Cyber attack costs fast-growing tech firm £4m-plus

A medical technology firm that has its UK headquarters in Gloucestershire has confirmed a costly cyber attack on its global business, but says it failed to halt a significant rise in turnover.

Dear readers,

Yesterday we took a look at the sale of Gloucestershire Airport.

As the press release about that announcement from owners Gloucester City Council and Cheltenham Borough Council was merrily shared in every social media channel, Raikes tried speaking to the businesses on the site to see what they had to say. 

Feelings were running high.

It’s one thing having to endure near constant speculation the site your business is dependent might be sold, but another thing entirely when that becomes a reality. 

No one was talking on the record, and it was hard to find a positive thoughts about what it will mean for those tenants. As one of those we spoke to said, if it’s kept as an airport prices for tenents are likely to rise. But, as he said, who would pay £30 million for a site and run what has been a difficult ship to steer when a pay day of £100,000,000-plus awaits by building houses across the site? You can read the story here.

Onto more joyful news.

Few places in Gloucestershire lift the spirits at this time of year when the weather begins to feel like our enemy than Westonbirt Arboretum. The changing colours of its leaves, the vastness of its space, and then the light shows. It is the county’s most popular visitor attraction. We have an article looking at just how on earth you run an enterprise with so many contradictory components and make it such a wonderful success. That’s due for Monday.

Today it’s a members’ edition, meaning part of the page below is paywalled for the benefit of our valued paid-for subscribers who help make what we do possible.

The lead is about a business that produces medical technologies for cardiac surgery, based here in Gloucestershire, that is trying to dust itself down after a cyber attack cost it more than £4 million.

It’s also part of our Top 100 Businesses in Gloucestershire series, that follows the fortunes of the county’s biggest firms by turnover. You can find that series in our Reports & Deals channel, sponsored by Randall & Payne.

Have a great weekend.

NB: Raikes publishes probably the best-read business-related newsletter, pound for pound, in Gloucestershire.

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Your briefing notes 

🏉 💷 Gloucester Rugby fans will have spotted this already, but just in case... this is the announcement that 31-year-old hedge fund manager Jack Ingles has joined the club’s board after buying a 10 per cent stake in the business. Ingles, who is described as a ‘local fan’ by the sports website Rugbypass.com, joins owner Martin St Quinton on the board (he holds an 80 per cent stake) other significant shareholder Tim Griffiths. Rugbypass.com said “the moves comes as a boost to Gloucester following rumours of financial difficulties ahead of the start of the 2024-25 Gallagher Premiership season, even though the Cherry & Whites reported the smallest loss of any of the 10 clubs for the 2022-23 financial year of £544,000”. Gloucester play Newcastle tomorrow (26 October) at 3pm at Kingsholm. 

📈 Renishaw, the Wotton-under-Edge headquartered engineering giant, has released a trading update that states it is confident of overall revenue growth this year after what it called a ‘solid’ first quarter. The business, which employs more than 2,000 staff in the county and 5,000 world-wide, issued the update for the three months to 30 September. Total revenue was up six per cent to £173.9 million. Adjusted pre-tax profit was up 22 per cent to £34m. The plc said trading conditions for the period were ‘mixed’. 

🤝 Software and data engineering business Gemba Advantage, based in Cheltenham, has been bought by Actica, a provider of technology transformation and cybersecurity services. Actica was backed by private equity specialists Soverign Capital Partners. Gemba delivers digital solutions for UK public sector bodies and was founded by Dave Mann, Shelley Wood and Edd Savage in 2020. It employs 70 staff, most of whom are described as ‘application, infrastructure and data specialists with high level security clearance’. It also holds contracts with clients including aerospace and defence giant BAE Systems. A team from Cheltenham law firm BPE advised Gemba on the deal. 

💷 Pennant International Group, which also has its UK head office in Cheltenham, has revealed it’s sign a £4.9 million deal with the Ministry of Defence to upgrade its RAF GenFly training systems. The contract would be delivered over three and a half years. In other news, the firm also announced it has secured its first sale of software under its new subscription model for its Auxilium suite. A United States defence contractor focusing on unnamed aerial systems is believed to be the customer. And its received a £400,000 order from a Canadian defence contractor for technical services. 

👩 ⚖️ We thought this latest article by employment law expert Jenny Hawrot of Willans LLP solicitors discussing the menopause and the workplace was worth flagging. As Hawrot says in her article, in the last 50 years the structure of the workplace has changed dramatically and continues to do so. Women aged between 40 and 55 were the fastest growing demographic in the workplace in 2022. Employment tribunals are also seeing a growing number of cases of unfair dismissal and sex discrimination claims made by employers experiencing menopause symptoms. Hawrot looks at the effects of the menopause at work, how employers can support workers and how employers can access more advice. Read the whole article here. 

🧗‍♀️ Gloucester’s climbing centre, a place that has tested some of the West’s best climbers, introduced hundreds of youngsters to the sport, and played host to more than a few children's parties too, is to close after 30 years. For those who have followed the saga of the centre it comes as no surprise. It has been gradually building up to the day after opening a new £7 million climbing park off the A417 at Bentham in the shadow of Birdlip Hill. The closure of the Parliament Street centre not far from Gloucester Docks will coincide with the opening of phase two of the 270 Climbing Park on Friday 6 December.

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Our to do list for the weekend

Friday 25 October:

🚦 Space, a light and sound art installation created by artistic collaboration Luxmuralis, is at Tewksbury Abbey all weekend. Tickets via The Roses Theatre box office here. 

🎭 The Everyman Theatre in Cheltenham stages Birdsong on Friday and Saturday night, a play based on the best-selling Sebastian Faulks’ novel.

Saturday 26 October: 

🏉⚽ Your choice! Gloucester Rugby play Newcastle at 3pm at Kingsholm/Cheltenham Town play Carlisle away at 3pm/Gloucester City play Coleshill Town /Forest Green play Woking at 3pm away.

Sunday 27 October:  

🏉 Gloucester-Hartpury play Saracens Women at 12.45 away. 

🤣 Dunkertons Cider in Charlton Kings is staging its monthly a comedy night on from 6pm to 8pm.

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* The Reports & Deals section of Raikes is also home to its star attraction, the perpetual Top 100-plus Businesses in Gloucestershire list, which tracks the financial fortunes of the county’s biggest firms by turnover. We would like to thank the generous support of our Founding Partners: QuoLux, Willans LLP, Gloucestershire College, Merrell People and Randall & Payne; our sponsors Hartpury University and Hartpury College; our Founding Members and all our wonderful paying subscribers. A massive ‘thank you’ to all our other subscribers too. Your support is invaluable! If you are not already, please consider upgrading to paid (just £2.30 a week!). You’ll be able to read all of this post - and you’ll be helping to make this community interest company sustainable. Contact andrew.merrell@raikesjournal.co.uk.

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Cyber attack costs fast growing tech firm £4m-plus

A medical technology firm that has its UK headquarters in Gloucestershire has confirmed a cyber attack on its global business has cost it dear, but still not failed to stop it growing turnover by nearly a third.

By Andrew Merrell