New AI assistant helps recruiters quickly find, compare and understand candidates using information they’ve already collected London, UK – 5th August 2026: Sapia.ai has today announced the launch of Tia, a new AI assistant that helps organisations make better hiring decisions by unlocking the value of candidate data they already have. Every year, businesses invest significant time and money attracting, interviewing and assessing candidates. While only one person may be hired for a role, every interview generates valuable insights about skills, behaviours and potential. Too often, that information is forgotten once the recruitment process ends. Tia changes that by allowing recruiters and hiring managers to ask…
Author: businessfast
20 July 2026: Trust, not technology, defined how payment brands were talked about at this year’s FIFA World Cup, according to new analysis from media intelligence provider CARMA. CARMA reviewed 898 articles covering four payment brands, Mastercard, Visa, PayPal and Apple Pay, and found that coverage clusters around fraud risk, ticketing, betting, and cashless spending at World Cup fan venues. Mastercard holds the largest share of coverage, most of it linked to scam-related stories. PayPal and Apple Pay primarily appear in relation to payment infrastructure, linked to digital wallets and betting platforms. Visa has the smallest media footprint of the four,…
15th July 2026 – New analysis from real estate adviser Bidwells has found that just 8p in every £1 of growth capital raised by UK university spinouts came from rounds funded exclusively by UK investors, raising concerns that Britain’s world-leading research base is creating companies whose futures will increasingly be decided overseas. The report, ‘Capital, clusters and the scale-up gap’ uses Beauhurst data on private company funding rounds above £15m between January 2022 and May 2026. Of 112 UK university spinouts that raised £6.3bn across 156 private growth-stage rounds, 82p in every £1 came from rounds involving at least one overseas investor,…
14 July 2026, London, UK: HJ Enthoven, the UK’s leading recycler of lead-acid batteries and producer of refined lead and alloys, has successfully implemented a new bespoke communications solution that has been designed to help protect workers from workplace lead exposure within a lead-processing environment. The solution was developed for HJ Enthoven in collaboration with the automated communications specialists, ANT Telecom, and Safer Hearing, a specialist in hearing protection and communication headsets used in hazardous environments. HJ Enthoven maintains an outstanding Health and Safety record and it complies with all the relevant industry regulations. This includes the Control of Lead at Work Regulations…
United Kingdom, 9 July 2026 – Revolut, the global financial technology company, has today announced the appointment of Kuba Fast as the CEO of Revolut Bank UAB, its Lithuania-based European banking entity, following the approval from the European Central Bank and the Bank of Lithuania. Kuba Fast brings extensive digital and retail banking expertise to the role. He joins Revolut from JPMorgan Chase, where he helped to launch international consumer banking, and served as the CEO of the digital bank Chase UK. Prior to this, he held various senior leadership roles at mBank SA in Poland and served as a…
[Paris & Frankfurt] – 09.07.2026 – EthiFinance and ESG Book, two established leaders by Sustainable Finance in the global sustainability market, today announced a transaction to create one of Europe’s largest, independent credit and sustainability ratings agencies. Coming days after the implementation of ESMA’s new sustainability ratings regulations, the transaction creates the only independent European provider operating at scale across both sustainability ratings, credit ratings, data and analytics in a highly fragmented global market estimated to be worth up to $10 billion. The combined group is well positioned to provide financial institutions, investors and corporate issuers with an expanded set of capabilities,…
AI is a trillion-pound business in 2026. By 2030, Gartner predicts that AI will account for almost all IT spending. McKinsey found that 88% of businesses regularly use AI in at least one business function. AI was, until 2026, perceived as a competitive advantage for businesses to integrate if they could. Now, AI is a business necessity and non-negotiable for survival. AI in business isn’t restricted to corporate giants; even small businesses are integrating AI to streamline their processes and reduce operational costs. AI, when implemented with the right measures, can transform business efficiency and take care of repetitive, time-consuming tasks to free up…
