Exclusive: Octopus Investments appoints new CEO September 2, 2025 Retail asset management platform Octopus Investments has appointed Erin Platts, former chief executive of HSBC Innovation Banking, as its new CEO. Octopus Investments, the UK’s largest investor in AIM listed companies, is a branch of the financial services company, Octopus Group. It holds £9.9bn in funds under management. Platts will succeed Octopus Group co-founder and [...]
UK defence tech pivots from taboo to City darling August 28, 2025 The UK’s deep tech sector is navigating a seismic shift in investor sentiment toward defence technology. Once a frowned-upon sector, defence is now shedding its taboo, driven primarily by global instability and recent geopolitical headwinds. This transformation, while opening the doors to new investment opportunities, also reveals underlying issues in the UK’s approach to technology [...]
More US investment in Premier League than other major football leagues August 18, 2025 There are more clubs in the Premier League with US investment than in any other of the major European football leagues, a new report has shown. Over half, 13, of the 20 Premier League clubs in England have US investor participation, ranging from 100 per cent ownership down to smaller stakes. The PitchBook report shows [...]
Rachel Reeves told to ‘get out of the way’ ahead of Autumn Budget August 13, 2025 Chancellor Rachel Reeves has been told to “let businesses get on with it and get out of the way” ahead of delivering her second Autumn Budget in the coming months. A group of 1,500 private business leaders surveyed by KPMG said the Chancellor should focus on promoting higher wages and lower costs for companies. They [...]
AI-for-Excel firm Tracelight raises $3.6m to streamline finance work August 6, 2025 UK founded AI company, Tracelight, has raised over $3m in seed funding as it bids to hand laborious finance work over to AI tech. The London based company raised $3.6m (£2.7m) in seed funding from a series of venture capital firms, led by Chalfen Ventures with participation from Acequia Capital, Inovo and EF Morning Wire [...]
Y-Combinator-backed agritech Supplant put up for sale after plunging into administration August 5, 2025 An agritech firm backed by the likes of Y-Combinator has been put up for sale after being plunged into administration, Morning Wire can reveal. Cambridge-based Supplant, which had raised more than £25m in funding since launch, is now searching for a rescue buyer and will accept offers over just £2.5m, according to an insolvency marketplace [...]
Here’s what private equity and venture capital need from Rachel Reeves July 25, 2025 Changes to carried interest, non-doms and wealth tax rumours are putting investors under pressure. Time for Rachel Reeves to adopt a more pragmatic, pro-growth approach, says Michael Moore In her October Party Conference speech, the Chancellor Rachel Reeves declared that ‘If growth is the challenge, investment is the solution’. She is right. The Chancellor has [...]
CBD brand backed by Vernon Kay and Tess Daly raises millions July 10, 2025 Goodrays, a CBD brand backed by Vernon Kay and Tess Daly, has raised £5m as it eyes future growth. The company has been backed by Guinness Ventures whose portfolio includes BBC Maestro, a celebrity-led e-learning business. The series A funding round also attracted the participation of existing and new institutional investors. The news comes after [...]
UK VC investment storms ahead of Europe as AI dominates July 3, 2025 UK venture capital funding stormed ahead of its European peers in the first half of 2025 as the country’s innovation economy remained resilient in the face of wider geopolitical tensions. Total investment topped $8bn (£5.9bn), edging up three per cent from the final six months of 2024. This gave the UK a 30 per share [...]
London must ‘market its successes better’ to avoid another Wise June 7, 2025 Britain must emulate the success of Nasdaq and get better at trumpeting its business success stories if it wants to attract more companies to list in London, one of the UK’s top fintech venture capital investors has said. Speaking to Morning Wire the day that payments darling Wise revealed plans to ditch its primary listing [...]