Exclusive: Liz Kendall bets £55bn to close UK innovation gap October 30, 2025 Britain’s new tech secretary, Liz Kendall, insists the government’s record £55bn R&D package marks a turning point for UK innovation, but with the country still lagging global rivals in key sectors, questions remain over whether even this scale of investment can close the gap. The funding, confirmed on Thursday by the Department for Science, Innovation [...]
Can Britain’s AI growth lab speed up innovation without risking safety? October 24, 2025 The UK government’s recent unveiling of an AI ‘growth lab’ – a sandbox designed to let companies trial AI under relaxed regulatory conditions – has been hailed as a bold step to accelerate innovation. At the Times Tech Summit on Tuesday, tech secretary Liz Kendall dubbed it as a chance to remove the “needless red [...]
Autumn Budget: Reeves must focus on growth, not ‘gimmicks’ October 16, 2025 Ahead of the Autumn Budget, City Reporter Samuel Norman sits down with top industry names for a Budget Briefing. This week, the chief executive of founders club Helm calls for bold innovation policies took take centre stage. Chancellor Rachel Reeves should use her second Autumn Budget to make bolder swings for the UK’s innovation economy [...]
Natwest hires top tech talent amid UK innovation push October 9, 2025 NatWest had doubled down on its support for the UK’s high-growth and innovation economy with two senior strategic hires in its newly formed venture banking team. Greg Brown has joined as head of venture capital coverage, and Kim Martin has stepped in as head of venture and growth finance, reflecting the bank’s renewed push to [...]
Global talent visa: The migrants the UK really wants September 30, 2025 Keir Starmer’s great triumph – perhaps his only success – lies in his smart diplomacy with President Donald Trump. As Trump has moved to obliterate the world order, Starmer has made use of his soft spot for the UK. Now the Prime Minister is being urged to take advantage of Trump’s blind spot. In the [...]
UK launches national commission to fast-track AI in the NHS September 26, 2025 The UK government has established a national commission to accelerate the safe introduction of AI across the NHS. The panel, which brings together experts from big techs, researchers, and clinicians, will advise the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) on a new regulatory framework for AI in healthcare, set to be published next year. [...]
Startups tell Labour to snatch talent ‘displaced’ by Trump’s H-1B fee September 23, 2025 An entrepreneur campaign group backed by executives at top UK businesses has urged the Labour government to re-design its Global Talent visa to take innovators “displaced” by President Trump’s radical changes to the H-1B visa. The Startup Coalition has urged Home Office officials to change its Global Talent visa to help individuals re-locate from the [...]
The Long Tail: The crucial role of Managing General Agents September 17, 2025 As the fastest-growing segment in property and casualty (P&C) insurance globally, managing general agents (MGAs) are attracting significant investment and playing a crucial role in closing the protection gap. MGAs utilise capital from large insurers to underwrite on their behalf, allowing insurers access to specialised product lines without having to build in-house capabilities. In the [...]
UK’s top tech scale-ups named, but can Britain keep hold of them? September 11, 2025 Tech Nation has announced its Future Fifty 2025 cohort, featuring 25 high-growth UK scaleups across various sectors, including AI, climatetech, healthtech, and spacetech. Between them, these firms have raised more than £1.4bn and employ over 2,100 people. The programme, which was relaunched under Founders Forum Group in 2024, has long been seen as the UK’s [...]
UK fintech holds European crown but UAE threat looms September 11, 2025 UK fintech maintained a heavy level of activity in the first half of 2025 but faced new threats from growing financial hubs. Over 70 significant acquisitions of smaller rivals or complementary businesses were reported in the UK and Europe over the half. This represented a 50 per cent bump on acquisitions compared to the previous [...]