With frequent heatwaves bringing potentially challenging working conditions across the country, compliance expert Vivek Dodd, CEO at Skillcast, says employers should implement a formal weather framework instead of exposing employees to possible health and safety risks. It comes after the Climate Change Committee’s May report called for a statutory maximum working temperature in the UK to protect worker safety and productivity. Although there is currently no statutory upper temperature limit, employees have the legal right to walk out of unsafe working environments including extreme heat under Section 44 of the Employment Rights Act. If they decide to do this, they are protected from being penalised…
Fintech is shorthand for financial technology. It’s a sector that has grown by leaps and bounds in the first quarter of this century. Part of why so many highly intelligent individuals and companies have focused on it is that as this sector has come into its own, it brings with it the capacity for enormous profit. A company that develops a new product or service related to this niche can grow so quickly that the naming rights to a stadium might swiftly be in reach. How is fintech reshaping the financial landscape? Let’s look at some of the most noteworthy…
24 June 2026 —One of the UK’s leading steel contractors, William Hare, has transformed its quality, safety and operations after a 10-year digitisation drive with the Manchester-based platform SafetyCulture. The Bury-headquartered company, which employs over 2,000 people globally, works on major projects, most recently including 2 Finsbury Avenue in London and Hinkley Point Nuclear Power Station. Through a global initiative which began in 2015 solely for audits, William Hare has moved all its quality, safety and operations from paper-based processes to a single connected digital system. The company estimates that since introducing the mobile-first SafetyCulture platform, it has conducted more than 180,000 inspections…
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is rapidly becoming part of the project management landscape. From generating status reports and analysing risks to identifying resource conflicts and summarising meeting notes, AI-powered tools are helping project managers reduce administrative overhead and spend less time on repetitive tasks. For many organisations, this represents a significant opportunity to improve efficiency, reduce project administration costs and enable project professionals to focus on higher-value activities. Yet amid the excitement surrounding AI, there is a danger that organisations lose sight of a fundamental truth: successful project delivery has never been solely about processes, schedules and reports. At its heart,…
Healthcare has traditionally been one of the slowest industries to adapt to digital behaviour. Patients were expected to schedule appointments weeks in advance, travel to clinics, and navigate systems that often felt disconnected from modern consumer expectations. Over the past few years, the telehealth trends model has shifted rapidly as telehealth moved from a niche convenience to a mainstream healthcare channel embraced by patients, providers, insurers, and investors alike. This transformation has created new opportunities for companies built around digital-first healthcare experiences. Among the names attracting growing market attention is Hims & Hers Health, a company that positioned itself at…
The way people search online is changing rapidly, and businesses are feeling the impact. In the past, users typed a query into a search engine, browsed through results, and clicked on a website for answers. Today, many users get the information they need directly from the search results page itself, without ever clicking a link. This trend is known as zero-click search, and it’s reshaping the digital marketing landscape. From featured snippets and knowledge panels to AI-generated summaries and local listings, search engines are prioritizing instant answers. For marketers and businesses, understanding this shift is essential to staying visible and…
Adventure travel often sounds like something reserved for people with unlimited vacation days and big bank accounts. Many travelers assume that thrilling experiences like trekking through mountains, camping under the stars, or exploring hidden destinations require luxury budgets. The truth is, adventure travel doesn’t have to drain your savings and can definitely be done on a budget. With smart planning, flexibility, and a few practical strategies, you can enjoy unforgettable adventures without overspending. Whether you dream of hiking scenic trails, diving into crystal-clear waters, or discovering offbeat places, budget-friendly adventure travel is more achievable than you think. Choose Affordable Adventure…
Eebz, a leading digital shelf analytics provider, today announces the launch of its new suite of next-generation, proprietary, foundation models built for e-commerce data extraction and intelligence. The models are designed to address long-standing challenges plaguing digital shelf analytics, including data inaccuracy, high operational cost, and latency in insights. According to Gartner, poor data quality costs companies, across all industries, an average of $12.9 million every year. Backed by a £10 million investment in AI infrastructure, the rollout of Eebz’s technology marks a significant shift in how brands capture, structure and react to e-commerce intelligence. Rather than relying on fragmented scraping or delayed…
