UK tech funding roundup: This week’s deals from Inherent to Mykor
This week’s UK tech funding deals include AI scientific research lab Inherent, biomaterials company Mykor and more. UKTN tracked £102.7m worth of UK tech investment this week (25 May to 29 May), a 20% week-on-week decrease across six funding rounds. ...
UK and France strike new tech deal ahead of G7 talks
The UK and France have signed a new science and technology deal that will provide funding for partnerships between research teams from the two nations. The agreement, announced by Tech Secretary Liz Kendall ahead of the upcoming G7 talks in Paris, wi...
Forget chatbots, the real AI retail revolution is happening behind the scenes
Retailers are being told they need to move faster on AI, but Satalia founder Daniel Hulme argues the biggest gains will not come from shiny generative tools, but from using the right algorithms to solve the operational problems that quietly drain mar...
Disney unveils London pop-up for new collectible range
Disney has unveiled a new pop-up in London for its latest YuYu range, which will officially launch in stores this July. The range turns Disney characters into clip on accessories wearing animal inspired outfits. Much like popular collectibles Labubu’...
How the UK can lead the future of photonics
The global photonics market is projected to exceed £1tn by 2030. While the UK’s 3.5% share might appear modest, that is still an £8.6bn sector employing more than 84,000 people across 1,400 companies. The Council for Science and Technology has recent...
Adnams to close five stores as cost pressures hit retail estate
Adnams is closing five of its stores as it looks to reshape its retail estate, citing ‘sustained cost pressures’. The Suffolk-based beer, wine and spirits business will shut branches in Hadleigh, Norwich, Frinton-on-Sea, Saffron Walden and Stamford b...
Google Ventures leads £11m round for UK cyber firm
MokN, a cybersecurity company specialising in anti-credential theft, has secured a $15m (£11.1m) funding round led by Google Ventures. The London-based company has developed a “Phish-Back” solution designed to outsmart attackers attempting to steal c...
Patagonia faces backlash over trademark lawsuit against drag climate activist Pattie Gonia
Patagonia is facing a growing backlash after launching a trademark lawsuit against US drag performer and climate activist Pattie Gonia, who has accused the outdoor clothing brand of trying to “erase an activist”. Wyn Wiley, who performs as Pattie Gon...
London-based AI lab Inherent emerges from stealth with £40m raise
Inherent, a London-based AI lab that aims to reinvent the scientific method, has emerged from stealth with a $50m (£37.2m) fund raise. Founded by former staff of DeepMind, Microsoft and the White House, Inherent is planning to create what it calls th...
36% of shoppers have used AI to help buy groceries
More than a third of shoppers have used AI to help buy groceries in the past six months, with most using it to compare prices, according to new research by global commerce operations platform Rithum. In an increasingly value-driven retail environment...
BRC warns youth jobs push will fail unless ministers tackle rising retail costs
The BRC has warned that government efforts to get more young people into work risk being undermined by rising employment costs and new regulation, as Alan Milburn’s interim report on youth inactivity laid bare the scale of the UK’s jobs crisis. The r...
Unilever bets $270m on AI-led innovation hub to speed up beauty and wellbeing launches
Unilever is investing $270m in a new global innovation centre in New Haven, Connecticut, with a view to accelerating product development across its personal care, beauty and wellbeing brands. The site, which is expected to open by spring 2029, will b...
Arla and DMK merger cleared by regulators
Arla Foods and DMK Group have secured all required regulatory approvals for their planned merger, paving the way for the creation of Europe’s leading farmer-owned dairy cooperative. The deal, which is expected to take effect on 1 June 2026, will brin...
Burberry boss could earn up to £12.2m as brand pushes back climate targets
Burberry chief executive Joshua Schulman could earn up to £12.2m under a new bonus scheme, as the luxury fashion retailer also scaled back its climate ambitions. Schulman, who joined the British brand in July 2024 from US fashion label Coach, was pai...
Asda partners with Ocado to overhaul online grocery business
Asda has struck a new partnership with Ocado Group to upgrade its online grocery operations as the supermarket looks to improve customer experience and regain market share. The grocer, which is the UK’s third-largest supermarket, will roll out Ocado’...
JD.com’s $2.5bn Ceconomy bid faces EU probe over Chinese subsidy concerns
JD.com ’s $2.5bn (£2bn) bid for German electronics retailer Ceconomy is facing an in-depth investigation by European Union regulators over concerns that the deal may involve Chinese state subsidies. The European Commission said on Thursday that its p...
Temu fined €200m by EU over illegal product risks
Temu has been fined €200m (£173m) by the European Commission for failing to properly assess and reduce the risk of illegal and dangerous products being sold through its marketplace. The penalty, issued under the EU’s Digital Services Act, follows a 1...
Is the future of AI infrastructure in the Middle East?
As much of the world scrambles to implement fast-moving data and compute strategies to secure their share of the AI dividend, the Middle East appears to be emerging as an ideal beneficiary. The governments of the GCC have been among the most aggressi...
GUEST POST: Pricing agility without margin leakage: why pricing and rebates must move together
Steve Peppler, VP of Product & Business Transformation, Enable , explores a common retailer problem – the disconnect between pricing decisions and commercial agreements. The Bank of England’s recent comments around the likely rise of dynamic on-shelf...
Q&A: Lipton Tea & Infusions’ Elle Barker on turning tap water into a category opportunity
Tea has always been a predictable business; hot drinks in cold weather creating a steady demand with consumers sticking to familiar formats. However, Lipton Tea shows that this is beginning to shift. Lipton Tea & Infusions’ Elle Barker. A new cold-br...
Why the World Cup could become a stress test for UK retail logistics
As retailers prepare for a summer trading rush around the FIFA World Cup, fulfilment specialists are warning that operational resilience, instead of marketing spend, could determine which businesses benefit the most. Logistics firm Diamond Logistics ...
Aldi begins £500m operations at UKs largest supermarket warehouse
Aldi has begun initial operations at what it says is the UK’s largest supermarket distribution centre following a £500m investment in the site. The discounter has made its first delivery from the new 1.3 million sq ft facility at Bardon in Leicesters...
Perceptic raises £9m to boost AI drug discovery
Perceptic has raised a $12m (£9m) seed round led by Accel, Air Street Capital and Elder Gull to accelerate its build of a single AI system to unify research, development and clinical decision-making across the drug lifecycle. Drug development remains...
Gap teams up with Ouigi Theodore for football inspired collection
Gap has unveiled a new collection inspired by football culture ahead of the 2026 World Cup. The OuiGap collection was designed by Ouigi Theodore, the founder of The Brooklyn Circus. It will be released on May 29 and pays homage to Haiti’s 1974 footba...
How the government can tread safely through data centre minefield
In a world where it feels the government cannot put a foot right, there’s a danger it may soon march headlong into a tech minefield. Already imperilled in some eyes with an imminent leadership contest, two news snippets caught the eye, which may ulti...
Amazon opens Alexa shopping tech to retailers with new AWS agentic AI tool
Amazon is bringing the technology behind its Alexa for Shopping assistant to retailers outside of its own ecosystem through a new AWS solution designed to help brands build their own AI-powered shopping experiences. Amazon said its new Agentic Shoppi...
Orbital Industries raises £37.3m to build industrial hardware using AI
Orbital Industries has raised $50m (£37.3m) in Series B funding to scale its build of industrial hardware using AI. The firm designs, engineers and manufactures physical infrastructure using AI to accelerate how new technologies are discovered and br...
Jellycat launches legal action against Next and Hamleys over trademark claims
Jellycat has launched legal action against Next and Hamleys as the fast-growing soft toy brand seeks to protect its designs amid a surge in popularity. The British toy company has filed three separate lawsuits in the London High Court over trademark ...
Deliveroo partners with Ryman to launch rapid stationery delivery
Deliveroo has struck an exclusive partnership with Ryman, marking the first time a national stationer has joined the delivery platform. The tie-up will see 185 Ryman stores added to Deliveroo, giving customers access to more than 4,000 stationery, of...
London reclaims top spot as Europe’s leading tech ecosystem
London has overtaken Paris and reclaimed its position as Europe’s leading tech ecosystem, according to the latest Dealroom Global Tech Ecosystem Index 2026. Ranked fourth globally, London remains one of the world’s top hubs as competition intensifies...
Dulux owner AkzoNobel rejects £10.9bn takeover offer from Nippon Paint and Sherwin-Williams
Dulux owner AkzoNobel has rejected a £10.9bn takeover offer from rivals Nippon Paint and Sherwin-Williams, arguing the bid undervalued the business. The Dutch paint and coatings giant, which owns Dulux, said the non-binding cash proposal lacked deal ...
Abercrombie & Fitch shares jump despite weaker guidance as Middle East conflict hits sales
Abercrombie & Fitch shares jumped on Wednesday, despite the fashion retailer posting mixed first-quarter results and issuing weaker-than-expected guidance after conflict in the Middle East hit demand. The US apparel group said sales across its Europe...
Amazon UK tax bill jumps by a fifth to more than £1.3bn
Amazon has said it paid more than £1.3bn in UK taxes last year, as higher labour and business costs pushed up its total bill by at least a fifth. It said the amount of tax it paid directly in the UK rose by at least 20 per cent in 2025, up from more ...
Lidl now Britain’s fifth-largest supermarket
Lidl has “officially” become Britain’s fifth-largest supermarket, overtaking Morrisons. The discounter now holds an 8.6% market share, according to the latest Worldpanel data. Sales rose 8.8% in the 12 weeks to 17 May, and the company benefitted by £...
Unilever unveils FIFA World Cup 2026 activation
Unilever has launched its “largest” ever partnership activation for the FIFA World Cup 2026. Led by Unilever Personal Care , the marketing drive will see over 35 brands get involved including Dove, Dove Men+Care, Rexona/Degree and Axe/Lynx. The brand...
Sustainable construction tech group scores £4m boost
Mykor, a biotech firm turning industrial and agricultural waste into low-carbon construction products has raised £4m in new funding. The Bristol-based firm said it will use the new funds to accelerate the scaling up of its industrial biofabrication t...
The power of proximity
As consumers place greater value on accessibility and ease, local convenience stores are gaining a new competitive edge. In convenience retail, being nearby has never mattered more. New research from PayPoint reveals that 88.3 per cent of consumers v...
Ofcom issues latest Online Safety Act fine
Ofcom has fined the adult content group Youngtek Solutions £600,000 for inadequate age verification in the latest action made since its powers from the Online Safety Act came into force. An investigation which took place in the second half of last ye...
M&S, SocialChain and Mongoose on how to select the perfect brand ambassador
Often a notable celebrity or influencer, brand ambassadors are the face of the brand. They front campaigns and are often the first point of call for any new release. From Mango teaming up with Hailey Bieber to L’Oréal collaborating with Charles Lecle...
CI&T’s Melissa Minkow on how retailers can utilise social media effectively
In 2026, social media is still one of the biggest marketing channels out there. Statista projections show that worldwide social media ad spend is rising at a rate of approximately 13.6 per cent year on year, whilst Social media ads accounted for 32.1...
Longwall Ventures’ Fund 4 receives new £50m commitment
The British Business Bank has announced a new £50m commitment to Longwall Ventures’ Fund 4, which targets early-stage deep tech companies. Made through the British Business Bank’s Enterprise Capital Funds programme, the commitment follows previous su...
SubscriptionX 2026: where loyalty gets real
SubscriptionX lands back in London on 17 June, bringing with it the usual mix of big ideas, real-world tactics and honest conversations about what it actually takes to build sustainable subscription businesses. Part of the RetailX Summer Festival, th...
