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Kibu secures Peter Jones investment on Dragons’ Den with repairable kids’ headphones

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Kibu secures Peter Jones investment on Dragons’ Den with repairable kids’ headphones

Circular tech start-up Kibu has secured an investment offer from entrepreneurs Peter Jones and Jenna Meek following a televised pitch on Dragons’ Den, putting repairable children’s electronics firmly in the national spotlight.

The award-winning brand, which produces modular, repairable headphones for children, appeared on the long-running BBC programme represented by co-founder and chief executive Sam Beaney. Kibu’s pitch focused on its mission to redesign children’s consumer electronics around circular principles, prioritising disassembly, repair and customisation over disposal.

Founded through a collaboration between London-based design studio Morrama, advanced manufacturing partner Batch.Works and Beaney, Kibu first launched via a successful Kickstarter campaign. Since then, the company has transitioned from prototype to scalable commercial product, positioning itself as a challenger brand in a sector dominated by low-cost, disposable devices.

Kibu’s headphones are built with modular components that can be taken apart and reassembled by children. Individual parts can be replaced in minutes, extending product lifespan and reducing electronic waste. The design also allows for aesthetic customisation, enabling users to change colours and update components as preferences evolve.

The brand has already received international recognition for innovation and sustainability, tapping into growing parental demand for durable, repairable products in an era of heightened environmental awareness.

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Speaking during the broadcast, Jones praised the concept and offered backing, citing his own early experience building and selling computers as a teenager. Meek also expressed interest in supporting the venture.

Beaney told the Dragons that empowering children to build and repair their own technology shifts their relationship with ownership and value. “When a child builds something themselves, it changes how they feel about it. When they learn they can fix what they’ve made, it changes how they see everything they own,” he said.

Jo Barnard, founder and creative director of Morrama, described the brand as a blueprint for futureproof electronics. By combining onshored manufacturing with agile supply chains, she argued, Kibu could unlock wider opportunities across children’s consumer technology.

Julien Vaissieres, chief executive of Batch.Works, said the project demonstrated how manufacturing can be structured to reduce waste while maintaining commercial viability. As both a founder and a parent, he said, the appeal lay in giving children agency over the products they use daily.

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Now in its 23rd series, Dragons’ Den remains one of the UK’s most visible entrepreneurial platforms, attracting around three million viewers per episode on BBC One. For Kibu, the appearance offers both capital and brand recognition at a pivotal growth stage.

With investor backing now on the table, Kibu plans to scale distribution while continuing to develop its circular design ethos. The company believes its repair-first approach could extend beyond headphones into a broader range of children’s electronics, an industry segment increasingly scrutinised for its environmental footprint.

As sustainability pressures intensify and right-to-repair legislation gains momentum across global markets, Kibu’s model may offer an early glimpse of how future consumer electronics for children could be designed, manufactured and owned.


Jamie Young

Jamie Young

Jamie is Senior Reporter at Business Matters, bringing over a decade of experience in UK SME business reporting.
Jamie holds a degree in Business Administration and regularly participates in industry conferences and workshops.

When not reporting on the latest business developments, Jamie is passionate about mentoring up-and-coming journalists and entrepreneurs to inspire the next generation of business leaders.

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Mondelez CEO worries high cocoa prices may return

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Mondelez CEO worries high cocoa prices may return

Company is investing in diversifying cocoa production around the world. 

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Revenues rise sharply at Leeds Building Society

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The building society said that it increased both savings and mortgage balances during 2025

Leeds Building Society says stress-testing requirements have unduly held some borrowers back.

Leeds Building Society has revisited its mortgage affordability assessments following guidance from the FCA.(Image: Taken from the Leeds Building Society image library. https://www.leedsbuildingsociety.co.uk/press/im)

Profits fell slightly at Leeds Building Society even as its revenues grew to nearly £800m.

The society’s annual reports show an increase in total income to £794 during 2025. But over the same period, net profit fell slightly to stand at £275.5m.

The society said it supported its members through favourable savings rates, which helped increase savings balances by £1.1bn year on year to £54.0bn. Mortgage balances also grew to £51.9bn, the annual report revealed.

Bosses said they were make progress on a number of strategic targets, including a record investment in technology and systems to improve speed of inbound payments.