Preventative healthcare provider Cocoon has launched a nationwide at-home blood testing service, bringing qualified clinicians directly into people’s homes across the UK, as millions of Brits seek faster answers around hormones, fatigue, menopause, cardiovascular health and long-term wellbeing, amid growing pressure on NHS diagnostics and rising demand for earlier intervention. With 82% of Brits now naming health as one of the country’s most important issues, demand for earlier answers and more proactive healthcare continues to rise. More than 7.6 million people remain on NHS waiting lists in England, while growing numbers of people are choosing to invest in private diagnostics,…
Rob Elms, Vice President Marketing, Eebz The rules of e-commerce are rapidly changing. Marketplace expansion, intensifying competition and lower barriers to entry have created an environment where brands face pressure to compete, from multiple areas. Pricing, promotions, inventory, consumer expectations all need attention and action – ideally in real time to stay ahead. Most brands have responded by investing in systems to improve their data and provide smarter analytics. However, bad data is still an issue, and while teams now have more intelligence at their fingertips than ever before, the challenge is making sure it’s clean and then, knowing what…
Eight-week trial with Reveal Media body cameras delivers immediate impact, prompting expansion across high-risk stores Ann Summers, the UK’s leading lingerie, underwear and bedroom toys retailer, has recorded a 42% reduction in personal safety incidents during a trial of body-worn cameras across three flagship stores. The Reveal Media camera technology will now be rolled out to further high-risk stores. The eight-week trial occurred at stores in Edinburgh Princess Street, London Oxford Street and Nottingham city centre, and delivered measurable improvements in both staff confidence and in-store behaviour. Notably, the Edinburgh store reported zero police-attended incidents during the trial period, and…
Eterniti, a leading luxury private villa and ski chalet rental and property management group, today announced a new €30 million investment to accelerate its international expansion and further strengthen its operations. The new funding brings total capital raised by the group to €50 million and will support the continued expansion of Eterniti’s portfolio, destinations and guest experience worldwide. The investment comes at a time of rapidly growing global demand for high-end private accommodation paired with professional hospitality services. Eterniti currently manages more than 800 luxury villas and chalets, the majority under exclusive agreements, across 25 sought-after destinations in Europe, the…
Thousands of people in Sunderland are still being locked out of everyday opportunities because they lack access to digital skills, technology and support – and the city is taking bold action to change that. Sunderland Strategy has set out one of the UK’s most ambitious plans to ensure that every resident can thrive in an increasingly digital world by 2035. In Sunderland, digital exclusion is closely linked to wider inequalities – disproportionately affecting people on lower incomes, those with disabilities and those without qualifications. As most everyday services move online, exclusion can limit people’s access to education, employment, banking, healthcare,…
The financial technology ecosystem is now a fast growing thing, with digital banking, with global payments, with cryptocurrency platforms, and cross-border financial services changing the way money moves around the world. However, this expansion brings with it an equally critical challenge: financial crime and money laundering networks are getting more sophisticated, necessitating the implementation of stronger compliance frameworks and better technology. To address these challenges, IDMERIT has introduced AML 3.0, a next-generation platform designed to deliver comprehensive AML solutions for modern fintech companies and The platform also aims to equip organizations with the tools they need today while remaining flexible enough…
Streamex Corp has announced the live launch of GLDY (Gold Linked Digital Yield), a gold-backed digital security designed to provide 1:1 exposure to physical gold while generating yield. The launch comes at a time of heightened geopolitical tension, expanding regional conflict, persistent inflationary pressures, and increasing sovereign debt concerns – conditions that have historically accelerated capital flows into hard assets. As volatility returns to global markets, investor demand for gold exposure has strengthened across private wealth channels and family offices seeking capital preservation. GLDY introduces a differentiated structure in the evolving digital gold landscape. While existing gold-backed tokens primarily replicate…