UK high streets bolster bank holiday weekend footfall
High streets saw strong performance throughout many areas of the UK during the bank holiday weekend, data from MRI Software has revealed. According to the software company, high streets recorded 21 per cent growth on Sunday 24 May. Additionally, coas...
London data centre firm pulls in multi-billion pound financing
Pure Data Centres Group (Pure DC), a London-based hyperscale cloud and AI infrastructure company has secured $2.7bn (£2bn) in financing. The financing was largely comprised of a $2.15bn facility secured against Pure DC campuses in Dublin and Amsterda...
Primark celebrates getting away with ‘high style’ in heist campaign
Primark has unveiled the latest instalment of its ‘That’s So Primark’ brand platform, which introduces its summer collection to its UK, US and Spanish audiences. Devised by creative agency VCCP, the campaign follows on from the retailer’s ‘Shockingly...
Waitrose unveils multimillion pound investment in new Manchester and London sites
Waitrose is investing in two full-line supermarkets in Hale Barns, South Manchester, and Cricklewood, North West London. The stores, which span more than 30,000 sq ft of selling space, are expected to open in the autumn. They mark the latest step in ...
Startup harnessing energy from tides raises £4.3m
Caudal Energy, a startup developing renewable power systems fuelled by the tides, has secured an investment of £4.3m. The University of Oxford spinout is working towards full-scale testing of its fin-based tidal technology, which will take place at S...
GUEST POST: Falling inflation masks retailer price pain: how can profitability be sustained?
With no end to the Middle East conflict in sight, Barley Laing, UK Managing Director at Meliss a , warns that falling inflation may be a false flag and explores how businesses can protect profitability. The continued conflict and uncertainty in the M...
Mango vice-chair steps back amid probe into founder’s death
Mango vice-chair Jonathan Andic has temporarily stepped down from the fashion retailer after reportedly being named as a suspect in the investigation into the death of his father, founder Isak Andic. The Spanish court last week named Andic as a suspe...
Carlotta Cattelani on how Celsius shook up the UK energy drinks category
Well known for its motorsport partnerships- currently sponsoring Formula One’s Aston Martin and the former sponsor of Scuderia Ferrari, Celsius has taken the UK by storm. It has become a major competitor to popular energy drinks brands Red Bull and M...
Aldi Scotland’s Supermarket Sweep returns for 11th year
Aldi Scotland’s supermarket sweep has returned for another year, allowing shoppers in Fife and Perth & Kinross to raise funds for the charity Children’s Hospices Across Scotland (CHAS). Inspired by the television game show, the supermarket sweep chal...
Savers teams up with Operation Smile for fundraising campaign
Budget retailer Savers has teamed up with not for profit Operation Smile to launch a fundraising campaign. The initiative invites consumers to donate 20p on purchases over £3 at checkout through digital charity box Pennies. It hopes to raise over £10...
Estée Lauder eyes smaller deals after walking away from Puig merger
Estée Lauder has walked away from merger talks with Spanish perfume maker Puig , leaving the beauty giant with more flexibility to pursue smaller acquisitions as it focuses on its turnaround plan. The deal would have created a $40bn premium beauty po...
Lululemon closes in on deal to end bitter founder feud
Lululemon is reportedly closing in on a settlement with founder Chip Wilson that could bring an end to one of the year’s most high-profile retail proxy battles. The activewear giant is discussing a deal that would give Wilson two board seats in excha...
Summer staples soar as shoppers battle record May heatwave
Retailers are reporting a sharp rise in demand for fans, ice cubes, sunscreen, barbecues and outdoor living products as shoppers look for ways to stay cool during the UK’s record-breaking May heatwave. The Met Office said Kew Gardens reached a provis...
Radley stores face closure as Gordon Brothers buys brand out of administration
Radley has been bought out of administration by Poundland owner Gordon Brothers in a pre-pack deal that puts the handbag brand’s UK store estate at risk. The distressed retail investor has acquired Radley’s brand and intellectual property assets, wit...
Lululemon launches first stores in Greece
Lululemon is opening its first stores in Greece through its franchise partnership with Arion Retail Group. The activewear brand’s first shop in the country opened on 23 May at Akadimias 17 & Voukourestiou in Kolonaki, central Athens. Its second site ...
UK fintech hiring set to rise driven by payments infrastructure
UK fintech hiring is expected to rise as much as 14% in 2026 with the surge being driven by increased demands for payments infrastructure roles, according to a new report. The new Fintech UK Finance Labour Market Trends report from Morgan McKinley an...
Gym King head of brand on its ‘bigger and better’ London pop-up
Despite primarily being a digital brand, activewear retailer Gym King launched its second London pop-up at Westfield London earlier this month. The event, which runs from 23 May to 30 May, follows the brand’s pop-up store in Soho last year, which saw...
If you want to get online, prove you’re human – Nick Pickles, Tools for Humanity
This week’s podcast guest is Nick Pickles, chief policy officer at Tools for Humanity. Tools for Humanity was co-founded by OpenAI’s Sam Altman and provides ways to verify human identity with the belief that the only way to counteract fakery and misi...
Shopopop targets UK retail partnerships as it expands crowdshipping model
France-based crowdshipping platform Shopopop has announced plans to launch in the UK as part of its international growth strategy. The company is targeting a partnership with at least one major UK retailer by the end of 2026, with discussions already...
UK startups could benefit from £3bn EU fund
The UK could be on the verge of joining a startup funding scheme run by the European Union worth €4bn (£3.45bn). According to a report provided by the EU Commissioner for startups Ekaterina Zaharieva ( pictured ) to the Financial Times , the move cou...
Shoezone steps onto TikTok Shop as it builds its social commerce push
Online and in-store footwear retailer Shoezone has launched its first social shopping channel on TikTok Shop. Joining brands such as Puma, Soletrader and EGO on the platform, the retailer is leaning into a social-first approach, allowing creators to ...
HSBC invests £400m in UAE data centre firm to support mass rollout
HSBC has agreed to provide $550m (£408m) to a United Arab Emirates-based data centre and AI infrastructure company to support the deployment of sites across the US and Europe. Core42, owned by the Abu Dhabi-based tech-focused holding company G42, has...
Northern Irish health tech expands in the US after FDA win
Neurovalens , a Northern Irish tech startup developing wearable non-invasive neurological treatments, is set to expand its sales overseas after securing US regulatory approval. The Belfast group has secured De Novo approval from the US Food and Drug ...
GUEST POST: Can retailers convert summer demand in a weaker market?
Nate Barad, VP of product marketing, Algolia, looks at ways retailers can make the most of opportunities this summer despite weak consumer confidence. Retailers are heading into summer with demand harder to predict and margin harder to protect. April...
TG Jones owner Modella Capital closes in on Flying Tiger takeover
Modella Capital , which bought WHSmith’s high street arm last year and rebranded it as TG Jones , is closing in on a takeover of Flying Tiger Copenhagen, in a deal that would add around 900 stores to the private equity firm’s growing retail empire. T...
Kingfisher keeps profit outlook despite soft market hitting B&Q sales
Kingfisher has held its full-year profit guidance despite a dip in first-quarter underlying sales, as a soft home improvement market and a late start to spring weighed on demand at B&Q. The B&Q and Screwfix owner reported a 0.7 per cent fall in under...
Morrisons to close 100 convenience stores as it blames rising government cost
Morrisons is planning to close 100 convenience stores over the coming months, putting hundreds of jobs at risk, citing rising costs linked to government policy. The supermarket said the affected Morrisons Daily stores had been loss-making for some ti...
Next boss sounds alarm over youth jobs crisis as shop vacancies dry up
Next chief executive Lord Wolfson has warned of a “dramatic fall” in entry-level job opportunities across the UK, as a result of rising employment costs and weaker hiring conditions. Wolfson told the BBC that Next typically received around 10 applica...
Retailers warn summer price rises could persist despite Iran ceasefire talks
Retailers have warned that price pressures could continue to hit shoppers throughout the summer, even if ceasefire talks between the US and Iran prove successful. Disruption to global shipping, rising energy costs and higher raw material prices are p...
Tesco aims to ‘make cooking more accessible’ with new marketing drive
Supermarket chain Tesco has unveiled its new campaign that aims to make cooking more accessible. The campaign won Channel 4’s Diversity in Advertising Award 2025/2026, an annual competition that awards £1 million worth of advertising space across Cha...
Nine in 10 rural retailers hit by crime as theft crisis spreads beyond high streets
Nine in 10 retailers in rural locations have been victims of crime in the past year, new research has found. A survey by commercial insurer NFU Mutual found that 91 per cent of rural retailers had experienced crime over the past 12 months, putting th...
UK tech funding roundup: This week’s deals from Primer to TympaHealth
This week’s UK tech funding deals include payments infrastructure firm Primer, ear health platform TympaHealth and more. UKTN tracked £128.2m worth of UK tech investment this week (18 May to 22 May), across nine funding rounds. Here’s your weekly rou...
Bosch signs robotics deal with UK firm
Manufacturing giant Bosch has announced a deal with British AI and robotics group Humanoid that will see the German corporation’s factories supported by specialised robots. Bosch and Humanoid agreed to a proof of concept project earlier this year in ...
95% of annual subscribers who cancel don’t return, new data shows
95% of annual subscribers who cancel are gone for good, according to new data from RevenueCat. According to Part 2 of RevenueCat’s 2026 State of Subscriptions report, just 5% of annual app subscribers who cancel return. The data was derived from 115,...
Screwfix extends Woodland Trust partnership to protect ancient woodland
Screwfix has announced a new three-year partnership with Woodland Trust to support the restoration and long-term protection of Kingsettle Wood in Dorset. The agreement will fund continued conservation work at the 51-acre ancient woodland site near Sh...
Spar joins forces with Iceland Foods with exclusive convenience retail partnership
C-store specialist Spar and Iceland Foods have agreed an exclusive convenience retail partnership. The collaboration is designed to “significantly enhance the appeal of frozen food sections” in Spar’s convenience stores “by adding depth to the range”...
Boots to launch first beauty-only store outside London
Boots is opening its first beauty-only store outside of London in Bristol later this month. The beauty concept store, which will launch on 28 May, will be based in the city’s Cabot Circus Shopping Centre. The 11,000 square foot store will sell more t...
Remedy Legal founder: Being loud does mean being a success
Michael Stresing is the co-founder of Remedy Legal, an AI-powered legal aide clinic designed to help people in housing tribunals. In this week’s Founder in Five Q&A , Stresing discusses the importance of focusing on client interests and long-term val...
Macmillan Ventures launches to back innovations in cancer care
Macmillan Cancer Support, one of the UK’s largest charities supporting medical research and victims of cancer, has announced the launch of a venture capital firm to fund organisations developing medical innovations. Macmillan Ventures, backed by dona...
Fuel-led slump clouds retail picture in April
Retail sales fell by 1.6% in April, according to the latest ONS (Office of National Statistics) figures. However, this follows a rise of 0.4% in March, and a rise of 0.5% in the three months leading up to April, compared to the same period in 2025. S...
Regulator blasts digital platforms for lack of age assurance progress
The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has called out prominent online platforms for failing to take concrete steps in implementing effective age assurance policies. The UK’s regulatory regime has made preventing children from accessing potentia...
Morrisons renews Clarkson’s Farm sponsorship
Morrisons has extended its exclusive sponsorship of Clarkson’s Farm on Prime Video for a second consecutive year. As part of the collaboration, the retailer will feature two 30 second adverts on the series. The adverts will be supported by a series o...
B&Q names new director of marketing
Home improvement retailer B&Q has named Sophie Taylor as its new director of marketing. She replaces Tom Hampson, who has left the firm to join Asda . Taylor was previously the retailer’s head of content, social and PR. She has over 20 years experien...
