Business News Round Up (23/10/2026)
British Business Bank launches programme to diversify angel investor base
The British Business Bank has launched a programme to broaden participation in angel investing and increase capital flowing to underrepresented business founders. The Diverse Angel Syndicate programme will support 10 diversity-focused angel syndicates with up to £400,000 each over four years, providing both financial support and operational development. The initiative targets syndicates operating outside London, focusing primarily on tackling underrepresentation among women and people from ethnic minority backgrounds in angel investing. Women currently make up around 14% of UK angel investors, according to the Investing in Women Code Annual Report 2025, while the UK Business Angels Association estimates that around 11% are from ethnic minority backgrounds. The programme builds on a pilot established in 2023 which supported five female-led syndicates including Mint Ventures, Awaken Angels, Women Angels of Wales, Lifted Ventures and Investing Women Angels.
Small firms spared Companies House filing demand
Small firms will no longer be required to file more detailed accounts to Companies House after the UK government agreed to suspend the plan. The planned change would have required two million micro businesses and incorporated sole traders to prepare and provide more information to Companies House, including a complete profit and loss (P&L) statement and balance sheet. It had been due to take effect next April as part of the 2023 Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act. The government said giving Companies House access to P&L accounts for all companies would help crack down on fraud, tax evasion and other economic crimes. About 60% of the UK’s £47 billion tax gap is attributed to underpayment by small and medium-sized businesses. However, it has recognised business concerns about commercial confidentiality, as well as the administrative burden of the requirement.
800 Scottish public sector workers paid £27m a year for jobs that no longer exist
Around 800 Scottish public sector workers whose original jobs have been abolished remain on the payroll at an estimated cost of at least £27 million a year. The employees work across the NHS, councils, the Scottish Government and public bodies and have been placed in redeployment arrangements while they wait for permanent alternative roles. Figures obtained through Freedom of Information requests by The Sunday Times found 255 workers had been without a fixed post for more than a year. At least 49 had remained on full salaries for five years or longer after the jobs they were originally employed to do ceased to exist. An NHS Highland employee has been without a defined permanent role for 17 years. NHS Highland has 88 employees in redeployment, according to the investigation, including 26 who have been without permanent posts for at least five years.
University allocated £16m Good Growth Fund investment for manufacturing and creative innovation facility
Manchester Metropolitan University has been allocated £16 million from the Greater Manchester Good Growth Fund to establish FUSE-M, a groundbreaking innovation facility bringing together immersive technologies, AI and advanced manufacturing to help businesses develop, test and commercialise new ideas. The allocation forms a key part of the latest round of investment from the Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA), which has earmarked funding for a range of projects through the innovation strand of its Good Growth Fund. FUSE-M (Future User-centred Simulation, Enterprise and Manufacturing) will be a 1,600 sq m business-facing innovation facility located in Hulme, where organisations can explore, test and adopt emerging technologies.