March 2026 – FuelHub, the premium meal prep company, has announced a renewed 12-month partnership with Matchroom Boxing as the organisation’s Official Nutrition Partner. Following the successful launch of the partnership last year, the new agreement reflects a shared commitment to wellbeing, high standards, and long-term collaboration. This will see FuelHub continue to provide premium, nutritionist-designed meals, fuelling the entire Matchroom team across its UK headquarters in Brentwood, Essex, and its Bristol-based office. It will also support Matchroom Chairman Eddie Hearn, Matchroom Sport Founder and President Barry Hearn OBE, and Matchroom Boxing CEO Frank Smith personally, alongside Kai Peacock, Matchroom’s Head…
London, 3rd March 2026 – Revolut Business, the global financial platform for businesses with hundreds of thousands of customers, has today launched Titan, its first ultra-premium corporate card to all customers across the UK. Titan ends the compromise between executive luxury and corporate discipline. The ultimate financial aid for businesses; it incorporates premium executive-travel perks and robust reconciliation tools for finance teams, in the same place they manage their core finances. Also Read: What is SASE? 5 Key Business Benefits The launch addresses a critical gap in the market. An independent survey commissioned by Revolut Business found that while 82%…
Explosive growth makes for exciting headlines. Venture capitalists celebrate hockey-stick revenue curves, and founders who achieve them become conference circuit celebrities. But Alejandro Betancourt López has learned that explosive growth and lasting success often require different approaches—sometimes contradictory ones. When he took over as president of Hawkers in late 2016, the Spanish eyewear company was riding a wave of digital marketing success. Founded just three years earlier with roughly $300 in initial capital, Hawkers had discovered a formula that seemed almost too good to be true: sell stylish sunglasses at a fraction of designer prices, market aggressively through Facebook ads,…
Norway has implemented a ban on cross-border online sales of nicotine and tobacco products, meaning any orders of these products from an online shop in another country that gets delivered to Norway can be stopped and seized by customs. This ban does not apply to online sales within Norway and has been put in place as part of Norway’s tobacco control policy, with a particular objective to address youth access to nicotine products. In support of the ban, Markus Lindblad, Head of Legal and External Affairs at Northerner, explains why the UK should follow suit. The nicotine product market has evolved…
The UK housing market in 2026 is best described as stable but selective. Gone are the extreme conditions of the pandemic-era boom and the sharp affordability shock that followed rapid interest rate rises. Instead, buyers and sellers are operating in a more rational, data-led environment—one where value, location, and affordability matter far more than momentum. While national headlines often talk about “the” housing market, the reality in 2026 is that regional differences are defining outcomes. A first-time buyer in the North East is experiencing a fundamentally different market to one in London, and sellers in the Midlands face a very…
GP surgeries run on tight margins, fixed contract income, and a workload that doesn’t pause when a clinician is off. When a partner or salaried GP is suddenly absent—illness, accident, stress-related leave, surgery, long COVID, pregnancy-related sickness, or a complicated recovery—the practice still has to deliver safe access and meet contractual obligations. That usually means paying for cover at short notice. England does have NHS locum reimbursement arrangements for certain GP absences. But the scheme has eligibility rules, waiting periods, maximum weekly caps, and administrative delays—so it rarely removes the full financial risk. That’s where locum insurance and GP absence…
Avantia becomes one of the latest UK insurers to work with Google Cloud and scales its award‑winning AI tool “Holmes” to transform customer experience. London, UK, 20 January 2026 – Avantia Group, the parent company of specialist home insurer Homeprotect, has collaborated with Google Cloud, marking a major step in the use of AI across the UK insurance market. At the centre of the collaboration is Holmes, Avantia’s proprietary AI tool built with Google Cloud technologies, now proven in live insurance operations to help combat insurance fraud and improve the experience for genuine customers. Building on its success in trials, Avantia is expanding the use of Google…
By Simon Batchelor As we limp toward the end of 2025, the marketing world is already full of bold predictions for 2026, most of them produced by people who haven’t spoken to an actual small business owner since the last time their boiler broke—and not a single one of those predictions will help that owner decide the real question: SEO vs Paid Ads. But here’s the reality:2026 isn’t going to rewrite the laws of marketing. It’s simply going to expose what already works — and what never did. And if you’re a small business trying to decide where to put your…