Quiz Clothing to close remaining stores by June
Administrators for Quiz Clothing have confirmed that the retailer’s remaining stores will close over the coming weeks, with all locations expected to cease trading by June 2026. The update comes from joint administrators at Interpath, who said a phas...
UK suspends tariffs on food imports to ease cost pressures from Middle East conflict
The UK government is to suspend import tariffs on more than 100 agricultural and food products in an effort to help households cope with rising living costs linked to the conflict in the Middle East. The temporary tariff suspensions, due to be introd...
Opinion: Strategic optionality – Retail’s next competitive edge in the supply chain
By Nick de Klerk, Senior Director, TMX Transform In retail logistics, many people think that modernization just means bringing in more machines. However, it’s becoming clear that this isn’t enough. A lot of retailers have poured resources into things...
‘Poison in plain sight’: Have British farmers become too reliant on farm chemicals?
The founder of an organic food company has called for tighter restrictions on glyphosate, arguing the weedkiller has become embedded in Britain’s food system despite mounting public concern over its health and environmental impact. Riverford founder ...
Interview: The invisible cotton problem returning to global supply chains
A rise in prohibited cotton entering Western supply chains has been linked to growing trade disruption, shifting manufacturing routes and what one industry executive describes as a widening “gap between documentation and truth” in global sourcing. Ph...
Imperagen raises £5m to accelerate enzyme engineering
Imperagen, a Manchester-based biotech using AI and quantum physics to engineer better enzymes faster, has closed a £5m seed funding round. Enzymes are biological catalysts used to reduce waste, lower energy usage and decrease overall production costs...
Oxford’s West End ‘a new frontier of homegrown science’
Oxford’s West End is emerging as a ‘new frontier of British science and technology’, the minister for science, research and innovation Lord Vallance has said at a topping out ceremony in the city’s emerging urban science district. Vallance told an au...
The UK doesn’t have a tech problem. It has a procurement problem
For more than a decade, the UK has talked about how to build globally competitive technology companies. On most measures, that ambition has been achieved. The UK now produces companies capable of competing at the highest level, particularly in areas ...
Vinted and Mangopay extend payments partnership
Preloved platform Vinted has extended its decade-long partnership with Mangopay as its payment service provider across Europe. Mangopay will continue to provide the reselling platform with its wallet infrastructure, payment processing, and payout cap...
TympaHealth secures £2m to scale ear and hearing health tech
Ear and hearing health technology provider TympaHealth has secured a £2m Innovate UK loan to accelerate Tympa Assist, its AI-powered guidance platform for otoscopies, the medical examination of the ear. TympaHealth integrates high-definition digital ...
EXCLUSIVE: British Business Bank backs new UK-dedicated VC fund
British Business Bank has made a £25m cornerstone commitment to Antler’s UK Fund II to support ambitious founders and innovators across the UK, UKTN can exclusively reveal. Antler partners with founders pre-launch of their companies, providing them w...
GUEST POST: Why it’s time for subscription providers to review customer complaints processes
In June 2026, new rules relating to the handling of data protection complaints are due to come into force, which will apply to all organisations acting as controllers of personal data. Commercial solicitor Ashleigh Dibb from Forbes Solicitors explain...
The North Face helps VF Corp return to growth as profits surge
The North Face owner VF Corp has returned to full-year growth for the first time in three years, as momentum across its core brands helped offset continued weakness at Vans. The apparel group, which also owns Timberland, reported revenue of $9.6bn fo...
Amazon defeats appeal over alleged fur tariff evasion
Amazon has won an appeal against a whistleblower claim alleging it helped foreign fur manufacturers evade US tariffs and inspection fees on products sold through its marketplace. The Second US Circuit Court of Appeals rejected the lawsuit on Wednesda...
Primark, H&M and Vinted urge governments to stop penalising resale
Some of fashion’s biggest retailers and resale platforms including Primark , H&M and Vinted are urging governments to overhaul tax rules and labour costs to help make circular fashion commercially viable. Arc’teryx, Etsy and Zalando are also among th...
High prices keep consumer confidence fragile despite May uplift
Consumer confidence improved slightly in May, although high prices remain firmly on shoppers’ minds as more than four in five people expect food and energy costs to rise. New BRC-Opinium data shows expectations for the UK economy over the next three ...
Skims unveils Regent Street flagship after week of highs and lows
Skims has offered a first look at its upcoming Regent Street flagship, capping a week of contrasting headlines for the Kim Kardashian-founded shapewear brand. The retailer shared images of its new store on a prime corner site at 245-247 Regent Street...
Clare Empson returns to N Brown in supply chain and efficiency role
N Brown Group has appointed Clare Empson as director of supply chain, property and group efficiency, just months after she left the business. Empson has rejoined the Simply Be and Jacamo owner after stepping down as chief customer operations officer ...
Net-A-Porter improvement threatened by London warehouse strike
Net-A-Porter has shown signs of improvement under parent company LuxExperience’s turnaround plan, although strike action at its London warehouse threatens to disrupt the luxury etailer’s recovery. LuxExperience, which owns Net-A-Porter , Mr Porter, Y...
John Lewis names Boston United’s Lenell John-Lewis as brand ambassador
Department store John Lewis has named Boston United striker Lenell John-Lewis as its newest brand ambassador. John-Lewis will front the retailer’s ‘Summer of Sport’ campaign and will also take on an advisory role as part of his ambassadorship. He’ll ...
Retail Racing is on pole for experiential networking in digital retail
InternetRetailing is pleased to be a media partner for Retail Racing’s upcoming AI in Digital Retail event , which brings together some of the best retailers and brands from across the country to connect with leading solution providers that have demo...
Deliverect’s Joe Heather why on-demand grocery is forcing retailers to rethink the store
As consumers expect groceries in minutes rather than days, retailers are discovering that on-demand fulfilment can’t simply be bolted onto old ecommerce operations. Deliverect’s Joe Heather argues the winners will be those who treat fulfilment as a d...
ASOS brings shoppable video content to ChatGPT in UK first
In a first for the UK market, British online fashion retailer ASOS has introduced a new feature which allows customers to discover ASOS products directly in ChatGPT, explore them through shoppable videos, then buy them on ASOS.com. Using ASOS Stylist...
UK government backs thirteen ‘future defence unicorns’
Thirteen British businesses have been awarded contracts of up to £4m to work with the Ministry of Defence (MoD) to boost rapid procurement and deliver cutting-edge technology for the UK Armed Forces. The new scheme gives accelerated contracts to smal...
Nine in ten brands exposed to prohibited cotton, warns report
Brands are struggling to match rising transparency regulations with meaningful action, highlighting weaknesses in the global supply chain, a new report has revealed. Global supply chain verification firm Oritain’s inaugural 2026 Global Supply Chain I...
M&S profits hit by fallout from cyber-attack as Ocado masks underlying slowdown
M&S has reported a profit downturn of 23.8% for the financial year ending 28 March 2026 as the fallout from last year’s cyber-attack continues to take effect. Statutory profit before tax was down 28.8% at £364.6m. Although revenues increased by 24.8%...
Infrawatch raises £2.2m to build new category of cybersecurity platform
Infrawatch has raised a $3m (£2.2m) pre-seed round to build out its internet infrastructure intelligence layer, a new category of cybersecurity platform. The startup gives security, fraud and investigations teams real-time visibility into the infrast...
CircuitHub secures £21m to reshape electronics manufacturing
CircuitHub has raised $28m (£21m) to expand its network of automated, software-driven factories for on-demand electronics manufacturing. CircuitHub’s Grid platform enables production from one to 10,000 units with a standard three-day turnaround and a...
Primer raises £75m to accelerate US expansion
London-based payments infrastructure firm Primer has closed a $100m (£75m) Series C funding round as it continues to build the AI-enabled operating layer for global payments and finance. Primer offers customers unified infrastructure for global payme...
OpenAI’s big bet on the UK market
The UK, when it comes to AI, has “been on a great path for many years now”. This was the sentiment shared by Ashley Kramer, a San Francisco-based employee of OpenAI, currently serving as the vice president for enterprise. Kramer, who was in London th...
Publicis acquisition of LiveRamp reshapes commerce media
Publicis announced that it has agreed to acquire LiveRamp for $2.167 billion. The press release says the deal would strengthen Publicis’ capability in “data co-creation” — a phrase that will wash over most marketers and non-AdTech people. Let’s try t...
ASOS launches AI stylist app in ChatGPT
ASOS has launched a new stylist app in ChatGPT as it looks to make fashion discovery more visual, conversational and personalised for shoppers. The online fashion retailer has rolled out ASOS Stylist for customers in the UK and US, allowing users to ...
Marks & Spencer expects return to profit growth after cyber attack hits full-year results
Marks & Spencer has forecast a return to profit growth this year after profits slumped following the cyber attack that disrupted its fashion and home business. The retailer said group adjusted profit before tax fell 23.8 per cent to £671.4m in the ye...
Aldi asks shoppers to choose next store locations as it targets 124 new sites
Aldi is asking shoppers to help decide where it should open next as the discount grocer pushes ahead with plans for 124 potential new stores across the UK. The supermarket has published its latest list of target locations and is inviting customers to...
UK retailers raise severe concerns over rising agentic AI shopping risks
UK retailers are increasingly seeing AI agents carry out transactions on their platforms, but many remain unclear over who is liable when purchases go wrong, according to new research from The Payments Association . The trade body’s new report, Agent...
Halfords opens new training centre to grow automotive apprenticeships
Halfords has opened a new training centre in Dunstable with a view to expanding its apprenticeship programme and technical training. The site, which has been operational since February, will allow apprentices to take part in intensive training blocks...
Supermarkets slam Treasury’s ‘completely mad’ price cap plan
Major UK supermarkets have rejected Treasury proposals to introduce voluntary price caps on staple groceries, warning the plan could increase costs across the wider shopping basket. The government is understood to have asked retailers to consider fre...
Charlotta Oldman and Nik Dhodi on designing Starbucks’ new campaign around authenticity
Starbucks Chilled Coffee has unveiled a new EMEA brand platform that is inspired by the pressure young people are under to “constantly edit” themselves and their desire to be themselves. Titled ‘ Whatever Your Thing ‘, the marketing drive positions i...
Swatch’s collab chaos: When does marketing go to far?
At the weekend watch retailer Swatch was supposed to launch its Audemars Piguet collaboration, Royal Pop, in stores globally. Instead it was met with carnage and chaos-scenes from Saturday showed huge crowds of people gathering at stores worldwide. S...
ASA bans ads from leading retailers after misleading Black Friday
The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has banned ads from John Lewis, Debenhams and Boots for making misleading savings claims, following “proactive” monitoring of Black Friday promotions. The rulings are part of a wider project on pricing practi...
GEEIQ raises £5m to power virtual worlds analytics
Virtual worlds intelligence platform GEEIQ has secured $6.8m (£5m) in new investment led by YFM Equity Partners, with participation from GFR, Haymarket and existing angel investors, as brands accelerate investment across platforms including Roblox, F...
Hoka celebrates first year as title sponsor of Hackeny Half Marathon with new campaign
Hoka has unveiled a multi-channel campaign to mark its first year as a title sponsor of the Hackney Half Marathon. Devised by creative agency Jellyfish, the campaign consisted of out-of-home activations, partnerships with Citymapper and Lime and guer...
In conversation with: NatWest Payit’s James Hodgson
Fintech is often held up as the gold standard of a UK tech success story. One that took a sector that the country was already a global leader in, finance, and spawned an enormously valuable sister sector that has gone on to represent a huge percentag...
The fast-moving future of digital payments – Iana Dimitrova, OpenPayd
This week’s podcast guest is Iana Dimitrova, chief executive of OpenPayd, who discusses how we are moving towards a world where AI agents will be making transactions without human intervention. Dimitrova also shares her thoughts on the governor of th...
