester-based law firm is seeing increased requests from creators who are effectively running full-scale businesses but often lack access to proper legal and financial advice.聽

With some top creators earning more than 拢20,000 a month, the company has raised concerns that the rapid growth of the sector is leaving many vulnerable to agencies using improper contracts, low pay and poor working conditions.

Frontier IP portfolio company Dekiln has secured a major boost after its chief executive, Dr Aled Roberts, was named one of the Royal Academy of Engineering鈥檚 inaugural Green Future Fellows, an award that brings 拢3 million of funding.

The backing will be used to scale the Manchester-based firm鈥檚 kiln-free tile technology to industrial production, including plans for a pilot plant capable of producing up to 1,000 square metres of tiles per day.

顿别办颈濒苍鈥檚 ceramic-like materials avoid energy-intensive kilns, delivering tiles with a carbon footprint around 94% lower than conventional alternatives while using more than 95% recycled content.

Frontier IP holds a 24.8% stake in the business, which completed its first commercial installation following a 拢693,000 equity raise in 2024.

Author: Patrick Killeen

Stockholm-headquartered InsurTech Lumera has entered into an agreement to acquire Acuity, a Devon-based consultancy specialising in pensions and workforce reforms for public sector pension schemes.

Acuity has long-standing relationships with some of the UK鈥檚 largest and most influential pension schemes, including the NHS and Civil Service Pension Schemes, as well as central government departments.

Following completion of the acquisition, the business will join Lumera鈥檚 UK organisation, expanding the group鈥檚 UK workforce to around 165 employees. Financial terms of the transaction have not been disclosed.

Oxford-based A&B Smart Materials has closed an oversubscribed 拢1.5 million pre-seed round to accelerate development of fully biodegradable superabsorbent polymers used in products like nappies, sanitary items and water-retaining agricultural materials.

The funding will be used to optimise performance and cost while moving towards industrial-scale demonstrations, as the company targets replacing synthetic SAPs in a market it expects to reach $17 billion by 2035.

The round was backed by existing investor Sake Bosch and new strategic investors Caesar and Living Hope VC, with additional support from Archipelago Ventures, Triple Impact Ventures, the Cranfield University Seed Fund, Oxford Seed Fund and angels linked to Cambridge Capital Group and Oxford Innovation Finance.

Founded by CEO Amaury van Trappen and CTO Dr Benjamin White, the company is based at the University of Oxford鈥檚 Begbroke Science Park and says its biopolymer approach is already nearing commercial performance in hygiene and agricultural applications.

Cardiff-based Credas has grown its customer base by more than 40% over the past year and now verifies over five million people annually. The firm has also made senior hires including Neil Williams as CTO and Jon Parish as compliance officer, alongside expanding its customer success function to support scaling.

The Cardiff-based identity verification technology provider helps regulated businesses securely capture and verify customer identity and compliance information through digital ID and due diligence software.

Its customer and partner network includes HomeLet, Let Alliance and Goodlord, Co-op Legal, Crunch Accounting and TaxCalc, plus a strategic collaboration with Bright, while it has also joined industry groups including OPDA, the Future Property Transaction Group and ADVP.

It plans to launch a 鈥淐ompliance Wallet鈥� at the start of 2026 and has rolled out new products in 2025 including Director ID, Credas Payments and Credas Lettings.

Workspace Group has appointed Tom Edwards-Moss as CFO designate, with the former Hibernia Real Estate Group chief executive set to succeed Dave Benson, who announced plans to step down in August.

Edwards-Moss brings extensive real estate and financial experience, having previously served as CFO of Hibernia REIT and spent nearly nine years in investment banking at Credit Suisse.

He is expected to join Workspace after completing his notice period at Hibernia, with Benson remaining in role until the transition is complete.

PureTech Health has appointed Robert Lyne as CEO with immediate effect, after he served as interim chief executive since July 2025.

Lyne said the near-term priority is securing funding for its newest founded entity, Celea Therapeutics, with a deal expected to close in the first half of 2026, after which the company鈥檚 operational run rate is expected to reduce significantly.