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It said it was committed to its branch network and its role in local communities included an ongoing partnership with the charity FareShare, plus hosting Citizens Advice advisers at 44 of its branches to provide financial and legal advice.

Chief executive Susan Allen said: “Yorkshire Building Society delivered a solid performance for the year ending December 2025, growing our mortgage and savings balances sustainably and sharpening our Purpose, Real Help with Real Life, to set a clear path for the future.

“We continued to provide our members with above market average savings rates and went further to make good homes possible for more people. We launched targeted, innovative products to help overcome the challenges people face in finding a good home and building financial wellbeing. With economic challenges likely to remain in 2026, our renewed Purpose – and the support we offer our customers and communities as one of the UK’s biggest mutuals – matters more than ever.”

Looking ahead, the society said it would continue its focus on its strategic priorities, delivering competitive products and services for its members, and maintaining its financial strength.

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It said that it expected high levels of competition in mortgages and savings to persist but that it had “confidence in our business model and financial resilience and are well placed to navigate future challenges or periods of economic uncertainty.”

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Arhaus, Inc. 2025 Q4 – Results – Earnings Call Presentation (NASDAQ:ARHS) 2026-02-27

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OneWater Marine Inc. (ONEW) Q1 2026 Earnings Call Transcript

Q4: 2026-02-26 Earnings Summary

EPS of $0.11 beats by $0.02

 | Revenue of $364.85M (5.14% Y/Y) beats by $13.32M

This article was written by

Seeking Alpha’s transcripts team is responsible for the development of all of our transcript-related projects. We currently publish thousands of quarterly earnings calls per quarter on our site and are continuing to grow and expand our coverage. The purpose of this profile is to allow us to share with our readers new transcript-related developments. Thanks, SA Transcripts Team

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California Resources set to report earnings ahead of merger close

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California Resources set to report earnings ahead of merger close

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Sunstone Hotel Investors earnings beat by $0.04, revenue topped estimates

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Sunstone Hotel Investors earnings beat by $0.04, revenue topped estimates

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Syensqo SA ADR 2025 Q4 – Results – Earnings Call Presentation (OTCMKTS:SYNSY) 2026-02-27

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OneWater Marine Inc. (ONEW) Q1 2026 Earnings Call Transcript

This article was written by

Seeking Alpha’s transcripts team is responsible for the development of all of our transcript-related projects. We currently publish thousands of quarterly earnings calls per quarter on our site and are continuing to grow and expand our coverage. The purpose of this profile is to allow us to share with our readers new transcript-related developments. Thanks, SA Transcripts Team

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J.M. Smucker raises Hostess impairment costs by almost $1 billion

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J.M. Smucker raises Hostess impairment costs by almost $1 billion

Sweet Baked Snacks long-term growth outlook cut to 2%.

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Writing on the wall for letter delivery in Australia

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Writing on the wall for letter delivery in Australia

Australia will eventually follow Denmark’s lead and abandon its letter service, with deliveries of handwritten notes, Christmas cards and household bills destined to become a thing of the past.

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WWE’s Randy Orton Talks Retirement, Challenges Tom Brady to Take the RKO

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Randy Orton

WWE Superstar Randy Orton made an appearance on “The Pat McAfee Show” and openly talked about his retirement.

He also touched on NFL legend Tom Brady’s comments on WWE, challenging him to take an RKO.

Randy Orton on His Eventual Retirement

According to Sportskeeda, Orton got candid withh McAfee about his 26-year-long career and how long he thinks he has left in the ring.

“I’m 46 in a couple of months, and you know, I can’t do this forever,” the 14-time World Champion said. “I’ve been doing it for 26 years. If I could do it another decade, I will.”

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“The work rate, the way that I wrestle, you know, maybe I could pull that out,” he added. “But I know that time’s coming.”

Orton also touched on the one thing he wants to be able to do before he retires, whenever that may be.

According to The Viper, he said he wants to become a world champion one more time.

“That’d be huge. I think right now you’ve got Triple H and myself tied at 14. John Cena, of course, just retired with 17 World Championships,” he said. “You got Ric Flair, I think it’s 16. I’d love to get one more, at least one more.”

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“It would mean the world to me,” he admitted.