ANALYSIS: Retail lags as UK productivity recovery gathers pace
New data from the ONS (Office of National Statistics) shows that the UK’s historically low productivity is improving steadily – however, the retail sector is still experiencing negative productivity growth. According to the ONS’ Productivity Flash Es...
Monzo reports strong profitable growth
Monzo’s revenue surged 39% to £1.7bn in FY2026, with gross profit reaching £1 bn for the first time, according to new annual figures published by the digital bank. Monzo delivered strong profitable growth, while investing significantly in internation...
Rightbrain secures £3m to help service businesses become AI-native
Newcastle-based Rightbrain AI has raised £3m to help SMEs and mid-market firms overcome the barriers preventing them from deploying AI. The platform helps B2B services businesses, such as marketing agencies, recruitment firms and professional service...
Lansdowne Partners launches VC fund with first close at £112m
Lansdowne Partners has launched a venture capital fund focused on backing high potential British companies emerging from the UK’s university research base and startup ecosystem. The fund has announced a first close of $150m (£112m) and will hold a se...
Harry Styles’ Wembley run set to top £1bn in fan spend in welcome boost for retail
Harry Styles’ much-anticipated Together, Together Wembley residency next month is set to please retailers almost as much as fans, with retail and hospitality expected to receive a £1 billion boost as fans descend on London. New data from Barclays sug...
Victorian Plumbing sales rise as tiles and flooring revenue surges
Victorian Plumbing has posted double-digit sales growth in its first half, as it benefited from strong order volumes and rapid expansion in tiles and flooring. The group reported a 10.5 per cent rise in revenue to £168.8m for the six months to 31 Mar...
England to open first ever pop-up store on Carnaby Street ahead of World Cup
The England football team is set to open its first official pop-up store on London’s Carnaby Street ahead of the 2026 Men’s FIFA World Cup. The England Store, launched in partnership with Fanatics, The FA’s official retail partner, will open at 15 Ca...
Dr Martens turnaround gathers pace as profits leap 61%
Dr Martens has returned to profit growth after cutting back on discounting and shifting towards a more consumer-led operating model. The footwear retailer reported a 61.3 per cent rise in adjusted pre-tax profit to £55m for the 52 weeks to 29 March 2...
Government launches £20m crackdown on ‘dodgy’ high street stores
The government has launched a new specialist unit to target high street businesses suspected of being used to launder criminal cash, including vape stores, barbers, mini-marts and sweet shops. The £20m National Crime Agency cell will coordinate inves...
Measure for measure: is outcomes measurement enough in commerce media?
Measurement underpins retail and commerce media, yet pinning down what to measure – and how to compare and contrast measurements – is getting harder to do. According to the latest data from WARC in its The Future of Measurement 2026 report the shifti...
Saint Laurent boss says luxury must do more to win back aspirational shoppers
Saint Laurent chief executive Cédric Charbit has admitted luxury brands need to work harder to retain aspirational shoppers. Speaking at the FT’s Business of Luxury summit in Puglia, Italy, Charbit said Saint Laurent had not done enough to keep hold ...
Birkenstock shares slump as investors cool on luxury ambitions
Birkenstock is allegedly falling out of favour with investors amid growing doubts that it can scale into a global luxury powerhouse. The footwear brand, which listed on the New York Stock Exchange in 2023, had pitched itself as a 250-year-old sandal ...
Lululemon hits back at ‘outdated’ founder Chip Wilson amid proxy battle
Lululemon has accused founder Chip Wilson of holding “outdated perspectives” as the activewear giant ramps up its defence in an increasingly bitter proxy fight. The yoga wear retailer said it had unsuccessfully attempted to settle the dispute with Wi...
Wolt Ads and Koddi team to expand programmatic access to commerce media in Germany
German commerce media platform Wolt Ads , is to enable programmatic access to its in-app retail media inventory in a deal with commerce media technology provider Koddi . Launching first in Germany, the partnership gives brands and agencies a direct w...
Tesco launches global agri-tech search to future-proof farming
Tesco has opened applications for its 2026 Agri-tech Challenge, as the supermarket looks to ramp up innovation within British farming. Run in partnership with Leading Edge Only, the competition invites agri-tech businesses from around the world to su...
Back Market encourages consumers to keep imperfect but working tech in new campaign
Refurbished tech retailer Back Market has launched a new campaign to challenge the idea that you need to replace functional technology because it “no longer looks pristine”. Titled ‘Ugly Computer’, the campaign features a working MacBook that has vis...
Switching off shouldn’t feel like a risk for startup founders
For many business founders, switching off is not as simple as closing a laptop or turning on their out-of-office. When you are building a business, especially at its earliest stages, there is a growing pressure to be constantly available. Every custo...
THG Nutrition CEO on Myprotein’s activewear high-street debut with Footasylum
After a challenging 2024, THG returned to profit in its latest annual results with growth driven by its Myprotein and Lookfantastic brands. Later in April, the brand went on to announce that Myprotein would be partnering with Footasylum, with its act...
IZIPIZI co-founder Charles Brun on using stores to overcome eyewear’s biggest issue
As the Paris-born brand expands its store estate, co-founder Charles Brun explains why physical retail is central to making glasses feel easier, clearer and more enjoyable to buy. For IZIPIZI, the bricks-and-mortar store is where the eyewear brand ca...
Two-thirds of mid-sized retailers put investment plans on hold as costs and disruption bite
Two thirds of mid-sized retailers are putting investment plans on hold as they absorb the latest global shock, with rising costs and supply chain disruption weighing heavily on the sector. Research from BDO LLP finds that 57% of retailers say a mix o...
Tesco, Amazon and Primark rank among UK’s most distrusted brands
Retail giants including Tesco, Primark and Amazon are among the most distrusted brands by UK consumers, according to new research. A survey of 2,000 UK adults by the Liquidation Centre found McDonalds, Tesco and Amazon are the top three least trusted...
Cyber attacks cost UK businesses £3.7bn in litigation in 2025
Shareholder litigation accounted for £3.7bn of the £11.7bn total cost of cyber attacks to large UK businesses in 2025, according to new research from global insurance brokerage Gallagher and the Centre for Economics and Business Research (CEBR). The ...
GUEST COMMENT How do you solve retail media’s fragmentation problem?
One of the biggest challenges facing retail media right now is the rapid fragmentation of the market. Claire Trbovic, Global Head of Product at SMG offers some insights As more Retail Media Networks (RMNs) launch, the marketplace is becoming increasi...
Sainsbury’s Travel money MD on why cash is seeing a resurgence among holidaymakers
As the world becomes increasingly digital, it would be easy to assume that cash demand from supermarket bureaux de changes is waning in this day and age. However, cash is actually witnessing a resurgence among holidaymakers, according to Sainsbury’s ...
Spinout series: Beyond the launch
At an April roundtable hosted by Lloyds in partnership with UKTN, founders, investors, academics and bankers gathered at Sister, Manchester’s leading innovation district, to take stock of a system that produces world-class research but still struggle...
Miniso relocates to new store in Brent Cross Shopping Centre
Pop culture retailer Miniso has relocated to a new store location in Brent Cross Shopping Centre. The new store, which opened on 15 May, replaced the brand’s previous store and offers “an enhanced shopping experience designed to better serve the loca...
shoezone launches on TikTok Shop as retailer targets social-first growth
shoezone has launched on TikTok Shop as the footwear retailer steps up its social commerce strategy. The retailer said the move will allow creators to link directly to products through TikTok Shop, connecting trend-led social content with product con...
WHSmith launches AI shopping assistant at Melbourne Airport
WHSmith has launched a new AI-powered retail assistant designed to help travellers make quicker and more confident purchasing decisions in airport stores. The retailer has rolled out the pilot at its InMotion stores in Melbourne Airport, in partnersh...
QVC’s $6bn debt crash leaves investors fighting over the leftovers
QVC’s bankruptcy battle has taken a fresh turn after preferred shareholders objected to a restructuring plan that could wipe out their $1.4bn investment. The once-dominant shopping channel filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in a Houston court...
Searchable secures £10.3m to boost its AI performance marketing platform
Searchable has raised £10.3m to accelerate its AI performance marketing platform that helps businesses compete in AI-driven search. The London-based startup helps brands understand, track and improve how they appear across AI-led search. A cting as a...
Greenpixie raises £4.7m to decarbonise cloud and AI data centres
Cloud and AI efficiency startup Greenpixie has closed a £4.7m pre-Series A round to accelerate its provision of usage-based sustainability data for cloud users. According to figures from the International Data Center Authority (IDCA), data centres ar...
Matalan plots Irish market debut amid turnaround push
Matalan is reportedly preparing to enter the Irish market as it looks to push ahead with its store expansion plans. The retailer has appointed Savills to explore potential locations across Ireland, with the business understood to be focusing on retai...
Is Primark about to launch ecommerce due to pressure from Shein and Temu?
Primark is allegedly preparing to launch online delivery for the first time in its history, as growing pressure from digital rivals Shein and Temu bites. The brand has long resisted home delivery, arguing that its low prices and tight margins make th...
Morrisons staff back pay deal as customer assistant rate rises to £13.11
Morrisons supermarket and manufacturing workers have voted in favour of a new pay deal that will see the customer assistant hourly rate rise to £13.11 later this year. It said the agreement, which covers colleagues under its national agreement with U...
BCC warns crime is becoming ‘serious barrier’ to UK growth
The British Chambers of Commerce has called on the government to strengthen support for companies after new research found that two-fifths of firms had experienced some form of crime over the past year. The business group, which represents tens of th...
Tesco boss Ken Murphy’s pay rises to £10.8m
Tesco chief executive Ken Murphy saw his pay rise by more than £1m last year after the supermarket giant delivered stronger sales, profit growth and its highest market share in a decade. Murphy received £10.8m in total pay for the year, up from the p...
Retail MediaX Awards 2026 winners announced at landmark London ceremony
The winners of the 2026 Retail MediaX Awards were revealed on Friday 15 May during a celebration at Horizon 22, recognising the organisations, teams and individuals driving the evolution of retail media across Europe. The Retail MediaX awards brought...
UK tech funding roundup: This week’s deals from Isomorphic Labs to H2CHP
This week’s UK tech funding deals include DeepMind spinout Isomorphic Labs, clean energy group H2CHP and more. UKTN tracked £2.67bn worth of UK tech investment this week (11 May to 15 May), an enormous increase of more than 1,000% from last week acro...
CMA conditionally clears Getty’s merger with Shutterstock
The UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has conditionally cleared the proposed £3bn merger of Getty Images and Shutterstock. After an extensive investigation process, the CMA has concluded that the deal, which would create the largest provid...
Spring Retail Festival: insight, energy and ideas from across the industry
Whether you were there for business, knowledge or pleasure (or indeed all three), there was something for everyone at the Spring Retail Festival, says InternetRetailing’s managing editor Amanda Vlietstra. Some of the brightest and best minds in the r...
Musk’s X agrees to Ofcom demands to protect UK users
Social media group X has agreed to assess and potentially remove a huge volume of posts containing hateful or suspected terrorist content following demands from Ofcom. X has agreed to implement a review and assessment procedure for UK users that comm...
Deliveroo targets ‘digital high street’ status with multi-store baskets and seamless top-ups
Deliveroo is sharpening its competitive edge in the ultra-fast delivery market by tackling one of the biggest friction points in online convenience shopping: fragmented baskets. Its new ‘Bundles’ feature allows customers to combine items from up to t...
Prema Cognition founder: Own your decisions
Dr Julia Cooney is the founder and chief executive of Prema Cognition, a health tech firm developing a new method to detect dementia early. In this week’s Founder in Five Q&A , Cooney discusses why founders need to own the big decisions they make for...
