News

Nationally, 86% of UK small business owners are fearful of Autumn Budget announcements that could negatively impact the growth outlook and finances of their enterprises – according to new research from Novuna Business Finance.

Avoiding being invasive with the visited culture, managing experiences with the local government, improving the conditions of employees in the sector and getting local communities to value tourism positively are key aspects that the industry is beginning to focus on. This was made clear during the first day of Tourism Innovation Summit 2024 (TIS). The international tourism innovation summit focused on sustainability as one of the key aspects of the future, with an eye on regenerative tourism, integration with local communities and a commitment to preserving cultural heritage.

The UK’S most extraordinary female founders have been unveiled as the finalists for the 2024 everywoman Entrepreneur Awards, in association with BGF, the UK’s longest-running recognition programme for women in business. Now in their 22nd year, the awards set out to uncover and amplify the diverse array of female-led businesses, recognising them as influential role models for future generations, and celebrating their economic contribution.

Oxford Capital, the Oxford-based venture capital firm, has sold part of its Enterprise Investment Scheme (EIS) investment in Moneybox, the award-winning savings and investment platform, achieving a return of up to 17x.

Trustly, the global fintech in Open Banking Payments, is on track towards processing $100 billion in Total Payments Value (TPV) in 2024, underscoring a substantial shift in the payments industry as merchants worldwide continue to explore card alternatives. To date, over 112 million consumers have used Trustly’s products globally, showcasing the appeal of Pay by Bank options at checkout.

Jarvis, a pension fintech that empowers employees to actively plan for their ideal retirement, has partnered with JA, the software provider for umbrella companies, to transform pension management for umbrella companies.

Wayve, a startup in Embodied AI for the automotive industry, has expanded its US operations with the opening of a new office in Silicon Valley and the start of a driver assistance testing programme in San Francisco and the Bay Area.

Pleo, a European spend management platforms, has released a new report examining the current landscape of UK businesses. ‘The Finance and Business Synergy Report’ from Pleo, delves into the sentiments surrounding budget cuts, collaboration and growth in 2024, and how these dynamics are influencing business operations.

UK SMEs face a ticking time bomb as a result of the imminent effects of an account reporting standard change, according to national audit, tax, advisory, and consulting firm Crowe.

Tech Mahindra has announced the establishment of a Centre of Excellence (CoE) powered by NVIDIA platforms to drive advancements in sovereign large language model (LLM) frameworks, agentic AI, and physical AI.   

Accountants are calling on the new Labour government to provide more support for UK small businesses by introducing legislative reforms and simplifying tax laws, according to new research by accounting software company FreeAgent.

Humane has dropped the price of its Ai Pin by $200 after experiencing poor sales for the gadget.

New PayPal data has revealed the reach and impact of ‘alternative business funding’ amongst British small businesses.

In a bid to enable future success and growth, ten entrepreneurial life science and technology businesses have begun the immersive Discovery Spark programme, with a prize package worth over £50,000 up for grabs.

In honour of Breast Cancer Awareness Month this October, FasterCapital announced a new initiative dedicated to supporting healthtech startups that are innovating in the breast cancer space.

The value of bad debt suffered by small businesses has surged by a staggering 127%, according to a report by SME funder, Bibby Financial Services (BFS).

Opteran, a company focused on natural intelligence, has revealed that Airbus Defence and Space, with support from the European Space Agency (ESA) and the UK Space Agency, will trial its Opteran Mind neuromorphic software in Airbus’ space rovers.

Tourism Innovation Summit (TIS) 2024, kicked off its fifth edition in Seville, Spain, on Wednesday. The tourism innovation summit par excellence has opened its doors to more than 7,000 congress attendees who, from October 23 to 25, will be able to learn about the latest innovations and technological solutions defining tourism worldwide. Also, all those trends and strategies will make this industry take a giant step forward in terms of sustainability, accessibility, competitiveness or adaptation to the new and changing demands of travellers looking for an ever-greater personalisation in their tourism experiences.

OpenAI’s former Chief Technology Officer, Mira Murati, is reportedly raising funding from venture capitalists for her new AI startup. The news was originally reported by Reuters, who claimed it came from sources familiar with the matter.

Canva, the world’s all-in-one visual communication platform, has unveiled a suite of new products and features set to transform how people design at work and beyond. This announcement coincides with Canva reaching the major milestone of 200 million monthly active users, an increase of more than 115 million over the last two years, as the company also hits $2.5 billion in annualised revenue.