Why are women still shut out of venture capital? March 10, 2025 Venture capital (VC) remains overwhelmingly male-dominated, both in terms of who controls investment decisions and who receives funding. Despite women founding one in five startups in the UK, only two per cent of VC funding goes to all-women teams. This is the lowest figure in five years. “That’s not just a statistic – it’s a [...]
Peer power helps SMEs thrive through support networks March 10, 2025 A new report has found that strong peer support and professional networks are crucial to the success of small businesses. According to American Express’s recent research, 94 per cent of UK SME leaders believe that supporting their peers is critical to driving business success. Peer learning encourages entrepreneurs to share skills and resources with others in [...]
Government unveils £23m boost for telecoms March 10, 2025 The UK government has announced a £23m investment in telecoms research and development, aiming to strengthen connectivity across key industries like AI, cloud computing, and agriculture. The funding forms part of science and technology secretary Peter Kyle’s plans to accelerate the deployment of next generation telecoms technologies. He is expected to confirm the funding during [...]
Women lag in GenAI courses despite soaring demand March 7, 2025 Women make up just 31 per cent of generative AI (GenAI) course enrolments in the UK, highlighting a persistent gender divide in one of tech’s fastest-growing fields. According to a new report from Coursera, UK enrolments in GenAI courses surged by 227 per cent over the past year. Yet, female participation remains well below parity, [...]
Just Eat takes off with new drone delivery partnership March 6, 2025 Just Eat Takeaway has launched its first drone-operated food deliveries, marking the start of a major rollout in partnership with Manna Drone Delivery. The first location of the rollout will be in Dublin. Customers ordering from participating restaurants will now be able to opt for drone delivery and receive their meals in as little as [...]
Spire Healthcare shares plunge as group warns of cost hit despite NHS demand March 6, 2025 Shares in NHS private healthcare provider Spire Healthcare plunged by nearly a quarter in early deals this morning after the company warned that higher costs could cut earnings by as much as 10 per cent. The company said it faced a £30m hit to earnings before interest, tax, deprecation and amortisation (EBITDA) in the year [...]
Entain: Ladbrokes owner’s profit jumps thanks to online revenue growth March 6, 2025 British bookmaker Entain has reported a 12 per cent jump in annual profit as it returned to organic growth. The expansion was driven by online expansion and a better-than-expected performance at its UK and Ireland businesses. The Ladbrokes owner told the market on Thursday that earnings before interest, tax, deprecation and amortisation (EBITDA) rose 12 [...]
ITV: Digital expansion delivers growth March 6, 2025 ITV has reported strong profit growth in 2024, driven by strategic execution and continued digital transformation as the firm successfully navigated industry challenges. Record profits in ITV studios, strong digital performance on ITVX, and cost efficiencies drove higher margins and profitability. The TV giant told the market on Thursday that adjusted earnings before interest, taxes [...]
Rachel Reeves calls for action to break down gender barriers to boost growth March 6, 2025 Ahead of International Women’s Day, chancellor Rachel Reeves has called for urgent action to dismantle barriers preventing women from reaching leadership positions. Her comments follow the release of new research from Vodafone, which found that over a third of women still see gender as a barrier to career progression. “The UK is leading the charge [...]
CMA clears probe into Microsoft’s OpenAI investment March 5, 2025 After months of scrutiny, Microsoft’s $13bn (£11bn) partnership with OpenAI has been cleared by the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA). The antitrust watchdog ruled that Microsoft‘s investment did not meet the threshold for a full-scale merger investigation, despite concerns over the tech giant’s influence on the AI startup. The CMA acknowledged that Microsoft gained [...]
