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  • 📈 Poundland Up for Sale—Any Takers?

📈 Poundland Up for Sale—Any Takers?

Britain’s AI Star Hits $2.6B Valuation!

March 06, 2025

This is Cliff Equity, the UK’s business newsletter that keeps you informed on what’s important in tech, business and finance in less than 5 minutes

In today’s stories:

  • Poundland Up for Sale—Any Takers?

  • Britain’s AI Star Hits $2.6B Valuation!

  • Epoch’s ÂŁ18M Boost to Clean Up Plastics

The summary: Poundland’s up for sale as its parent Pepco ditches bargains for fashion, meaning the beloved discount chain could soon have a new owner, a fresh strategy, or a dramatic plot twist in the ever-entertaining world of UK retail.

The details:

  • Poundland Up for Grabs – Its Polish parent company, Pepco, is looking to offload the discount retailer, blaming a tough UK retail market and Poundland’s lacklustre financial performance. Apparently, the bargain bin isn't quite full of gold.

  • Too Many ÂŁ1 Deals, Not Enough Profits – Despite running 825 stores, Poundland saw sales slide by 9.3% last quarter, with clothing proving a particular flop. Pepco even had to swallow a ÂŁ450m writedown—ouch.

  • Pepco’s Fashionable Exit – The company wants to ditch fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) and focus on higher-margin clothing across Europe. Essentially, it’s swapping multipacks of biscuits for trendy jumpers.

  • For Sale: One Discount Retailer, Well-Loved, Slightly Worn – With new UK tax changes adding pressure, Pepco is “actively evaluating” its options, which is corporate speak for “any takers?”

Why it matters: Poundland’s parent company wants out, which means one of Britain’s best-known budget retailers could soon have a new owner—or face an uncertain future. With sales sinking and tax hikes looming, the era of £1 bargains keeping high streets buzzing might be under threat. Meanwhile, Pepco is off to chase higher profits in fashion, proving that even discount chains know when to cut their losses and strut away.

The summary: Quantexa’s $175M funding boost, soaring $2.6B valuation, and AI-powered innovations—plus a Microsoft partnership and North American expansion—prove it’s not just riding the AI wave, but making serious waves of its own!

The details:

  • Quantexa’s Cash Injection: The London-based AI decision intelligence firm has bagged a hefty $175M Series F, boosting its valuation to $2.6B—not bad for a company that only hit unicorn status last year! The round was led by Canada’s Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan, proving that even pension funds love a bit of AI magic.

  • AI Power Play: With fresh funds, Quantexa is supercharging platform innovation, expanding in North America, and going on a shopping spree for strategic acquisitions. They’ve also teamed up with Microsoft to launch AI-powered solutions for anti-money laundering and data analytics.

  • Meet Q Assist, Your AI Sidekick: Quantexa has unveiled Q Assist, an AI-powered analyst assistant that helps sniff out business risks with natural language queries—think of it as Siri, but for fraud detection.

  • Global Domination on the Horizon: With 40% license revenue growth, 23 new customers in 2024, and an ever-growing presence across financial services, insurance, telecoms, and government, Quantexa is proving that AI-powered decision-making isn’t just the future—it’s already here.

Why it matters: Quantexa’s skyrocketing valuation and fresh $175M war chest show that AI-driven decision-making isn’t just a fad—it’s a financial powerhouse attracting serious backers. With expansion into North America, big-name partnerships like Microsoft, and a shiny new AI assistant, they’re not just keeping up with the AI revolution; they’re leading the charge. For businesses drowning in data and regulators sniffing around for fraud, having smarter, faster decision-making tools isn’t a luxury—it’s survival.

The summary: Epoch Biodesign is using AI and supercharged enzymes to turn plastic waste into high-quality, sustainable materials—no burning, no fuss, just clever science making recycling a breeze.

The details:

  • Recycling Rubbish? Only 9% of plastics get a second life, while the rest clog up landfills or spew out emissions. Mechanical recycling downgrades quality, and chemical recycling burns through cash and energy. Enter Epoch Biodesign, turning plastic waste into high-value chemicals with enzyme-powered wizardry.

  • Cash & Catalysts: London-based Epoch Biodesign just bagged ÂŁ18.3M in a Series A round (with backing from Inditex, Zara’s parent company). Their AI-designed enzymes munch through plastics, making recycled materials cheaper and better than virgin plastic—game on for the fashion, automotive, and chemicals industries.

  • Science Meets Circularity: CEO Jacob Nathan dreamt up Epoch as a high school project (talk about an overachiever). Now, his team blends AI, biochemistry, and cell-free fermentation to engineer “supercharged” enzymes that break down even the nastiest plastics—no toxic chemicals, no high energy bills, just smart science.

  • A Future Without Waste: Epoch’s first plant is in the works, aiming to process tens of thousands of tonnes of plastic by 2028. With regulations tightening and brands scrambling for sustainable solutions, this might just be the circular economy’s missing puzzle piece.

Why it matters: Plastic’s current recycling system is a bit of a shambles—most of it ends up as landfill, emitting greenhouse gases like there’s no tomorrow. Epoch’s enzyme-powered breakthrough is a proper game-changer, making plastic recycling smarter, cheaper, and more sustainable—no need to burn the place down in the process. With big names like Zara on board and a plant in the pipeline, this could turn the tide on waste, one enzyme at a time.