‘This strategic partnership represents a significant step in converting our platform science into high-value commercial channels’

Newcastle biotech business BSF Enterprise has struck a strategic partnership with a German consulting firm to help commercialise its pioneering products. The company is set to work with Schakau Managementberatung to commercialise bio-engineered skin materials for use in humanoid and industrial robotics, as well as its lab-grown leather in luxury vehicles.

Its portfolio of lab-grown leather products – including the T-Rex Leather which famously featured in a luxury handbag – are set to be promoted to European luxury automotive manufacturers for applications such as “interior trim, steering elements and premium accents”.

Meanwhile within the robotics market, BSF is also advancing its technology into the rapidly emerging robotics sector.

In a statement to shareholders, directors said that, as humanoid and specialised robotics move toward complex industrial and domestic environments, traditional synthetic outer layers present performance limitations.

It said: “BSF’s platform enables the production of bio-engineered human skin equivalents-advanced biological surface layers designed to provide natural flexibility, structural compatibility, and seamless bio-interface integration.”

Schakau will provide access to automotive manufacturers and other potential commercial partners. The Heads of Terms are targeting a binding memorandum of understanding (MOU) for the development or licensing of Lab-Grown Leather products during September to December 2026. A binding MOU with a Tier-1 partner for Robotics Skin / Biological Interface development is targeted during September 2026 to January 2027.

The commercial framework includes a six-year revenue-sharing structure, alongside equity incentives depending on performance. Schakau may also introduce capital. Capital introduced by Schakau attracts a success fee of 5% up to £10m, 4% from £10m-£25m, 3% from £25m-£50m and 2% above £50m, payable in cash or equity on completion.

BSF retains 100% ownership of its underlying intellectual property, including patents, tissue scaffolds, trade secrets and cell-manufacturing processes.

Chief executive Che Connon said: “This strategic partnership represents a significant step in converting our platform science into high-value commercial channels. Entering the ultra-luxury automotive sector gives us direct communication with decision-makers who define luxury craftsmanship, allowing us to commercialise our lab-grown leather in bespoke vehicle programs.

“Simultaneously, extending our tissue-scaffolding technology into biological interface materials for robotics opens a vast new market opportunity. By applying our expertise in bio-engineered human skin equivalents, we are positioning BSF at the intersection of biotechnology and advanced robotics. We have built a commercial framework that protects our IP while giving our partner every incentive to secure major OEM contracts.”

Nico Schakau, managing sirector of Schakau Managementberatung GmbH, added: “For more than two decades, we have worked at the intersection of engineering, advanced materials and the automotive industry. But some ideas have the potential to reach far beyond the industries in which they begin.

“We believe biological materials could fundamentally change the way humans and machines interact. As humanoid robotics becomes part of our everyday world, the interface between human and machine will matter just as much as the intelligence within it. Tissue engineering opens the door to an entirely new generation of biological interfaces – more natural, more adaptive and ultimately more human.

“Lab-grown leather gives us an extraordinary opportunity to demonstrate what this technology can achieve today. Robotics gives us a glimpse of what it could become tomorrow.”

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It newly supported 1,400 firms in Wales in its last year financial year

The British Business Bank newly supported 1,400 smaller businesses across Wales in its last financial year. It said with its backing these businesses are forecasting to create 1,300 new jobs and support a further 17,200 existing ones.

In its third annual impact report for its 2025-26 financial year the economic development bank of the UK Government estimates the supported firms will generate £600m in additional turnover which will deliver a forecast uplift in economic output of £300m to the Welsh economy over the lifetime of the finance they have received.

For the UK as whole, through direct lending to SMEs, lending guarantees and leveraged funding on deals, the British Business Bank said it has a £9.4bn impact in its last financial year benefitting 38,000 firms. The bank has not provided figures on investment levels for Wales or the other nations and regions of the UK.

A key driver to the bank’s impact in Wales is its £130m Investment Fund for Wales (IFW). The fund’s equity element is managed by Foresight. As well as its equity element the Investment Fund for Wales has a large debt fund up to £2m per deal managed by Development Bank of Wales subsidiary FW Wales, and a small debt component, up to £100,000, managed by BCRS Business Loans.

The fund celebrated its two-year anniversary earlier this year with a £37m investment milestone, following over 102 investments supporting 93 businesses across Wales, spanning a wide range of sectors and attracting additional private sector investment into the Welsh economy.

Recent investments include the fund’s largest equity investment to date – a £3.5m investment into industrial services firm Advantiv to supporting its expansion, new UK locations and operational innovation.

The bank is also expanding support to the Cardiff City region through a new £6.5m innovation cluster, helping drive more equity investment into businesses operating in the eight priority industrial strategy sectors.

