Business & Tech
The latest stories from independent business & tech media.
At the Helm: Inside SJP’s Business Sale & Purchase scheme
St James’s Place (SJP) partner firms that want to either expand or sell their business have an option to do this internally through the group’s Business Sale & Purchase (BSP) proposition. Up to 300 BSPs are completed each year, with a total annual transaction value
AI vendors are turning to custom hardware as Microsoft winds back the clock on Windows
Vendors are moving way beyond Nvidia’s GPUs in the datacenter
Over 5.6 million UK businesses in operation, marking new record
The UK’s active business population has reached a record 5.66 million companies, according to the latest data from NatWest and Beauhurst’s New Startup Index.
Prevalent AI secures £16.1m to accelerate AI context engine
London-headquartered Prevalent AI has secured £16.1m in growth investment from Los Angeles-based Integrity Growth Partners (IGP), marking the first primary capital raised by the firm.
US datacenters tripled their water footprint in 10 years
... and those are figures from the start of the AI boom. It can only be worse now. Silo-ed reporting isn't helping
Robotics funding for 2026 reaches almost £190m as Cambridge leads the way
UK robotics firms have raised $258m (£189.3m) across 12 rounds in 2026 so far, up from $150m (£110m) and eight rounds in 2025 and $37.4m (£27.4m) and 19 rounds in 2024, according to a new report by Tracxn Technologies.
Bodycare MD David Stern on the brand’s return to bricks-and-mortar
Despite narrowly dodging administration back in 2025, Bodycare has returned to the high street with a vengeance.
$1T investment giant Apollo breached after social engineering attack
Hackers spent four days inside the org's cloud platforms after apparently talking their way in
Scottish data centre group expands AI capacity with £25m boost
Scottish data centre operator DataVita is set to expand its flagship site to host specialised AI infrastructure with a new funding boost. The group has secured a £25m loan from digital bank OakNorth to support the expansion of the data centre based outside of Glasgow.
Security vets rally around $4 paper password books for sale in Australia
Once shunned by the IT crowd, pen-and-paper password vaults are getting the love they deserve in 2026
Morrisons launches 1,000 apprenticeships to ‘train next generation of retail leaders’
Morrisons is launching 1,000 new apprenticeships with the aim of building its next generation of store leaders and protect specialist fresh food skills.
Canonical backs quest to translate mountains of C into safe Rust with AI
Bungs banknotes at Bristol boffins to find out if mature code survives the machine
Loughborough University and Haatch partner to boost spinout potential
Loughborough University has launched the Loughborough Venture Investor Network (LVIN) in partnership with venture capital firm Haatch to connect high-potential startups and spinouts emerging from the university’s entrepreneurial ecosystem with alumni and other investors.
Software should work, and talking about it needn't be boring
Bingeing the boxed set of binary bafflement
China calls off ambitious ice-hunting moonshot a day before flight
Chang'e 7 didn’t meet unspecified ‘launch requirements’
The Morning Briefing: HMRC tax investigations return £34.70 for every £1 spent
Good morning and welcome to your Morning Briefing for Monday 24 August 2026. To get this in your inbox every morning
Co-op launches new store on Fulham Palace Road
Co-op has opened a new circa 3,000 sq ft store on Fulham Palace Road in London.
Morrisons Palmers Green launches home and garden collection hub
Morrisons Palmers Green has launched a home and garden collection hub featuring products from The Range, Wilko and Homebase.
STACKUP: The Stack's weekly tech startups and funding wrap
Morrisons vows to beat rivals on price across 500 everyday products
Morrisons has launched a new price pledge across more than 500 everyday products. The grocer’s new “unbeatable prices” commitment promises that the products covered will cost the same or less than at Aldi, Asda, Lidl, Sainsbury’s and Tesco.
How has a summer of heatwaves impacted bricks-and-mortar retail?
It’s been a record breaking summer for hot weather in the UK, with the soaring temperatures inevitably having a knock on effect on businesses.
How Market Sentiment Affects Banks Innovation Opportunities
While at Payments Unleashed in London, Philip Bruno, Chief Strategy and Growth Officer, ACI Worldwide joined FinextraTV to discuss how banks should approach innovation.
Stablecoin platform Fasset hits $1bn valuation
US-based start-up Fasset, which is described as an AI-powered stablecoin neobanking platform, has reached unicorn status after its latest fund raising effort.
Toca Boca and adidas’s new collaboration encourages girls to stay in sports
The partnership brings adidas products such as sportswear and accessories to Toca Boca’s “digital playground”- Toca Boca World.
Responsible Fintech Institute debuts quantum pilot
Non-profit fintech, Responsible Fintech Institute (RFI), has launched a pilot designed to examine post-quantum security for digital assets transactions
Starship Technologies delivery robots pulled from Sheffield after five-month trial
Starship Technologies has pulled its autonomous delivery robots from Sheffield just five months after launching in the city with Uber Eats. The robotics firm said its pilot had come to an end and the service had been paused while it reviews the results, before deciding whether to…
DFS returns to Saturday night TV with The Voice UK partnership
DFS has teamed up with ITV’s The Voice UK for a new marketing campaign, building on its partnership with Britain’s Got Talent earlier this year.
Retail helps drive Britain’s hidden productivity boom
Britain’s retail sector is among the industries driving a surprise rebound in productivity that may have been masked by unreliable official employment data.
Alibaba raises £7.5bn to accelerate AI investment
Alibaba is raising £7.5bn through a major share sale as it doubles down on its AI ambitions. The retail and tech group is issuing 710m new shares in Hong Kong at around £10.54 each, with the deal expected to raise roughly £7.5bn.