He also said the company plans to pursue financing for Gallop Oncology in 2026, while moving to a streamlined structure with lower overhead and a more disciplined, capital-efficient investment approach.

Lyne joined PureTech in January 2024 as chief portfolio officer. He is an experienced leader of UK-listed life science innovation and venture capital companies, having previously served as CEO of Arix Bioscience plc.

Author: Jonathan Symcox

A shareholder revolt at Monzo could yet see TS Anil continue as CEO beyond February 2026 and oust Gary Hoffman as chair.

According to insiders quoted by the Financial Times, investors Accel and Iconiq have hired lawyers to look into ways to reverse the decision to replace Anil and oust Hoffman, who has chaired Monzo since 2019. The revolt is said to have the backing of investors holding more than 40% of the company鈥檚 shares.

They are also said to want greater representation on the board, with Eileen Burbidge the only investor currently represented.

The development comes as Monzo secures a European banking licence to expand on the continent.

London-listed Blackbird is raising around 拢500,000 through a subscription for 22,222,222 new shares priced at 2.25p, with net proceeds of about 拢470,000 to strengthen its balance sheet, fund marketing for its browser-based video editor elevate.io and provide working capital.

Executive chair Ian McDonough said the company has made strong progress since September, engaging marketing teams and creators and highlighting time savings from 别濒别惫补迟别.颈辞鈥檚 collaborative workflow.

The business said it has added new features including integrated live review, text-to-speech, AI image generation and digital asset management, and introduced a token system aimed at improving retention and conversion from free to paid users.

FRP Advisory Group reported solid growth in the six months to 31st October, with revenue up 12% to 拢87.1 million and underlying adjusted EBITDA rising 3% to 拢23m.

Adjusted profit before tax increased 4% to 拢21.1m, while net cash rose 24% to 拢16.5m, supporting a 5% increase in the interim dividend to 2p per share.

The group continued to see steady demand across its advisory services, remaining the leading administration appointment taker by volume and expanding its corporate finance and financial advisory operations through new offices and selective acquisitions.

FRP said it enters the second half with an encouraging pipeline and remains confident of meeting full-year expectations.

Author: Patrick Killeen

ANNA Money has secured a 拢10 million growth debt deal with Flashpoint as it looks to accelerate expansion ahead of major changes to the UK鈥檚 tax reporting regime for self-employed people and landlords.

The AI-powered FinTech, which positions itself as an all-in-one platform combining business accounts, invoicing, payroll, taxes and admin tools, said the funding will help it scale at a time when Making Tax Digital (MTD) is reshaping how small businesses manage their finances.

The deal is with Flashpoint, an international tech investment firm with approximately $600m in assets under management, focused on technology companies originating from Europe and the Middle East and North Africa.

Tributes have been paid to Nick Smith, CEO of Elonex, who has died suddenly.

Elonex is a Birmingham-based manufacturer of LED display systems and an influential UK digital outdoor media owner.

A spokesman for the company described Smith as an 鈥榚xtraordinary leader, a loyal friend, and an inspirational presence鈥� and added: 鈥淗is passion, integrity, and vision shaped our business and touched countless lives.鈥�

Investor Shaf Rasul, chairman of SRA Ventures, said: 鈥淣ick was a rare kind of leader. Sharp, principled, and genuinely human. You could feel his energy in everything he built, and in the way he treated people.鈥�

Among the tech names on the FTSE All-Share, Serco (+7.38%) led gains after a trading update that lifted profit and cash guidance for 2025 and set out stronger-than-expected initial forecasts for 2026, with the company also announcing a planned CFO succession.

Ceres Power (-6.06%) was among the sharpest fallers after a short-seller published a critical report questioning the outlook for its technology and commercial model.聽

TT Electronics (-1.93%) slipped after DBAY confirmed it does not intend to make an offer for the company.

Elsewhere, Aptitude Software (+3.56%) and Molten Ventures (+4.39%) rose, while FinTech names such as CAB Payments (-4.92%) and AJ Bell (-2.19%) were weaker.