Jess Phillips- Harris, director, Wales, local growth team at the British Business Bank, said:“This year’s impact report shows the real difference that British Business Bank support is making to businesses and communities across Wales.

As the bank’s support continues to grow, we’re backing more businesses across a wider range of sectors, while bringing more private investment into Wales alongside our own funding. This is helping innovative companies develop new technologies, manufacturers expand their operations and entrepreneurs turn ambitious plans into long-term growth.

Through programmes such as the Investment Fund for Wales, Start Up Loans and angel syndicate initiatives, we’re backing ambitious businesses across Wales, helping individual companies grow while strengthening local economies, supporting skilled jobs and contributing to long-term prosperity across the country.”

Micron Technology’s stock jumped 5.05%, or $49.10, to $1,020.76 as of 10:36 a.m. EDT Monday, pushing the memory chipmaker back above the closely watched $1,000-per-share threshold as a wave of bullish Wall Street analyst upgrades reinforced investor optimism around surging demand for artificial intelligence-related memory chips.

Monday’s rally extended a sharp rebound that has carried Micron shares from a trough of $739 on July 29 to levels now exceeding $1,000, a swing of well over 35% in less than three weeks. The stock had closed at $971.66 on Aug. 14, having climbed more than 14% over the preceding 30 days, according to market data, before continuing higher into this week on the back of fresh analyst commentary.

New Street Research upgraded Micron to a buy rating with a $1,250 price target, citing what analysts described as a substantial long-term cash flow opportunity tied to AI memory demand alongside a leaner overall cost structure at the company. UBS reaffirmed its own buy rating on the stock and lifted its price target to $1,625, pointing to tightening high-bandwidth memory supply, improving pricing dynamics and strengthening demand for data-center storage as key drivers of the more aggressive outlook.

Micron management has struck a confident tone regarding the durability of the current cycle. According to commentary attributed to the company, executives have described the business as “exceptional” and have said they expect very tight memory industry conditions to persist beyond 2027, as demand growth continues to outpace available supply across the sector.

The rally in Micron shares has coincided with a broader surge across the memory chip sector following a strong showing from rival SanDisk. On Aug. 13, SanDisk unveiled an ambitious long-term financial outlook at its 2026 Investor Day, projecting sustained mid-to-high double-digit revenue growth from fiscal 2028 through fiscal 2030 and committing to return 100% of its remaining cash to shareholders. That announcement triggered a nearly 14% surge in SanDisk’s own stock and helped ease broader market concerns about potential memory bit oversupply, sparking a rally across peer companies. SK Hynix and Western Digital each jumped more than 7% in the aftermath, Seagate Technology rose nearly 5%, and Micron itself advanced more than 4% in the sessions immediately following SanDisk’s presentation.

Andrew Jackson, head of Japan equity strategy at Ortus Advisors, pointed to the increasing confidence memory manufacturers have shown in providing long-range guidance as a notable shift for an industry historically known for volatile, cyclical demand patterns. “A few years ago, it was unheard of for NAND flash manufacturers to provide such precise long-term forecasts,” Jackson said, reflecting on the shift in how companies across the sector are now communicating with investors about the durability of the current AI-driven demand cycle.

Micron’s underlying financial performance has provided substantial support for the stock’s dramatic ascent throughout 2026. The company’s most recent quarterly results showed annualized revenue of roughly $41.5 billion, alongside a gross margin near 72.6% and an operating margin around 65.7%, figures that market analysts have described as exceptional for a company operating in the historically cyclical memory chip business. Micron’s balance sheet has also drawn favorable attention from analysts, with the company carrying relatively low debt levels and a current ratio above 3, providing what analysts characterized as meaningful financial flexibility to withstand any future volatility in the memory market.

The stock’s valuation, while elevated in absolute price terms, has been described by some analysts as reasonable relative to the company’s growth trajectory. Micron currently trades at a price-to-earnings ratio near 22 and a price-to-sales ratio of roughly 12, multiples that several analysts have characterized as representing a premium, though not an extreme one, for a high-growth company positioned at the center of the ongoing artificial intelligence infrastructure buildout.

Micron’s dramatic rise has not gone unnoticed among prominent institutional investors. According to recent disclosures, Soros Capital has made Micron its single largest holding, while hedge fund Appaloosa has trimmed its position in the stock but continued to keep it among its largest overall holdings, signaling sustained institutional confidence in the company’s long-term prospects even amid the stock’s significant volatility.

