Joseph Twigg

At Innovate UK ICURe, the numbers speak for themselves: 349 spin-outs launched, £777 million raised, over 1,800 jobs created, and 27% of entrepreneurial leads are women. ICURe continues to transform UK research into tangible innovation, driving economic growth and delivering real-world impact!

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Annual UK RMBS issuance is expected to hit £10bn in 2025 as banks and building societies continue to eye the market to replace funding from the Bank of England’s Term Funding Scheme, with Newcastle Building Society’s inaugural deal last week taking the number of active issuers in the market to 13. Read more: https://okt.to/MmEPBA #twentyfourblog

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In a move that could reframe how digital assets are accessed within regulated markets, the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority has launched a consultation to lift its ban on crypto exchange-traded notes (ETNs) for retail investors. The proposal signals a shift: from exclusion to controlled inclusion. Read it here: https://lnkd.in/gCtKdckY Retail investors would be permitted to access crypto ETNs listed on recognised exchanges, subject to strengthened risk disclosures and product governance rules. For Australia, this development is worth watching closely. As Treasury refines token mapping and licensing regimes (and as ASIC continues to set the parameters for market integrity and investor protection) access frameworks must also be considered. This includes how retail and institutional investors engage with digital asset products safely and transparently. At CloudTech Group, we believe building the next generation of financial infrastructure means aligning innovation with integrity. Developments like this give us clear signals on how to support both access and trust for both institutions and everyday users. Australia has a real opportunity to lead here - not by moving first, but by moving wisely. Who do you see making progress?

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ETS Connect UK wins out following Financial Conduct Authority bond consolidated tape authorisation The authorisation marks the culmination of the consolidated tape's regulatory process; Etrading Software was granted a £4.8 million contract by the FCA to deliver the tape back in September 2025. #trading #markets #data #consolidatedtape #fixedincome #authorisation https://lnkd.in/emugQpr2

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There is something special about the energy of UK Tech Week. I joined a heavy-hitting group of founders and leaders on Tuesday in Shoreditch for a roundtable briefing hosted by the Startup Coalition as part of UK Tech Week. We had an incredibly candid conversation about the reality of building and scaling in the UK today and bringing together founders and policymakers is essential if we want to turn challenges into actionable growth. We had a brilliant session chaired by Alex Depledge (Entrepreneurship Advisor to the Chancellor) diving deep into what the UK startup ecosystem needs to scale. We touched on some critical pillars: - Improving access to early-stage capital. - Navigating regulatory barriers to keep the UK competitive. It’s clear that when we get founders from sectors like HealthTech, Fintech, and ClimateTech in one room with Alex and the likes of the British Business Bank's Charlotte Lawrence, the potential for real policy impact is huge. Looking forward to seeing these insights help shape a more resilient ecosystem!

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SIX Group has named Aquis Technologies as the technology provider for its trading platforms, following its £224.6 million acquisition of Aquis in July. The Aquis Equinox matching engine will power all SIX exchanges to boost liquidity, with a new equities platform set for 2027, as the group expands its technology business across 16 European markets.

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🎉 Really pleased to see our shareholders vote almost unanimously to approve ✅ Cordiant Digital Infrastructure Limited’s migration to the FCA’s Official List for trading on the 🏛️London Stock Exchange’s Main Market. Admission is expected on 30 April, following which we should be eligible for potential FTSE 250 inclusion, with index changes expected to be announced on 3 June and effective from 22 June. We look forward to welcoming index trackers and a potentially expanded retail shareholder 👥 base to the register.

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“2026 is set to be a pivotal year for payments and fintech regulation in both the UK and the EU as policymakers move from strategy-setting to the delivery and refinement of major regulatory reforms.”

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India is rapidly emerging as a major global player in the ethanol sector. Its growth has been remarkable, driven by consistent public policies, a strong agricultural base, and a clear strategy to reduce energy dependence. The expansion of its ethanol blending program reflects not only scale, but also long-term vision.

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I'm delighted to share our latest Newsletter.   As always, our team has done an excellent job in identifying the UK and US regulatory developments that really matter for firms and distilling what they mean in practice. Thank you to our newsletter team as always for producing this month’s edition! Read the newsletter: https://lnkd.in/eEckS3PP If you’d like support navigating any of the changes highlighted, our team is always here to help: https://lnkd.in/egshmAbC

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Great to see Seraphim Space Investment Trust covered in MoneyWeek, where it was called 2025's best-performing investment trust. The article reviews recent performance, including the move from a discount to a premium to net asset value, alongside increased investor interest. It also highlights the trust’s role in providing public market access to private space companies in a sector with a limited number of pure-play opportunities, and outlines key portfolio developments. Thanks to Rupert Hargreaves for the piece. Read it here: https://lnkd.in/etrxR7-M (Forward-looking statements are based on assumptions and subject to change. Past performance is not indicative of future results, and actual outcomes may vary due to market and operational conditions.) #SeraphimSpace #DualUse #SpaceTech #SpaceEconomy #VentureCapital #DefenceTech

