Nestlé vows to protect Russian operations despite Putin takeover September 18, 2026 Nestlé has vowed to protect its Russian business after Vladimir Putin placed the food giant’s operations in the country under external administration. The Swiss maker of Nescafé and Purina said on Friday it was assessing its options after a presidential decree handed control of Nestlé Russia and Nestlé Kuban to Russian firm L.E.V. Management. “Nestlé [...]
British retail sales defy forecasts with surprise August rise September 18, 2026 UK retail sales unexpectedly rose in August, defying forecasts of a decline. Despite renewed pressure from higher fuel prices, hot weather drove a strong rebound in both online shopping and department store sales. Economists had expected sales to fall 0.2 per cent but sales volumes rose 0.5 per cent during the month, reversing a 0.5 [...]
Month-old Deepmind spinout nears $4bn on ‘future capability’ bet September 17, 2026 A British AI startup founded just last month by three former Google Deepmind researchers is nearing a $4bn (£2.9bn) valuation – despite having no product or website. Emulate is in advanced talks to raise as much as $700m in a seed funding round led by Index Ventures and Lightspeed Venture Partners in a deal that [...]
Beauty Tech shares glow as boss brushes off ‘cheap’ rivals September 17, 2026 Beauty Tech Group boss Laurence Newman has brushed off competition from ‘cheap beauty devices’ after the London-listed firm more than tripled its first-half profit. Shares in the owner of Currentbody Skin rose more than 13 per cent to 395p on Thursday after revenue climbed 44.3 per cent to £79.7m in the six months to June. [...]
Musk skips King’s AI safety summit with world’s biggest tech chiefs September 17, 2026 King Charles will warn some of the world’s most powerful AI companies against letting humanity “lose control of our destiny” on Thursday, as he brings tech bosses together in Scotland amid escalating warnings about the new technology. The King will host executives from Nvidia, OpenAI, Anthropic and Google Deepmind at Dumfries House in Ayrshire to [...]
Beauty Tech Group profit triples as LED masks boom September 17, 2026 The Beauty Tech Group has more than tripled its first-half profit as booming demand for at-home beauty devices helped sales jump more than 40 per cent. The London-listed owner of Currentbody Skin, ZIIP Beauty and Tria Laser reported pre-tax profit of £17.5m for the six months to the end of June, up from £5m a [...]
Andrew Griffith tells Burnham to rule out Budget tax rises September 16, 2026 Shadow chancellor Andrew Griffith will urge Labour to rule out further tax rises on businesses at next month’s Budget, as the Conservatives set out plans to cut the compliance burden facing small firms and the self-employed. In his first major speech since taking the role, Griffith will call on Andy Burnham and chancellor John Healey [...]
Former Anthropic researcher behind ‘AI could kill us’ warning called to UK parliament September 16, 2026 Former Anthropic researcher Jacob Coxon has been invited to give evidence to parliament following his stark warnings over the threat posed by AI, City AM understands. Liam Byrne, chair of the Business, Innovation, Science and Trade Committee, told City AM that MPs have asked Coxon to appear as part of a parliamentary examination of AI [...]
British AI firm Synthesia warns ‘sci-fi’ fears risk choking UK tech September 16, 2026 British AI firm Synthesia has warned that “sci-fi” fears over AI could lead to poorly designed regulation, as pressure grows on ministers to toughen the UK’s AI rules. Alexandru Voica, head of corporate affairs and policy at the London-based AI video company, told City AM there was “no evidence” for claims that AI was already [...]
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 [...]
