Fraud prevention firm SEON raises $80m amid growing compliance demands September 16, 2025 SEON, an AI-driven fraud prevention and compliance platform, has closed an $80m (£58.7m) Series C funding round led by Sixth Street Growth, bringing total investment to $187m. The company, based in Budapest and Austin, analyses tens of millions of customer interactions daily for clients including Revolut, Plaid, Spotify, Afterpay, and Entain. Its platform, delivered via [...]
Big pharma’s devastating retreat from the UK September 16, 2025 Merck and AstraZeneca’s withdrawal from UK investment is a warning signal to Rachel Reeves – but is she listening? Asks Oliver Dean Both AstraZeneca and Merck’s decision to abandon their respective UK expansions is more than a corporate setback. It is a catastrophic loss of jobs, investment and future innovation and the public are now [...]
The UK film industry isn’t ready for AI animation September 16, 2025 Critterz is a fully AI-generated animated film made for a fraction of what Disney or Dreamworks would spend on a comparable feature, says Paul Armstrong OpenAI has chosen film as the next showcase for what its models can do, backing Critterz, a fully AI-generated animated feature scheduled for release in 2026 and aiming for a [...]
Toast the City: Steel Yard founder tells us why his venue should win September 15, 2025 Our Toast the City Awards are celebrating the City’s top spots and takes place this October. This week: The Steel Yard music venue. The finalists have been announced for the inaugural Toast the City Awards, with the finest restaurants, bars, green spaces and more being whittled down to just a handful of names. Now it’s your chance [...]
Elon Musk’s payday could top $1tn with Tesla shares deal September 15, 2025 Elon Musk, already the world’s richest man, is at the centre of a corporate controversy after Tesla’s board proposed a $1tn (£820bn) compensation package – the largest in corporate history. The ten-year plan, designed to incentivise Musk to focus on his EV business, would reward the chief executive with 12 tranches of shares, if Tesla [...]
Taxing business is not the way to win the investment race September 15, 2025 Attracting investment is all about sending the right signals, and that starts with tax policy, says Chris Hayward Party conference season brings warm white wine, beige food and late nights. These festivals of politics tend to be high in rhetoric and low in substance. Businesses across the Square Mile seek more of the latter and [...]
Should we raise capital via debt or equity? September 13, 2025 Amid a financing drought, should business leaders bet on debt or dilute with equity? Himanshu Singh gives us his assessment.
HMRC loses over £800m to small business ‘phoenixing’ September 12, 2025 HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) has lost more than £800m – more than previously estimated – through a tax loophole open to abuse by small businesses in the UK. The practice, known as ‘phoenixing‘, is where companies are repeatedly liquidate then set up as a new, identical, debt-free business. The tax authority lost £836m to this [...]
Audit watchdog launches ‘bold new programme’ to support growth at smaller firms September 12, 2025 The audit regulator has unveiled a new initiative aimed at enhancing the presence of the UK’s small audit firms in the Public Interest Entity market. The Financial Reporting Council (FRC) has initiated a new and more proportionate supervisory approach, designed to enhance audit quality and reflect the unique needs of smaller firms. The body will [...]
Spotlight turns to FTSE 100 clients of Peter Mandelson’s advisory firm after government sacking September 12, 2025 After Peter Mandelson’s dramatic ousting from government over his close relationship with paedophile Jeffrey Epstein, the firms that chose to partner with his consultancy Global Counsel have come under the spotlight. More than two dozen major corporations hired Global Counsel to conduct lobbying services over the past two years, disclosures from the Office of the [...]