News

Booked it, a fast-growing technology provider specialising in advanced booking, CRM, marketing and loyalty solutions, has secured a £2.5 million investment from Calculus Capital to accelerate its expansion plans. The funding comes as the company targets £1 billion in total bookings, building on rapid momentum across the social and entertainment sectors. Founded during the pandemic in 2020 as a strategic pivot from its predecessor Licklist, Booked it has already surpassed £100 million in annual bookings...

Coventry-based FinTech innovator Inicio AI has secured £2.6 million in seed funding to scale its AI-driven affordability assessment platform, in a move that could reshape how organisations evaluate financial wellbeing. The funding follows the company’s recent victory at Birmingham Tech Week’s prestigious OneToWin pitch competition. The investment round includes £500,000 from the West Midlands Co-Investment Fund (WMCO)—managed by Midven, part of Future Planet Capital—as well as funding from Rigby Group PLC (£500,000), Haatch Ventures (£300,000),...

UK businesses are grappling with what’s being described as a “harrowing” year, as confidence slumps in response to rising domestic tax burdens and mounting global trade tensions, according to new research from the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW). The ICAEW’s closely watched business confidence monitor fell to minus 3 in the first quarter of 2025, down from 0.2 in the previous quarter, marking the lowest reading since late 2022. The drop...

US Vice-President JD Vance has said there is a “good chance” that the United States and United Kingdom could strike a new trade agreement, as the two countries engage in active negotiations in the wake of President Trump’s sweeping global tariffs. Speaking in an interview with UnHerd on Monday, Vance confirmed that the US is “working very hard with Keir Starmer’s government” to explore opportunities for a deal that goes beyond tariffs, encompassing both goods...

Wage growth across the UK picked up slightly in the three months to February, defying a weakening labour market and providing a fresh challenge for the Bank of England as it weighs when to start cutting interest rates. New figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) show that average weekly earnings, excluding bonuses, rose by 5.9 per cent year-on-year in the December to February period—up from 5.8 per cent in the previous month. When...