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🚀 TURN Roundtables: Fund Data, Disclosures & UK CCI Readiness The UK Consumer Composite Indicator (CCI) marks a major shift in how fund information is presented to consumers — and it raises important questions about data accuracy, consistency, and readiness across the distribution chain. TURN is hosting dedicated roundtables for asset managers and distributors to discuss: ➡️ Industry readiness for UK CCI ➡️ Expected data and operational challenges ➡️ How structured fund data and investor disclosures can stay aligned ➡️ How TURN plans to integrate CCI data and documents, with optional AI-powered quality assurance If you’re involved in CCI implementation, fund data governance, or distributor readiness, we’d love you to join the discussion. 👉 Register your interest: https://lnkd.in/eXcXJANB #TURN #UKCCI #ConsumerDuty #FundData #Disclosures #AssetManagement

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Big news 💰 The British Business Bank has committed an additional £25m to invest alongside some of the UK's most promising angel syndicates through a platform we built and manage at Haatch. That takes the total BBB commitment accross Haatch Funds to £52m 🔥 The expanded £32m platform will continue to back brilliant syndicates like HERMESA, CircleRock Capital, The Games Angels, Sie Ventures and 2050 Capital, with more being onboarded. Through the syndicate Fund, we've invested in 13 companies since May. From Cornwall to Cambridge. Healthcare to deep tech. Founders ranging from a practising midwife to Forbes 30 Under 30 alumni. For the UK startup ecosystem to thrive, collaboration among investors is vital, and funding must reach the best and most innovative businesses, wherever they are in the country. Proud of team Haatch 🙏

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Our CEO Josh Levy is speaking today at the 2nd Annual UK Invoice Finance & ABL Summit.   This year’s summit tackles the SME funding gap head-on - exploring how invoice finance and asset-based lending can deliver more value, scale and resilience for UK businesses.   Josh will be joining the practitioner panel: Responding to the outlook - product & distribution, to discuss how lenders are adapting in real time. From product design and onboarding to pricing and risk controls with practical, solution-led examples.

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🇬🇧 The UK government says it wants more startup growth. Investors are warning that this week’s tax reforms send the opposite message. The Budget 2025 changes expanded EMI and raised EIS and VCT limits, but the cut to VCT upfront tax relief from 30% to 20% is already worrying founders and VCs. Venture investors argue the package feels like a patchwork rather than a strategy. The worry is that higher hiring costs and less attractive exits could slow down the ecosystem just as it was beginning to stabilise. 👉 Read more: https://lnkd.in/enWtMcVJ Janet Coyle CBE, London & Partners, Sam H., OpenOcean, Henry Philipson Beringea Ekaterina Almasque BlankPage Capital #uktech #vcfunding #startups #taxpolicy #venturecapital #eis #vct #emi #techfundingnews

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I’m delighted to share 𝘾𝙝𝙖𝙢𝙥𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙀𝙣𝙩𝙧𝙚𝙥𝙧𝙚𝙣𝙚𝙪𝙧𝙨 𝙒𝙝𝙤 𝘽𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙠 𝘽𝙖𝙧𝙧𝙞𝙚𝙧𝙨, our new report at E2E with NatWest Group. It shines a light on disabled and neurodivergent founders who are growing impressive businesses while navigating obstacles that should no longer be part of the entrepreneurial journey. The issue is not a lack of ambition or ability; it is the way our systems are designed. The report offers clear, practical recommendations for banks, investors and policymakers, drawn directly from the people living this reality. Our ambition is simple, but it’s big: that in the UK, no business is held back because the world around them was designed with a one size fits all mindset. Thank you to NatWest Group, to Kevin R Smith, MSc and BOOM & Partners, and to every founder who contributed their story – Paul Woods (Proactive Despatch Ltd.), Seema Flower (Blind Ambition) Nikki Butler, Josh Hough (CareLineLive), Liz Jackson MBE (Initium Corporate Finance), Shezad Nawab MBE, Chris Lynch 🎥(Diverse Made Media), Leah Holroyd, Millie Flemington-Clare (Human Beauty), Hardeep Rai (The Kaleidoscope Group) and Gregory Burke (AccessAble).

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"We welcome the updated version of the UK Stewardship Code from the Financial Reporting Council for its flexibility, reduced reporting burden and simpler definition of stewardship. "However, there are some areas where at The Quoted Companies Alliance we wanted to see more, such as asset managers demonstrating that voting decisions link back to the professionals that allocate capital. "In terms of proxy advisers, the impetus for asset managers to hold their service providers to account is a good one but the emphasis on communication with clients underplays how essential the companies are in this process. "Our members find proxy advisers to be inconsistent in their approach and very often unresponsive when challenged. I dearly hope the new Code improves behaviours to alleviate these engrained problems and unclog this bottleneck to growth. "But I suspect we must turn our attention to the Financial Conduct Authority regulation of these firms to see if we can effect a step-change in how they operate." #stewardship #governance #investment #publiccompanies #markets #midcaps #smallcaps #ukeconomy https://lnkd.in/eekjCcUQ

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An excellent piece of analysis from Leo Ringer. What is "British" really? There have always been plenty of so-called British companies listed on the London Stock Exchange that generated more revenues abroad than at home. As Leo identifies, definitions matter and so far it looks like too much disconnected thinking in policy circles. #corpgov

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