The company has also continued expanding its strategic footprint within the broader AI ecosystem. Micron recently launched a new $250 million venture fund, called Micron Ventures Paradigm Fund, aimed at supporting emerging companies within the artificial intelligence and data-center hardware space. The company has additionally pushed forward with new product development, including advances in PCIe Gen 6 solid-state drive technology, further underscoring its broader strategic focus on capturing growth across the AI infrastructure supply chain beyond its core high-bandwidth memory business.

Micron’s shares reached an all-time high of $1,255 on June 25 before pulling back sharply through much of July amid a combination of profit-taking, investor concerns regarding the emergence of cheaper artificial intelligence models originating from China, rising competitive pressure within the memory sector, and broader fears that memory manufacturers could eventually lose pricing power as global supply catches up with AI-driven demand. Monday’s rally back above the $1,000 threshold represents a substantial recovery from that late-July trough, though the stock remains below its June record high.

The stock’s continued volatility has also reignited investor speculation regarding whether Micron’s board might pursue a stock split before the end of 2026, a question that has followed the company throughout its extraordinary rise this year as its per-share price has climbed into four-digit territory, a level that can sometimes create psychological or practical barriers for smaller retail investors seeking to purchase shares.

With Wall Street price targets now ranging as high as $1,625 to $1,750 among some of the more bullish analysts covering the stock, and Micron shares having already more than tripled over the course of 2026, investors are likely to continue closely watching the company’s coming quarterly results and broader trends across the memory chip sector for further signals on whether the current AI-driven supercycle can sustain the extraordinary valuations the market has assigned to Micron and its peers throughout the year.

Mark Kelly oversaw the transformation of the stadium into a UK-leading sports venue

The chair of Ashton Gate Stadium has stepped down after more than a decade with the Bristol Sport group. Mark Kelly, who was also chief executive of Bristol’s huge Sporting Quarter development, is a former hotel manager who became part of Bristol Sport’s leadership team in 2015.

He was appointed shortly after it was decided that Ashton Gate – the home of Bristol City FC and Bristol Bears Rugby Club – would not be able to build out into Ashton Vale.

Initially hired as managing director of Ashton Gate, since 2015 Kelly has held multiple roles across a diverse portfolio within the Lansdown Family’s interests, including: chief executive of Bristol Sport; chief executive of Ashton Gate; managing director of Mashatu Investments (Durban, South Africa); director of global property investments for Pula; and chair of Ashton Gate and chief executive of the Sporting Quarter.

During his time at the helm, Kelly oversaw the £50m redevelopment of the stadium alongside Martin Griffiths, and helped transform it into an internationally recognised and multi-use venue to rival many of the UK’s best.

He was also responsible for launching Kaelo Destinations – the Lansdown family’s exclusive African safari business last year – as well as acquiring and delivering phase one of La Grande Mare golf and country club in the Channel Islands.

‘A privilege and an honour’

“It is only when you have the opportunity to look back and reflect, you realise how much a part of your life it has become,” said Kelly.

“I will miss the amazing team of people that work here, some of whom have been with me since day one. However, now is the right time for me to embark on a new challenge. I would like to sincerely thank the Lansdown Family for their support throughout the years and for the opportunities that being part of this group has afforded me.

“From leading the two-year redevelopment and the opening of the Lansdown Stand in 2016, hosting sell-out crowds for not just City and Bears, but also Red Roses, Lionesses, concerts, the Women’s Rugby World Cup, and the transformation of the stadium into the UK’s first super-vaccine centre in the depths of Covid. None of that would have been possible without the incredible team of dedicated people that work alongside me. Every day that I walk into Ashton Gate I am aware of how vital a role it plays within its community.”

He added: “It has been both a privilege and an honour to lead the stadium.”

Following Kelly’s resignation in June to explore other opportunities, he will leave his post early next month. Charlie Boss will combine the leadership of Ashton Gate Stadium with his role as Bristol City chief executive.

“It will be a wrench to say goodbye and, as we get closer to my final day, I have no doubt there will be a fair bit of emotion,” Kelly added.

“I am proud of what has been achieved and we have built strong foundations for continued growth. With Charlie Boss leading the way and the committed team that we have at Ashton Gate, our clubs and charities, all will continue to grow and succeed in the years ahead.”

Bristol Sport founder Steve Lansdown CBE said he was “sorry” to see Kelly leave the business but understood “his desire for a new challenge”.

“We thank him for all his hard work over the years and wish him all the best for the future,” he said.

Jon Lansdown, Ashton Gate director and chairman of Bristol Sport, added: “Mark has been instrumental in the development of our sporting group. I would personally like to thank him, for the dedication and service he has shown throughout the years. He has laid excellent foundations for us to continue the stadium’s trajectory of growth as one of the leading multi-sport and entertainment venues in the country.”