Co-op launches new advertising service in partnership with Smart Outdoor
Co-op has entered the UK’s digital out-of-home market with launch of its new advertising service Co-op Media Network Out of Home. The move makes the convenience retailer the fourth largest digital outdoor advertiser in the UK behind JCDecaux, Global ...
The Entertainer to launch biggest store in over a decade at Hatfield’s Galleria
The Entertainer is opening a new outlet store later this month at The Galleria outlet centre in Hatfield. The 8,000 sq ft site will open on 30 May and will be the first store to trade under the toy retailer’s new sub-brand “The Entertainer, Toys for ...
Lightrock launches investment platform to back Asian and African firms
Lightrock, a London-based investment company, has announced the launch of Accelerate7, an investment platform targeting growth-stage companies in South and Southeast Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa. Following the close of $500m (£374.6m), Lightrock’s Acc...
Max Fashion CEO Hani Weiss on keeping supply moving through regional disruption
Hani Weiss, CEO of the Landmark Group-owned Max Fashion , explains why supply chain resilience now depends on visibility, discipline and calm decision-making. “Always prepare for tough times during good times,” says Hani Weiss, when questioned about ...
Specsavers invests £7m in Kidderminster factory expansion
Specsavers has begun work on a £7m expansion of its Kidderminster Vision Labs manufacturing site, as it looks to increase lens production and add new automated technology. The investment will boost weekly lens output by 22 per cent, rising from 139,0...
Edtech unicorn Multiverse raises £50m
Multiverse, an edtech unicorn currently focused on digital and AI upskilling, has secured $70m (£52m) in new funding to drive growth across Europe. Founded in 2016 by Euan Blair, son of former prime minister Tony Blair, and Sophie Adelman, Multiverse...
Landsec rents grow at fastest pace in almost 20 years as retail portfolio strengthens
Landsec has reported its fastest rent growth in nearly two decades, citing strong demand for its retail and office destinations. The property company said like-for-like net rental income rose 4.6 per cent in the year, comfortably ahead of its initial...
TG Jones seeks Post Office contract changes amid closure fears
The owner of WHSmith’s former high street business is looking to change its contracts with the Post Office, in a move that could make it easier to close outlets inside its stores. TG Jones, which was created after private equity group Modella bought ...
GameStop boss threatens hostile eBay takeover after $56bn bid rejected
GameStop chief executive Ryan Cohen has hit back at eBay after the online marketplace rejected his $56bn takeover proposal , warning he could take the offer directly to shareholders. Cohen wrote to eBay board chair Paul Pressler on Wednesday, complai...
LVMH to offload Marc Jacobs in $850m deal
LVMH has agreed to sell Marc Jacobs to a joint venture between WHP Global and G-III Apparel Group, ending the luxury giant’s nearly three-decade ownership of the US fashion brand. The deal will see WHP and G-III form a 50-50 joint venture to own Marc...
‘Arm retail guards with truncheons and pepper spray’ says Iceland boss
Iceland boss Lord Richard Walker has proposed allowing trained retail security staff to carry equipment such as truncheons and pepper spray as retailers battle rising levels of shop theft and violence against workers. Walker, who is also the governme...
Burberry sales rise as turnaround strategy delivers “meaningful inflection point”
Burberry has returned to profitable comparable sales growth, as chief executive Joshua Schulman said the luxury retailer’s turnaround strategy was beginning to pay off. The British fashion house posted a two per cent rise in comparable store sales fo...
Humanoid signs deal with Schaeffler to deploy thousands of human-like robots
UK AI and robotics startup Humanoid has signed a phased deployment and supply agreement with Schaeffler to integrate humanoid robots directly into live manufacturing operations. The initial deployment phase, running from December 2026 through June 20...
Kroo Bank enters funding partnership with bridging lender Glenhawk
UK digital bank Kroo has completed a loan portfolio acquisition and entered into a forward flow funding arrangement with specialist bridging lender Glenhawk to support future lending across the UK property market. Under the agreement, Kroo will acqui...
Governments are backing agentic AI
While much of the world has rushed to embrace AI, perhaps the most enthusiastic users are governments themselves. Certainly, in the UK, the government has made clear not only its support for the sector as a route towards economic growth but has empha...
Europe ‘can’t rely on the US’ for its space sector, that is not a bad thing
The UK and Europe “can’t rely on the US” to develop thriving space tech industries, according to a leading figure in the sector, as countries move towards a “sovereign approach”. As the home of the largest tech industry, many of the world’s leading e...
John Lewis unveils new hospitality brand
John Lewis is unveiling a new own-brand café and restaurant concept as part of a multi-million pound investment in its in-store dining experience. The new “Platter John Lewis” concept will replace the retailer’s “The Place To Eat” brand across 32 caf...
Asics’ latest campaign captures post exercise glow
Japanese sportswear brand Asics has unveiled its first “beauty” campaign which spotlights post-exercise faces. Titled ‘Get the Glow,’ the campaign features photos of people after they have exercised and aims to capture the “glow” people feel when the...
AI sovereignty will fail without secure infrastructure
The UK finds itself at a crucial juncture regarding artificial intelligence. With AI now integrated across a wide range of sectors, the debate has shifted to how it can be implemented in a manner that maintains security and supports sustainable econo...
AI software firm Quantexa wins £175m contract with HMRC
Quantexa has been awarded a £175m contract and ten-year partnership with HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) to modernise its data foundation and enable the use of sovereign, governed AI on a national scale in one of the public sector’s largest decision in...
Fractile raises £162.8m to boost AI inference chip development
UK AI chip startup Fractile has raised a $220m (£162.8m) Series B round to accelerate the build of its next-generation inference hardware for AI. Inference hardware is designed to run pre-trained AI models and make real-time predictions, decisions or...
Sainsbury’s links Nectar to Merlin attractions as loyalty moves beyond grocery rewards
Sainsbury’s is extending its Nectar proposition into leisure and entertainment through a new partnership with Merlin Entertainments, allowing customers to redeem loyalty points for entry to more than 20 UK attractions. Nectar members can spend points...
Currys boss Alex Baldock tipped to take Boots CEO role ahead of potential £7bn float
Outgoing Currys chief executive Alex Baldock is reportedly set to become the next boss of Boots, as the pharmacy and health and beauty retailer prepares for a possible return to the London stock market. Retail industry sources told Sky News that Bald...
How IZIPIZI is building a global eyewear brand without losing grip on sourcing, shipping and sustainability
As IZIPIZI expands across stores, wholesale and online, co-founder Charles Brun explains why supplier relationships, bio-based materials and operational discipline are central to keeping the eyewear brand both accessible and responsible For many fash...
Freemans launches marketplace as it adds 200 brands to online offer
Freemans.com has officially launched its marketplace offer as the online retailer looks to expand its range with more than 200 additional brands. The move will add more than 18,000 third-party products to the site, spanning fashion, footwear, beauty,...
CHANEL launches official beauty flagship on JD.com
CHANEL has opened an official Fragrance & Beauty flagship store on JD.com. The store launched on 11 May and gives JD.com shoppers access to CHANEL’S fragrance, makeup and skincare ranges through the ecommerce giant’s platform. The opening coincided w...
B&Q report reveals shoppers are prioritising ‘wellbeing and joy’ in home improvement
B&Q today revealed that UK shoppers are increasingly treating their homes as ‘spaces for recovery, emotional wellbeing and togetherness’, in a shift that may well shape home improvement retail trends over the coming year. The retailer’s latest annual...
M&S starts construction on £340m automated food distribution centre
Marks & Spencer has begun construction on a new £340m automated food distribution centre in Northamptonshire. The 1.3m sq ft site, which is set to open in 2029, marks the retailer’s largest ever supply chain investment and will support more than 1,00...
H&M teams up with Laura Ashley for new kidswear collection
H&M has partnered with Laura Ashley on a new kidswear collection for spring/summer 2026, bringing the heritage brand’s archive prints to dresses, separates, swimwear and accessories. The Laura Ashley x H&M range will launch in stores and online from ...
Tesco loses Court of Appeal bid in equal pay case
Tesco has lost a Court of Appeal challenge over how tribunals should assess the roles of shop workers and warehouse operatives in its long-running equal pay litigation. The judgment, handed down on 12 May 2026, dismissed the supermarket’s challenge t...
King’s Speech 2026: The policies UK tech needs to know
New powers to roll out digital IDs, plans to protect data centres from cyber-attacks and financial regulation reforms were among the government plans unveil on Wednesday during the King’s Speech. It is a tumultuous time for Sir Keir Starmer’s Labour ...
Blockchain analytics platform Elliptic secures £88.8m
London-headquartered Elliptic has raised $120m (£88.8m) to accelerate its mission to deliver blockchain analytics for banks, fintechs, government agencies and crypto and payments companies. Founded in 2013, Elliptic is a blockchain analytics and comp...
Happl raises over £8m to accelerate global employee benefits system
Global employee benefits operating system Happl has raised $11m (£8.1m) in an oversubscribed Series A funding round led by Portage Ventures. Founded in 2022, Happl is building a global employee benefits operating system for multinational employers. I...
FatFace expands Zalando partnership into 20 new European markets
FatFace has expanded its partnership with Zalando, launching across 20 additional European markets on the platform. The rollout includes major markets such as France, Spain, Italy and the Netherlands, alongside Central and Eastern European territorie...
Whole Foods Market to launch Notting Hill Gate store
Whole Foods Market is opening a new Notting Hill Gate store tomorrow (14 May) as part of its wider London store expansion. The grocer will open the doors to its third new London store, marking the halfway point in its latest expansion plans. The stor...
Nectar and Merlin Entertainment team up to help consumers save on days out
Nectar customers can now spend their loyalty points on Merlin Entertainment’s attractions, through a new partnership with the attraction manager. Destinations shoppers can spend their points on include Legoland Windsor Resort, Chessington World of Ad...
Defence tech firm Rowden secures £25m from the National Wealth Fund
The National Wealth Fund has invested £25m in British engineering company Rowden Technologies, marking its first investment directly supporting defence, national security and resilience. The fund is the UK government’s policy bank, which deploys capi...
Ikea UK partners with Auror to tackle retail crime
Ikea UK has partnered with retail crime intelligence company Auror to strengthen its in‑store safety and security amid rising retail crime. Auror’s crime reporting platform has been rolled out to Ikea store teams at all 23 of the furniture retailer’s...
Isomorphic Labs raises £1.6bn to scale AI drug design engine
Google DeepMind spinout Isomorphic Labs has raised $2.1bn (£1.6bn) in Series B funding. Founded in 2021, Isomorphic Labs uses AI to transform and accelerate the drug discovery process. This latest round of investment will scale the companyʼs evolutio...
Ikea and Chupa Chups on why they brought their meatball lollipop to life
Ikea and Chupa Chups unveiled a meatball flavour lollipop on April 1. Everyone assumed it was an April Fool’s joke, but a few weeks later they announced it was real. And the question on everyone lips was why? Well, Retail Gazette sat down with Ikea’s...
InPost UK volumes surge 220% as Yodel integration weighs on profit
InPost parcel volumes in the UK and Ireland jumped 220 per cent in its first quarter, although it noted that Yodel integration pushed the division to a loss. The parcel locker operator delivered 76.9 million parcels across the UK and Ireland in the t...
Cotswold Outdoor Group hails HOKA sales uplift from retail media push
Cotswold Outdoor Group has reported a sales uplift from a retail media campaign supporting the launch of the HOKA Mach 7 trainer. The four-week campaign ran through Runners Need, which is part of Cotswold Outdoor Group, and was powered by Zitcha’s re...