Manchester-based Started PR has brought together a global FinTech advisory board to publish its inaugural Started Advisory Board Report, focused on how the sector communicates and builds trust.聽

The board includes Kimberley Waldron (managing director, Started PR and chair), Jason Mikula (publisher, Fintech 老九品茶 Weekly), Jason Williams (CEO, The Fintech Power 50), Katie Ramsey (head of Fintech UK, Department for 老九品茶 and Trade), David M. Brear (CEO, 11:FS Holdings), Susanne Chishti (founder and chair, Fintech Circle), Monica Millares (chief product officer, BigPay), David Savage (founder and host, Tech Talks), Raf De Kimpe (CEO, FinTech Belgium), Jas Shah (fintech strategist) and Sarah Kocianski (fintech expert and commentator).聽

The report introduces the advisory board鈥檚 鈥淓ight Rules for Fintech Communication鈥� and new benchmark scores, including 5.1/10 for how well FinTech makes itself understood and 4.1/10 for how well communications land outside the industry.聽

It also scored the sector 2.6/10 for communicating about failure, while rating the opportunity to improve at 7.6/10.

Author: Patrick Killeen

Pimberly has secured 拢5 million in venture debt funding from Virgin Money as the Manchester-based SaaS firm steps up its UK and US expansion plans.

The company, which provides Product Information Management (PIM) and Digital Asset Management (DAM) software, said the funding will help it continue scaling after a period of rapid growth.

Last year, it was a member of GM 老九品茶 Growth Hub鈥檚 inaugural ASCEND programme and it recently won a King鈥檚 Award for Enterprise in International Trade.

Warner Bros Discovery has told shareholders to reject a hostile takeover bid from rival Paramount Skydance, calling the approach 鈥渋nadequate鈥� and warning it carries 鈥渟ignificant risk鈥�.

The company is backing its agreed transaction with Netflix instead, announced in early December, while Paramount has tabled a $30-a-share offer that values Warner Bros at $108.4 billion including debt.

Paramount has argued its proposal has a better chance of clearing regulators, but Affinity Partners, the private equity firm owned by Jared Kushner, has withdrawn its support for Paramount鈥檚 bid.

Author: Patrick Killeen

Serco shares have risen to a 10-year-high today after the government services contractor upgraded guidance for 2025, set out a stronger outlook for 2026 and announced a change to its senior leadership team.

In its scheduled trading update, the Hampshire-headquartered firm said it now expects revenue for 2025 of around 拢4.9 billion, up 3% at constant currency, including organic growth of about 1%.

Underlying operating profit is forecast to be around 拢270 million, ahead of previous guidance of roughly 拢260m, with a margin of 5.5%.

Alongside the trading update, Serco also announced that Mark Reid will join the firm as group CFO in March, succeeding Nigel Crossley, who will retire after 11 years with the company.

Reid joins from Proximus, the Belgian-listed telecoms group, where he is currently group CFO and previously served as interim CEO of its international division.

Following the updates, its share price has spiked by 6.9% to 269.6p – a 10-year-high. It has a market cap of 拢2.7bn.

Author: Joe Morris, sales director, SmartSearch

Paddy Power Betfair has agreed to pay 拢2 million following a Gambling Commission investigation that found it failed to intervene when customers exhibited signs of problematic gambling behaviour.

The action is not just an isolated event; it is a critical learning experience for the entire UK gambling sector.

The Commission鈥檚 finding regarding 鈥榦ver-reliance on automation鈥� highlights a major weakness: compliance technology must evolve beyond static ID checks.

The key takeaway here is that operators are expected to apply Enhanced Due Diligence (EDD) dynamically, especially when harm indicators, whether social responsibility or potential money laundering, become visible.

If your automated systems cannot instantly access and verify comprehensive, multi-layered data (such as triple-bureau information and ongoing customer monitoring), then the intervention will always be too late.

We believe many gambling companies require practical guidance on how to bridge this gap between minimum compliance and robust, real-time protection.