‘Bonkers’ founders’ relief criticised over rules that could punish startup growth Business John Healey’s flagship tax break for entrepreneurs has been branded “bonkers” by leading economists, who warn its restrictive rules could punish startup growth and encourage founders to make decisions that damage productivity. The new Founders’ Relief offers a 10 per cent capital gains tax rate on up to £10m of lifetime gains, but its complex [...]
Private equity-backed Unity Advisory hits 120 clients as former Big Four chiefs target rivals Advisory Having shaken off early legal threats from PwC, secured 120 clients, and already won work from traditional rivals, two former Big Four heavyweights told Rosie Harris-Davison that their advisory firm, Unity Advisory, is not a challenger but a contender in the evolving market. Marissa Thomas, former chief operating officer and managing partner at PwC UK [...]
Healey’s startup adviser quits ahead of Budget over ‘sideshow’ treatment of entrepreneurs Politics The Treasury’s entrepreneurship adviser is stepping down after accusing ministers of treating Britain’s fastest-growing companies as a “sideshow” while directing taxpayer money towards traditional industries. Alex Depledge, appointed by former chancellor Rachel Reeves in June 2025, will leave the role on Thursday, a day after John Healey delivers his first Budget. “Keeping scale-ups on the [...]
London launches £70m fund to back startups struggling to raise investment October 22, 2026 A new £70m fund backed by the Mayor of London and the British Business Bank has launched to help growing businesses struggling to secure finance from traditional lenders. The Future London Growth Fund, managed by investment firm FSE Group, will offer loans of between £1m and £3m to companies across London’s 32 boroughs and the [...]
Oxford AI chip startup raises $125m to tackle data centre power crunch October 14, 2026 Oxford-based chip startup Salience Labs has raised $125m (£94m) from investors, including AMD and Intel, as the race to build AI data centres puts growing pressure on electricity supplies. The funding round, led by Bullhound Capital, is set to help the British firm scale production of its photonic chips, which use light rather than electrical [...]
Google DeepMind’s London AI drug spinout eyes $50bn valuation October 8, 2026 London-based AI drug discovery firm, Isomorphic Labs, is reportedly seeking a valuation of up to $50bn (£37bn) in fresh funding talks, just five months after raising $2.1bn from investors. The Google DeepMind spinout, led by Nobel Prize-winning scientist Sir Demis Hassabis, is in early discussions to raise new capital at a valuation of at least [...]
UK tech scale-ups raise £3.4bn as Burnham faces test over British investment September 16, 2026 Britain’s latest crop of high-growth tech companies have raised £3.4bn between them and employ more than 6,000 people, as Andy Burnham faces pressure to get more British capital behind home-grown firms. Tech Nation on Wednesday unveiled the 50 companies in its Future Fifty 2026 cohort, spanning AI, fintech, health, defence and energy. Together, the companies [...]
Goldman and Intel back $5.4bn AI video startup August 17, 2026 Goldman Sachs and Intel have backed AI video maker Higgsfield in a $400m (£295m) funding round that has more than quadrupled the two-year-old company’s valuation since January. The fresh funding values the startup at $5.4bn, up from $1.3bn just eight months ago, as investors pile into companies looking to turn generative AI into products businesses [...]
Richard Branson says UK must ‘make it easier’ to be an entrepreneur August 11, 2026 Sir Richard Branson has called on policy makers to do more to support and “champion” British entrepreneurs. The founder of Virgin Group, who launched his iconic business selling records in 1970, said the UK must go further to create an environment where entrepreneurs want to set up and run a business. Writing in City AM, [...]
Zilch, Clearscore among five UK scale-ups to get dedicated FCA support August 10, 2026 The UK’s financial watchdog is to offer extra regulatory support to five British scale-ups as it seeks to ease the burden on fast-growing firms. Zilch, Clearscore, Modulr, Teya and Urban Jungle have become the first companies regulated solely by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) to join its Scale-up Unit, which gives each firm a dedicated [...]