Walmart+ surge shows retail memberships are still scaling
In early 2026, Walmart+ membership reached an estimated 30.7 million users, the highest level recorded in recent surveys, with growth accelerating to around 17% year on year. For UK UK retailers interested in retail subscription models that continue ...
Calbee cuts packaging colours as Middle East disruption hits ink supplies
Calbee will temporarily switch 14 snack and cereal lines to two-colour packaging after Middle East disruption hit raw material supplies. The Japanese food giant said products including Potato Chips, Kappa Ebisen and Frugra would move to revised packa...
Analysis: Why the current Westminster turmoil could spark further instability for retail
Political instability in Westminster has been making headlines over the past week as a result of the fallout from local election results, which could spell big change for the government. The results also add another layer of pressure for retailers al...
Zendaya partnership helps On raise profit margin outlook
On has raised its 2026 profit margin outlook after strong first-quarter sales, as its Zendaya partnership helped the sportswear brand attract younger female shoppers. The Swiss sneaker and running brand said net sales rose 14.5 per cent to CHF 831.9 ...
Subscription fatigue forces retail to rethink the model
New research published in April 2026 shows the subscription economy is still growing — but the pace and nature of that growth is changing significantly, driving retailers to innovate to avoid subscription fatigue. Subsummit’s State of the Subscriptio...
Three trends defining subscription retail in 2026
The subscription model in retail is evolving rapidly in 2026, shaped by changing consumer expectations and maturing market conditions. Three trends in subscription retail stand out. 1. Flexibility becomes the core value proposition Rigid subscription...
Spinout scores funding for clean data centre energy tech
H2CHP, a Durham University spinout developing clean electric generators for data centres and other energy intensive sites, has secured a £1.5m investment round. The company is offering what it calls “fuel-flexible” technology, wherein high-efficiency...
UK government to strengthen cyber defences against AI-enabled threats
Businesses across the UK are being urged to strengthen their cyber defences as the government takes action to protect the economy and essential services from fast-evolving cyber threats. Ministers are urging organisations across the economy to boost ...
Rethinking how we use AI – Louise Ballard, Atheni-ai
This week’s podcast guest is Louise Ballard, co-founder of early-stage firm Atheni-ai, who discusses how we move AI usage to the next level, from simply responding to questions to actually building systems that can really benefit businesses and organ...
Shadow AI poses major risk to those resisting adoption
While some firms have move quickly and embraced AI with open arms, others have firmly resisted. Inadvertently, firms who choose the latter approach are exposing themselves to greater risk. In the absence of clear guidance, employees often take AI ado...
Paymentology raises £129.4m to continue its global expansion
Paymentology has closed a $175m (£129.4m) funding round to support its ongoing global expansion, product development and the strengthening of its team. The firm is a next-generation issuer processor, supporting fintechs, digital banks and retail bank...
Fifth Dimension raises £19.2m to scale its decision intelligence platform
London-based Fifth Dimension has raised $26m (£19.2m) to accelerate its expansion across the US and Asia Pacific, including a new Singapore office, and deepen the platform’s agentic AI capabilities for real asset investment decisions. Fifth Dimension...
Consumer spending dips as shoppers prioritise the basics – although fashion and wellness hold up
UK consumer spending dipped slightly in April, falling by 0.1% compared with the same time last year, according to the latest Barclays Consumer Spend report. This is the first drop since November and indicates that, with prices still rising faster th...
Bauer Media and Wickes on why their 14 year partnership has stood the test of time
Long-term brand partnerships in retail media are rare. Fewer still manage to evolve, scale and consistently deliver measurable returns over more than a decade. Yet the relationship between Bauer Media and Wickes has done exactly that, spanning 14 yea...
Jollyes appoints Adam Dury as CEO, unveils five-year growth plan
Jollyes Pets has formally appointed Adam Dury as chief executive, as the pet retailer pushes ahead with its five-year expansion strategy. Dury, who became CEO-designate in October 2025, initially joined Jollyes as chief operating officer in January l...
BRC finds April retail sales fell as uncertainty dented spending
UK retail sales fell in April as the later timing of Easter distorted year-on-year comparisons and weak consumer confidence weighed on discretionary spending, new BRC research claims. Total retail sales declined three per cent year on year in the fou...
Sainsbury’s and Comic Relief target £30m fundraising push to tackle childhood food poverty
Sainsbury’s and Comic Relief have launched the next phase of their long-running partnership, setting a target to raise £30m by 2030 to support families facing food insecurity across the UK. Sainsbury’s said the fundraising drive will help provide mil...
Retailers face £78bn spending black hole as Middle East conflict knocks consumer confidence
UK consumer spending growth is expected to slow sharply this year as conflict in the Middle East weighs on economic momentum and adds further pressure to retail and hospitality businesses. The latest EY UK Economic Outlook forecasts consumer spending...
Co-op doubles down on high streets with 24-store investment push
Co-op is set to launch 24 new and refurbished stores during its second quarter. It said the openings will include new stores, refurbished shops reopening after “transformative investment”, and further expansion of its franchise estate. The latest pha...
Wickes revenue rises as TradePro and design sales boost growth
Wickes has reported a 1.3 per cent rise in revenue for the first 17 weeks of the year, driven by continued growth across its Design & Installation division and TradePro business. The home improvement retailer posted group revenue of £537m for the 17 ...
Victoria’s Secret blocks billionaire investor Brett Blundy from board seat
Victoria’s Secret has revealed why it blocked Australian billionaire Brett Blundy from joining its board, citing reputational, legal and conflict of interest concerns. The lingerie retailer said it evaluated Blundy’s request to become a director, but...
Amazon staff reportedly use internal AI tool to inflate usage metrics
Amazon employees are reportedly using an internal AI tool to automate non-essential tasks in a bid to show higher adoption of the technology. The company recently began rolling out an in-house product called MeshClaw, which allows staff to create AI ...
Shein and Temu face off at High Court over ‘industrial-scale’ copyright claims
Temu has accused Shein of using litigation to stifle competition, as the fast fashion rivals’ latest legal clash opened at London’s High Court. Shein has alleged that Temu used thousands of its product photos to advertise copies of Shein own-brand cl...
GUEST COMMENT A new era for the shopping experience – towards greater simplicity
In the era of mature retail media, isn’t it time to stop making personalisation look like marketing and start to make it look like a service? Romain Charles explains how this works in practice Research shows that 73% of shoppers abandon a brand after...
Nscale’s rapid growth continues with £580m boost
London-based AI data centre group Nscale’s meteoric rise continues with a new $790m (£580m) investment. Nscale has raised the additional financing to support the development of an AI data centre in Narvik, Norway. The injection comes just two months ...
Primark pushes US expansion with new Manhattan flagship
Primark has opened a 54,000 sq ft flagship store in Manhattan’s Herald Square, marking another step in its steady international expansion and its commitment to physical retail. The new store sits in one of New York’s busiest shopping areas, a prime l...
Kaizan raises £2.5m to boost its AI client management platform
Kaizan has raised £2.5m to develop its AI platform that helps client-centric firms detect client risk, automate service delivery and grow revenue. Kaizan strives to turn fragmented client signals into insights and automations that help companies grow...
M&S invests £67.5m in automated distribution hub to fuel online fashion growth
Marks & Spencer has invested £67.5m in a highly automated logistics hub in a move designed to underpin long-term digital growth. The retailer has agreed a conditional deal to acquire a 437,000 sq ft distribution centre in Lichfield, Staffordshire – a...
Crocs’ Adrian Holloway on why physical retail is vital to its strategy
March marked a significant moment for Crocs in the UK. For the first time in its history, the brand opened a full-price UK store, taking 1,500 sq ft at Westfield Stratford City in east London. More than simply another store opening, the launch is a d...
Esk secures £2.6m to accelerate its live entertainment business
Edinburgh-based global entertainment tech company Esk has raised £2.6m in a round led by Maven Capital Partners. Esk produces live experiences for blue-chip brands such as Netflix, Paramount and BAFTA. The business specialises in licensing IP from ri...
Oxfam retail director on its new vintage shop concept
Vintage and second-hand clothing is certainly having a moment right now, with a wave of high street retailers launching pre-loved clothing elements to their offerings. In February, fashion brand Zalando revealed it was expanding its pre-owned categor...
Toolstation aims to be ‘first place’ tradespeople think of in new campaign
Toolstation has launched a new campaign, which aims shift consumer perception of the brand from being a “reactive choice”, to the “first place” tradespeople think of. Devised by creative agency TBWA\MCR, the campaign is the next iteration of its ‘Ne...
6 ways retailers are augmenting the in-store experience with AI
When you think of AI use in retail, chatbots and conversational commerce are likely some of the first things that spring to mind. But retailers are not restricted to using AI solely in their ecommerce operations. In fact, the technology is being used...
Primark launches Manhattan flagship in US
Primark has opened a flagship store in Manhattan, US, marking its 11th shop in New York State. The store, which is based at Herald Square in Manhattan’s Penn District, is “perfectly positioned to capture high commuter and tourist footfall,” according...
Kohort raises £5.1m to develop user acquisition agents for mobile gaming
Mobile gaming analytics, forecasting and user acquisition (UA) startup Kohort has closed a $7m (£5.1m) Series A round to build UA agents for mobile game studios using AI. Kohort’s machine learning-based predictive analytics platform is built for the ...
Paul Smith names Zia Zareem-Slade as managing director
Paul Smith has appointed Zia Zareem-Slade as managing director as it aims to push ahead with its digital and commercial transformation. Zareem-Slade joins the business from fine jewellery brand Annoushka, where she served as chief executive and led i...
New Arāya Sie Fund closes at £7.5m to back female-led startups
Arãya Ventures and Sie Ventures have partnered to launch the Arãya Sie Fund, announcing a £7.5m first close to back female founders building in AI, deeptech, fintech, healthcare and sustainability. The new fund will invest in up to 40 pre-seed and se...
Topshop partners with British Vogue to takeover Notting Hill restaurant
Topshop is celebrating the launch of its summer collection by partnering with British Vogue. The retailer is launching a one day fashion takeover of Wild in Notting Hill, turning it into ” a curated space where fashion, florals and editorial perspect...
Shoe Zone losses widen amid ‘very challenging’ trading
Shoe Zone has reported widening losses for the first half of the year after weak consumer confidence and global economic uncertainty weighed on trading. The footwear retailer posted pre-tax losses of £5.3m for the six months to 28 March 2026, compare...
Holland & Barrett appoints new logistics and automation director
Holland & Barrett has appointed former StrongPoint executive Conor Crosland as its new group director of logistics and automation. Crosland joins the health and wellness retailer after almost two years at grocery technology firm StrongPoint, where he...
Harvey Nichols unveils new wellness destination at Knightsbridge flagship
Harvey Nichols has launched a new wellness destination on the fourth floor of its Knightsbridge flagship, which it says will bring together fitness, beauty, nutrition and fashion. The renovated floor forms part of the luxury department store’s push t...
UK tech funding roundup: This week’s deals from Quantum Motion to Lunar
This week’s UK tech funding deals include quantum computing group Quantum Motion, cultured meat company Meatly and more. UKTN tracked £234m worth of UK tech investment this week (4 May to 8 May), an 86% week-on-week decrease across eight funding roun...
Retailers call for government action as April footfall hit by Middle East conflict
The British Retail Consortium (BRC)’s data for April shows the Middle East conflict has taken a toll on shopping in the UK, with April footfall down 3.9% year on year, according to BRC-Sensormatic data. Visits to the high street fell 3.3%, shopping c...
Agentic building tool CodeWords raises £6.6m
CodeWords, a London-based startup aiming to provide firms with fully autonomous AI agents, has secured a $9m (£6.6m) seed investment. Founded in 2023, CodeWords is aiming to take agentic AI use among businesses to a deeper level. Instead of deploying...