Orton Challenges Tom Brady to Take an RKO

Orton likewise addressed the comments made by Tom Brady, who called professional wrestling “cute.”

“10, 15, 20 years ago, I would have been hot. I would have had choice words to say for Tom Brady,” Orton admitted. “But every second I’m in that ring, I am soaking it up.”

According to SEScoops, Orton then went on to challenge Brady, saying, “Tom, if you want to take an RKO, dude — call Pat. Pat will call me.”

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Watch Randy Orton’s full interview on “The Pat McAfee Show” below:

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Netflix pulls out of Warner Bros Discovery bid after Paramount offer

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Netflix pulls out of Warner Bros Discovery bid after Paramount offer

Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav may have been counting on watching one last round in the Netflix vs. Paramount Skydance boxing match to acquire the media company he runs. What he might not have anticipated was that Netflix wouldn’t even bother re-entering the ring.

Thursday after the market close, WBD announced that Paramount Skydance’s last and best offer of $31 a share for its film studio, streaming platform and cable networks was superior to Netflix’s previously accepted bid of $27.75 a share for the studio and streaming assets.

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WBD’s declaration started a countdown clock: Netflix was granted four business days to match or beat Paramount’s new bid, but just an hour and 10 minutes later, Netflix left the arena.

NETFLIX BACKS OUT OF WARNER BROS BIDDING WAR AFTER PARAMOUNT MADE ‘SUPERIOR’ OFFER

ted sarandos netflix co-ceo

WBD said Paramount Skydance’s last and best offer of $31 a share for its film studio, streaming platform and cable networks was superior to Netflix’s previously accepted bid of $27.75 a share for the studio and streaming assets. Netflix co-CEO Ted Sa (Charley Gallay/Getty Images for Netflix / Getty Images)

In a joint statement, the streamer’s co-CEOs, Ted Sarandos and Greg Peters, said, “The transaction we negotiated would have created shareholder value with a clear path to regulatory approval. However, we’ve always been disciplined, and at the price required to match Paramount Skydance’s latest offer, the deal is no longer financially attractive, so we are declining to match the Paramount Skydance bid.” 

Considering Sarandos’ tone in the final days of the process, the market should have been ready for the quick exit. In an interview Feb. 20 on FOX Business’ “Claman Countdown,” Sarandos, when pressed as to whether he’d match a potentially higher bid by Paramount Skydance, seemingly took a page out of former Berkshire Hathaway CEO Warren Buffett’s “never overpay for an asset no matter how much you want it” playbook.

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The Netflix logo displayed on a building

Netflix was granted four business days to match or beat Paramount’s new bid, but just an hour and 10 minutes later, Netflix left the arena. (Mario Tama/Getty Images / Getty Images)

“We’ve been very disciplined buyers in our careers. Our shareholders know us and they expect us to continue to do what we do, which is remain a disciplined buyer,” Sarandos told FBN.

Netflix shareholders have never fully embraced the merger since the official bidding process began Nov. 20. Since then, Netflix shares have shriveled more than 19%.

Ticker Security Last Change Change %
NFLX NETFLIX INC. 84.61 +1.90 +2.30%
WBD WARNER BROS. DISCOVERY INC. 28.80 -0.10 -0.35%
PSKY PARAMOUNT SKYDANCE CORP. 11.18 +1.02 +10.04%

Much of the concern focused on whether the $82.7 billion dollar cost might shake Netflix’s solid balance sheet, and whether the deal would pass regulatory muster.

NETFLIX CO-CEO ACCUSES JAMES CAMERON OF SPREADING ‘MISINFORMATION’ ABOUT WARNER BROS. ACQUISITION

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An aerial view of the Warner Bros. logo displayed on the water tower at Warner Bros. Studio

Netflix shareholders have never fully embraced the merger since the official bidding process began November 20. (Mario Tama/Getty Images / Getty Images)

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Thursday evening when WBD confirmed the superiority of Paramount’s bid, Netflix shares saw a relief rally, soaring nearly 10% in after-hours trade.

In its statement, Netflix’s co-CEOs intimated they agreed with shareholders.

“This transaction was always a ‘nice to have’ at the right price, not a ‘must have’ at any price,” Sarandos and Peters said.

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