Perry AI founder: Sell before you build
Shashwat Patel is the founder and chief executive of Perry AI, an AI-based legal tech platform that automates tasks including document reviews and compliance checks. In this week’s Founder in Five Q&A , Patel discusses the importance of understanding...
John Lewis launches MyJL Beauty for loyalty members
John Lewis has launched MyJL Beauty, a new beauty-focused addition to its My John Lewis membership programme. The department store said the scheme will give members access to dedicated beauty offers, samples, exclusive products, events and expert con...
Five Guys names Spin as its social media agency
Five Guys has retained creative agency Spin as its social media agency. The pair have worked together since 2025 and the partnership has grown in scope since then to span social strategy, content creation and paid social. The agency’s partnership wit...
Seraphim Space pulls in £137m from C-share sale
Seraphim Space Investment Trust has raised £137m from its recent issuance of C-shares announced late last month. The group, which primarily invests across the space technology sector, announced on 27 April that it was looking to raise up to £350m thr...
Bath & Body Works to debut in East Midlands at Victoria Centre
Bath & Body Works is debuting in the East Midlands at Victoria Centre Nottingham. The cosmetics retailer is set to launch in a 1,700 sq ft unit on the shopping centre’s lower mall, bringing its offering to Nottingham for the first time. Rebecca Milne...
City of London calls for tech-led fraud fight
The City of London Corporation is calling on tech firms to build stronger digital verification services as fraud continues to wreak havoc on the financial sector. The organisation has launched a digital verification initiative that through it has urg...
Wax London launches first Harrods pop-up
Wax London has this week announced the opening of its first pop-up at Harrods. The new space, located inside the Knightsbridge department store, marks a milestone for the British label, which has built its reputation around contemporary menswear, tex...
Sainsbury’s worker sacked after allegedly tackling abusive champagne thief
A long-serving Sainsbury’s worker has allegedly been sacked after tackling an aggressive Champagne thief just hours after helping perform CPR on a security guard who collapsed in-store. Gary MacArthur, who had worked for 15 years as a shop assistant ...
Magnum hits back at investor claims over Ben & Jerry’s governance row
The Magnum Ice Cream Company has rejected claims from a coalition of investors that its handling of Ben & Jerry’s could put the brand’s long-term value at risk. A group of US and European investors has written to Magnum chair Jean-François van Boxmee...
Pret hires former Lidl buying boss to lead supply chain
Pret A Manger has appointed former Lidl GB buying chief Stefan Porter to the newly created role of Chief Supply Chain Officer as the food-to-go chain accelerates its global growth plans. Porter joins Pret from Azzurri Group , owner of brands includin...
Retailers warn Middle East conflict will push prices higher, with Next leading the charge
Retailers are increasingly warning that rising costs driven by the conflict in the Middle East will ultimately be passed on to consumers, as higher energy prices and disrupted shipping routes begin to feed through supply chains. Next has been among t...
H&M showcases Rio de Janeiro in new portrait series
Swedish fashion retailer H&M has collaborated with Brazilian photographer Rafael Pavarotti to unveil H&M&RIO, which showcases Rio de Janeiro’s “unique, colour and humanity”. H&M&RIO features a series of portraits featuring Brazilian celebrities such ...
Harvey Nichols promotes Shaun Donnelly to buying director
Harvey Nichols has promoted Shaun Donnelly to buying director for non-apparel and menswear. Donnelly confirmed the appointment on LinkedIn, where he said he was “happy to share” that he was starting the new role. He added that he was looking forward ...
Modella Capital charges TG Jones millions in licence fees amid restructuring push
Modella Capital is allegedly charging TG Jones, the business behind the former WHSmith high street stores, millions of pounds in licence fees for the use of its new brand name, according to documents seen by The Guardian. The investment firm, which a...
Red Hat targets quantum readiness and AI automation with new update
Open source solutions provider Red Hat is set to launch Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10.2 and 9.8 to address modern security threats, speed AI innovation and minimise operational drift. Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10.2 and 9.8 provide an operating system (O...
UK firm to build ‘Europe’s largest cultivated meat facility’
Meatly, a London-based firm that became the first company in Europe approved to sell lab-grown meat in 2024, is now planning to open the continent’s “largest cultivated meat facility” after securing new funding. The company, which predominantly provi...
Quantum Motion raises £117.5m to accelerate its silicon-based computing
UK-headquartered Quantum Motion has closed a $160m (£117.5m) Series C round to commercialise its scalable and energy-efficient approach to quantum computing. Quantum Motion builds utility-scale quantum computers using industry-standard silicon transi...
Dalton Park Outlet bolsters premium fashion line-up with Belstaff opening
Dalton Park Outlet is set to open a new Belstaff store in June. The British clothing company’s opening will cement the North East’s largest outlet shopping destination’s position as a premier shopping destination, according to the business. The store...
ZigZag partners with Trade Duty Refund to help UK retailers reclaim EU returns costs
ZigZag has partnered with Trade Duty Refund (TDR) to launch a new EU duty drawback service aimed at helping UK retailers recover import costs on returned goods, as cross-border trade becomes more complex and expensive. The integrated service combines...
JD Sports reports growth but weak outlook tempers investor confidence
JD Sports Fashion has reported organic growth of 2.1% for the year ending 31 January 2026, with revenue increasing 10.5% year on year to £12.6 billion. North America is now JD’s largest region, accounting for nearly 40% of sales, with strong online g...
The speed of cyber risk has changed. Organisations haven’t caught up
Artificial intelligence is often positioned as the biggest opportunity for business, that is true, but it is also changing the nature of cyber risk far faster than most organisations are prepared for. The conversation needs to catch up. This is no lo...
Asterix Health raises £2.1m to boost NHS primary care hiring
Asterix Health has raised £2.1m in pre-seed funding to build out its workforce solution that hires UK-registered GPs to support primary care remotely through a proprietary technology platform. Julian Titz and Max Thilo founded the company in 2024 aft...
Ethos raises £16.7m to replace CVs with its AI agent
Ethos, the AI platform that matches skilled professionals to income opportunities, has secured a $22.75M (£16.7m) Series A funding round. While AI has made it easier to generate CVs and job applications, it has also made it harder to identify experti...
JD Sports warns Middle East conflict could hit profits and drive up prices
JD Sports has warned that geopolitical uncertainty in the Middle East could weigh on profits, push up costs and weaken consumer demand, as the retail giant reported a fall in annual earnings. The sportswear retailer said it had seen no material impac...
Amazon launches UK’s first retail drone delivery service in Darlington
Amazon has become the first retailer to launch a drone delivery service in the UK, kicking off a limited trial in Darlington, County Durham. The ecommerce giant is now using drones to deliver selected everyday items, including beauty products, batter...
Inside Ray-Ban’s first experiential concept store in New York
Ray-Ban has opened its first-ever experiential concept space in Soho, New York, marking a new retail direction for the eyewear giant. Ray-Ban House has been designed to operate as both a shopping destination and a neighbourhood hangout, bringing toge...
Joybuy vows to “shake up” UK ecommerce as JD.com targets Amazon
Joybuy UK boss Matthew Nobbs has vowed to “shake up the UK ecommerce market” as Chinese retail giant JD.com ramps up its assault on Britain’s online shopping sector. The ecommerce platform, owned by JD.com, has launched a major UK push as part of a w...
Kingfisher boss Thierry Garnier to become Ahold Delhaize CEO
Kingfisher chief executive Thierry Garnier is stepping down to take the top job at grocery giant Ahold Delhaize, replacing long-serving boss Frans Muller next year. Ahold Delhaize said its supervisory board has nominated Garnier to join its managemen...
Ahlers loses legal challenge over €3.5m Pierre Cardin antitrust fine
German clothing maker Ahlers has lost its legal challenge against a €3.5m EU antitrust fine linked to the sale of Pierre Cardin-branded clothing across Europe. The European Union’s General Court on Wednesday backed the European Commission’s calculati...
Investors pile pressure on Magnum over Ben & Jerry’s governance row
A coalition of US and European investors has written to The Magnum Ice Cream Company demanding answers over its handling of Ben & Jerry’s, warning that the brand’s value could be at risk if its social mission and independent governance structure are ...
Ted Baker opens new womenswear boutique at Selfridges Trafford
Ted Baker has opened a new womenswear boutique at Selfridges Manchester Trafford, marking a fresh commitment to UK physical retail following the closure of its standalone store estate. The Authentic Brands Group-owned fashion brand said the shop-in-s...
White Stuff launches first-ever loyalty programme
White Stuff has launched its first customer loyalty programme, Good Stuff, offering members personalised rewards, styling advice, VIP events and regular in-store perks. The British lifestyle retailer said the new scheme has been designed to build on ...
Fintech funding tumbles in new quarterly figures
UK fintech funding dropped significantly in the first quarter of the year, according to the latest quarterly report from data intelligence platform Tracxn. According to the report, UK fintechs raised $741m (£544.2m) in the first three months of the y...
UK government funds battery recycling consortium
A consortium of UK organisations as secured government funding for a project to develop lithium-ion battery recycling technology. Currently, the UK is heavily reliant on foreign imports for battery production and recycling, leaving the country’s supp...
The great continental divide of retail media
Colin Lewis explores the distinctions between the US, UK and European retail media markets – and explains why difference isn’t a bad thing. Everywhere I travel, people say the same thing: the ‘US is so much further ahead, and there is so much to lear...
Amelia Dimoldenberg to assist Gillian Anderson in new general manager role at M&S
Marks & Spencer’s Chief compliments officer Gillian Anderson hires Amelia Dimoldenberg as general manager of Casa Del Compliments, M&S’s summer campaign world. While Anderson is off on her summer holidays, Dimoldenberg will host the retailer’s first-...
British Business Bank commits £1m to tackling gender funding gap
The British Business Bank has committed an initial £1m to co-invest with Angel Academe, a founding signatory of the Investing in Women Code. Investing in Women Code is a commitment to support the advancement of female entrepreneurship in the UK by im...
Cytospire Therapeutics secures £61m to advance cancer treatment
UK biotech Cytospire Therapeutics has closed a £61m Series A round to advance its development of antibodies used in cancer treatment. Cytospire is developing a portfolio of differentiated multispecific engager antibodies to enhance and direct the act...
UK government pledges £46.5m to drone sector
The UK government has committed £46.5m to the drone and advanced air mobility sector, helping drone deliveries, flying taxis and smarter emergency services become a reality in the UK’s skies. Part of the investment will also see a crackdown on “facel...
Shein faces Irish data probe over EU customer transfers to China
Shein is facing an investigation by the Irish Data Protection Commission over how it transfers customer data to China. The regulator said the inquiry will examine whether Shein Ireland has complied with its obligations under GDPR when transferring pe...
Hamleys ramps up travel retail push with Liverpool Street and Heathrow openings
Hamleys is set to boost its presence across UK transport hubs with two new openings in London. The toy retailer will open a 500sq ft pop-up store at Liverpool Street Station in early May, adding to its existing travel locations at London Bridge and S...
Next warns Iran war disruption could add £47m to costs
Next has increased its estimated cost hit from the Middle East conflict to £47m, up from the £15m guidance it gave in March. It said that it expects disruption to continue for the rest of its financial year. Next said that the war was pushing up tran...
Zalando hails AI boost as ABOUT YOU deal powers strong first quarter
Zalando has reported a strong first quarter, with group revenue rising 23.8 per cent on a reported basis to €3bn as its acquisition of ABOUT YOU and growing use of AI helped boost performance. The fashion and lifestyle platform said group gross merch...
B&Q powers up EV push with ultra-rapid charging hubs for trades
B&Q is rolling out high-power EV charging hubs designed to support tradespeople and commercial drivers as part of a new partnership with RAW Charging. It said that the tie-up would bring DC rapid and ultra-rapid charging bays to up to 26 B&Q stores a...
Amazon Now expands rapid delivery service to eighth London site
Amazon has expanded its Amazon Now rapid delivery service to an eighth site in London, building on recent launches in Lewisham and Battersea. The rollout follows the January debut of QLD1, Amazon Now’s first on-demand delivery site in the UK. The ser...
Kingfisher CEO Thierry Garnier to step down after nearly seven years
Kingfisher has announced that chief executive Thierry Garnier is set to step down after nearly seven years leading the home improvement group. Garnier has resigned to take up a senior leadership role at another company outside of Kingfisher’s markets...
Holland & Barrett expands weight management offer with online pharmacy tie-up
Holland & Barrett has partnered with Scottish online pharmacist Phlo to broaden its weight management offer for customers. The partnership will see Phlo’s services featured across Holland & Barrett’s store estate and online, with the pharmacy providi...
Big grocers demand crackdown on Aldi and Lidl store expansion loophole
Some of Britain’s biggest supermarkets have called on the Competition and Markets Authority to change property rules that they claim give Aldi and Lidl an unfair advantage in local grocery markets. Sainsbury’s, Morrisons and Iceland have urged the re...
Luna Pet Healthcare secures £700k to improve pet dental care
Luna Pet Healthcare, which operates as Luna the Dental Vets, has secured a £700k funding round to accelerate its mission to improve pet dental health. With sites in Bristol and Reading, Luna provides affordable veterinary dental care for dogs and cat...
UK Semiconductor Centre names its first CEO
The UK Semiconductor Centre (UKSC) has appointed Andy McLean as its first chief executive officer (CEO) to help establish the UK as a global leader in semiconductors by accelerating scale-up, investment and commercial growth across the sector. Origin...
In conversation with: BGF’s Dennis Atkinson
The UK boasts one of the best-funded tech industries in the world, but despite its many laudable achievements, concerns are regularly thrown around regarding the ambition and competitiveness of its domestic funding ecosystem. It was this precise conc...
Young people reluctant to try new products as finances tighten – but there is a solution
New research has verified what many retailers already suspect or know to be true – customers are becoming more cautious with their spending as prices increase and household finances tighten. A study of over 2,000 UK consumers conducted by Sampl found...
I wanted to talk about investing not diversity – Anu Adebajo
This week’s podcast guest is Anu Adebajo, chief executive of Newton Venture Program, who discusses how we train the next generation of investors, the real solutions to a lack of diversity in the industry and how much of VC success is down to pure luc...
Lidl Plus Points ramps up UK grocery loyalty push – but shoppers divided on new scheme
Lidl is accelerating its push for market share in the UK grocery market with the launch of its new rewards system, Lidl Plus Points. Shoppers earn points on every transaction, which can then be redeemed via the Lidl Plus app for money-off vouchers or...
How Californian grocer Stater Bros. shines a light on the future of in-store retail media globally
Stater Bros. Markets , the largest privately owned grocery retailer in Southern California, has become the latest retailer to work with In-Store Marketplace (ISM), which claims to be “the retail industry’s first centralised platform for digital in-st...
Weetabix extends logistics partnership to boost warehouse efficiency
Weetabix has extended its warehouse management partnership with XPO Logistics , as the breakfast brand looks to boost efficiency across its UK supply chain. The cereal brand’s new agreement covers two automated warehouse sites in Burton Latimer and C...
Generative Engine Marketing: retail media’s next move
The race to master retail media has defined the past decade of digital commerce. Now, a new contender is emerging that could redraw the boundaries of how brands are discovered, considered and ultimately purchased: Generative Engine Marketing (GEM). A...
This sponsor rule is about to catch founders off-guard
If you are a UK tech founder sponsoring overseas engineers, there is a rule change that kicked in on 8 April 2026 that you probably have not heard about. You should. From that date, the Home Office stopped assessing sponsored worker salaries annually...
Cambridge spinout Barocal secures £7.4m seed fund
Deep climate tech startup Barocal has raised a $10m (£7.4m) seed round to accelerate development and scale its engineering team ahead of commercial deployment. The University of Cambridge spinout is developing next-generation solid-state cooling and ...
Halfords appoints Iain Hayes as operations director for fleet services arm
Halfords has appointed Iain Hayes as operations director within its Commercial Fleet Services business. Hayes joined the business on 27 April and brings more than 20 years’ experience in the mobile service industry. He has previously held senior role...
McDonald’s names Tim Kenward as new chief marketing officer
McDonald’s UK and Ireland has named Tim Kenward as its chief marketing officer, effective from May 2026. Kenward will be responsible for overseeing all aspects of the UK and Ireland’s marketing division. He has over 15 years experience in end-to-end ...
Tesco warns equal pay claim could cause ‘serious damage’ in tribunal battle
Tesco has argued that equalising pay between store workers and warehouse staff would ignore “economic reality” and risk causing “serious damage” to the business, as it continues to fight a long-running equal pay claim. According to the Financial Time...
Co-op warns UK food supply chains under pressure as meat imports hit £5bn
Co-op has warned that Britain’s food supply chains are becoming increasingly exposed to global disruption after new HMRC data showed UK meat imports rose to £5bn last year. It said that meat imports climbed 15 per cent year on year in 2025, highlight...
LVMH weighs sale of Marc Jacobs and Fenty Beauty stake as luxury slowdown bites
LVMH is reportedly exploring the sale of several fashion, beauty and drinks brands as the luxury giant looks to sharpen its focus amid weaker demand across the sector. According to the Financial Times , the French conglomerate has considered putting ...
Scottish biotech raises £19m to fund IBS drug trial
Glasgow-based life sciences scaleup EnteroBiotix has secured £19m to support its clinical trials of microbiome drugs used to treat irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). IBS affects up to one in ten people, with up to twice as many women diagnosed compared ...
Shoppers wrongly accused of theft by facial recognition systems
Shoppers have reported being wrongly identified as thieves and removed from stores after being flagged by facial recognition systems, according to an investigation by The Guardian . The newspaper said it had spoken to multiple people who claimed they...
TG Jones owner Modella Capital plots up to 100 store closures
TG Jones owner Modella Capital is reportedly preparing a major restructuring of the former WHSmith high street business, which could lead to the closure of up to 100 stores. The private equity firm, which acquired WHSmith’s high street bookshop and n...
GameStop tables £41bn takeover offer for eBay
GameStop has made an unsolicited $55.5bn (£41bn) takeover offer for eBay, in a bold move that could turn hostile if the online marketplace rejects the proposal. The US video games retailer, which became one of the most high-profile stocks during the ...
JYSK targets city-centre push with 100 new European stores
JYSK is accelerating its expansion across Europe with plans to open up to 100 new stores in major cities over the next three years. The Danish furniture and homewares retailer is shifting more of its focus towards central urban locations, including E...
Boux Avenue launches fundraising initiative for The Eve Appeal
Boux Avenue is raising funding and awareness for research into gynaecological cancers by donating 10 per cent of its sales of select products to The Eve Appeal. The products included in the scheme are the retailer’s bow embroidered seamless bralette ...
UK tech funding roundup: This week’s deals from Enviromena to HDS
This week’s UK tech funding deals include renewable energy group Enviromena, roadside quality assurance provider HDS and more. UKTN tracked £1.73bn worth of UK tech investment this week (27 April to 1 May), a 1,574% week-on-week increase across 11 fu...
How entry-level jobs can work in the age of AI
Now that AI has firmly found itself embedded into the workplace, fears over how the automation of so many tasks could hurt jobs is not going anywhere. This is not a concern for the future, it is happening right now. While the exact figures vary, rese...
The Payments Association CEO to step down
The Payments Association, a trade body representing the payments sector, has announced chief executive Ben Agnew will step down. Agnew took the reins of the trade body back in 2020 and in his tenure saw membership and revenue grow considerably. The s...
West Ham and Nivelcrack on how their collaboration ‘encapsulated’ West Ham’s DNA
London-based football club West Ham and South Korean streetwear brand Nivelcrack recently teamed up launch a limited-edition collection. Shinjae Lee, founder of Nivelcrack and David Chaplin director of marketing strategy at West Ham break down the co...
Claire’s invites Gen Alpha to become Claire’s Girls in new campaign
Claire’s has launched a new summer campaign which “reimagines” the Claire’s experience for Gen Alpha. Titled ‘A Girl SMR at Claire’s’, the marketing drive plays into Gen Alpha’s obsession with all things sensory, from ASMR to tactile fidgets. It is b...
Embedd founder: Be intentional about testing
Michael Lazarenko is the co-founder of Embedd a platform that uses AI to convert semiconductor datasheets and documentation into structured, machine-readable models. In this week’s Founder in Five Q&A , Lazarenko discusses why running effective tests...
Virgin Media O2 launches new experiential store at Liverpool One
Virgin Media O2 has opened a new store in Liverpool One designed to bring together the best in mobile, broadband and connected technology. The store, which is located on the upper level of the shopping centre and spans over 1,900 sq ft, has been desi...
Antler launches UK flagship on Regent Street
British travel brand Antler has opened its new UK flagship store at 100 Regent Street, London. The store, which has been designed in collaboration with retail design agency Checkland Kindleysides, “translates Antler’s 110-year travel legacy into a hi...
UK leads Europe in clean tech funding, report finds
The UK clean tech sector has reclaimed its spot as the best funded in Europe, according to the findings of a new report. Research conducted by the group Cleantech for UK has found that funding for the sector reached £7.2bn in 2025, up significantly f...
Space intelligence group extends funding round to £9m
Spaceflux, a London-based company providing governments and commercial operators with “space domain awareness” services has raised £3.5m in an extension to its seed round. Founded in 2022, Spaceflux operates a network of optical sensors across five c...
OPINION: Why “One‑Click Returns” are an operational wake‑up call
Less than two months until “One-Click Returns”: for online retailers, this is not a UX update – it is an operational stress test, says Paweł Zakielarz, founder and CEO, Shopreturns. By 19 June 2026, online retailers across the European Union will be ...
Specsavers evolves ‘Should’ve gone to Specsavers’ for first time in 22 years
Specsavers has unveiled a new global brand platform that evolves its famous “Should’ve gone to Specsavers” line for the first time in 22 years. The opticians and hearing care retailer said the new campaign is designed to broaden what customers associ...
High street suffers worst April sales performance in a decade
UK high street retailers suffered their weakest April sales performance in a decade, as shoppers continued to rein in discretionary spending. Total like-for-like sales across discretionary categories fell 1.6 per cent in April compared with the same ...
B&M embroiled in council row over ‘garish’ signage
Shoppers have reportedly criticised B&M’s replacement signage at its Bedford town centre store, after the retailer was ordered to remove signs previously described as “garish” by a planning inspector. Bedford Borough Council issued an enforcement not...
Unilever warns of price rises as Iran war drives up costs
Unilever has warned it will raise prices this year as higher-than-expected costs linked to the Iran war put pressure on the consumer goods giant. The London-listed maker of Dove, Axe and Dermalogica said it expected full-year cost inflation of around...
Shock comeback as Claire’s set for UK high street return with 50 stores
Claire’s is expected to return to UK high streets from June, just days after the jewellery and accessories chain closed its final British stores. French entrepreneur Julien Jarjoura, who operates Claire’s stores across France, Austria, Portugal and S...
Trump to remove US tariffs on Scotch whisky after King Charles White House visit
Donald Trump has said the US will scrap tariffs and restrictions on whisky imports, in a move hailed as a “significant boost” for the Scotch whisky industry. The president said the decision was made “in honour” of King Charles and Queen Camilla, foll...