Business & Technology
Cyber centre Scotland delivers £3 million support boost
Cyber and Fraud Centre Scotland delivered more than £3 million of cyber resilience support and community benefit across Scotland in its first full year as a social enterprise. The total covered support for charities, community groups, social housing bodies, small businesses and fraud victims.
Since shifting to the social enterprise model in January 2025, the organisation has reinvested profits from its cyber security services into programmes designed to improve resilience and widen access to cyber careers.
Its figures show more than £1.4 million worth of free CPD-accredited cyber training was provided to more than 500 charities and social housing organisations, along with 200 small and medium-sized businesses across Scotland.
The work also included executive education, with more than 50 free places worth over £25,000 offered to senior leaders and board members in the third sector. It also delivered more than £45,000 worth of free Cyber MOTs to charities and smaller businesses.
Support following cyber incidents accounted for a significant share of the total. The organisation provided more than £500,000 of direct help to organisations dealing with cyber attacks, including assistance for more than 50 small businesses through its National Cyber Incident Response Helpline.
Those cases included ransomware, phishing and Business Email Compromise attacks. Intelligence-led interventions also prevented 10 Distributed Denial-of-Service attacks, avoiding more than £100,000 in estimated business interruption costs.
Its fraud support arm, the Cyber and Fraud Hub, helped more than 700 individuals affected by fraud, with more than £1.6 million in losses either prevented or recovered between 2024 and 2025.
Workforce pipeline
Alongside operational support, the organisation continued programmes aimed at developing cyber talent in Scotland. Through a partnership with Abertay University, it offers paid placements to ethical hacking students; 70 students have been employed through the scheme over the past six years.
According to the Centre, many of those students have gone on to longer-term roles in cyber security. It also continued its See It Be It initiative, which engaged 20 schools and more than 200 schoolgirls through conferences, virtual events and discussions with industry professionals.
The figures come as public, private and third sector organisations face growing pressure to demonstrate cyber security standards in procurement, partnerships and supply chain relationships, while cyber threats continue to rise.
Jude McCorry, Chief Executive Officer of Cyber and Fraud Centre Scotland, outlined the organisation’s approach.
“As Scotland’s only cyber security social enterprise, our purpose goes beyond service delivery. We reinvest our time, expertise and resources to support the communities we serve, helping ensure organisations are not priced out of protection and that cyber resilience is accessible to all.
“With organisations under increasing pressure to demonstrate strong cyber security standards to unlock business opportunities, cyber resilience is now as much an economic imperative as a security one.
“We are incredibly proud of the impact achieved in our first year as a social enterprise and grateful to everyone who has contributed. As the Centre continues to grow, so too does our ability to give back. Over the coming year, we’ll continue expanding our programmes, with a particular focus on evolving our Incident Response Helpline to provide ongoing, rather than just incident-specific, advice. We also remain committed to investing in programmes like See It Be It to help shape the future cyber workforce,” McCorry said.
Partner views
Gerry Britton, Chief Executive Officer of Street Soccer, described the support his organisation received.
“As a charitable organisation, we needed a partner that understood both our resource constraints and the importance of protecting sensitive data. The team at Cyber and Fraud Centre Scotland provided us with a clear, prioritised view of our vulnerabilities, allowing us to focus on the areas that mattered most. Their proactive, tailored advice has helped us strengthen our cyber resilience step by step, and the depth of their testing and ongoing support has been a gamechanger,” Britton said.
Abertay University also highlighted the impact of its long-running partnership with the Centre.
“Abertay University’s long-standing relationship with Cyber and Fraud Centre Scotland has significantly enhanced student employability while strengthening our reputation across the UK cyber security ecosystem. The collaboration gives students a unique and invaluable opportunity to apply their technical skillset in real-world settings and make a genuine difference to SMEs’ cyber resilience. As a founding partner of the cyberQuarter, Abertay’s flagship cyber security research and development centre, Cyber and Fraud Centre Scotland also continues to play a vital role in shaping our research, knowledge exchange and industry engagement through its expertise and sector insight,” Coull said.
Business & Technology
Rosa’s Thai is giving away 4000 free Pad Thais to students
Celebrating both GCSE and A-Level Results Days, the chain will offer the popular dish to students who buy one of its bubble teas.
The free offer is available at all 42 Rosa’s Thai restaurants across England and Wales.
To avail of the free noodles, students need to register on Rosa’s Thai website for a unique code, which they should present at the restaurant together with a copy of their results.
Rosa’s Thai has a new range of bubble tea flavours, including Ube-Taro, Matcha-Coconut, Mango Sticky Rice, and Milo Chocolate Milk, as well as favourites like Home-brewed Thai Tea with Tapioca, and Lychee Mango with mango boba.
Students can sign up for their free Pad Thai at rosasthai.com/result-day-free-pad-thai and find their nearest restaurant at rosasthai.com/locations.
Business & Technology
Historic coin company enters administration after 20 years
The London Mint Office, which distributes commemorative coins and medals, appointed administrators on July 31 after 20 years in business.
The company’s website now displays a message confirming the appointment of Michael Magnay and Jonny Marston of Alvarez & Marsal Europe LLP as joint administrators.
A spokesman for Alvarez and Marsal said: “On July 31 2026, Michael Magnay and Jonny Marston of Alvarez & Marsal Europe LLP were appointed as Joint Administrators of The London Mint Office Limited in administration (the “Company”).
“Regrettably, the Company’s liquidity challenges have led to a number of immediate redundancies. We are supporting the affected employees through the redundancy process.
What Happens When a Company Goes Into Administration?
“The affairs, business and property of the Company are being managed by the Joint Administrators who act as agents of the Company and without personal liability.”
The announcement confirms that it is no longer possible to purchase coins or medals through the company’s website.
The London Mint Office operates a distribution centre in Tonypandy, Rhondda Cynon Taf, where it employs a significant number of people.
Administration is a formal insolvency process triggered when a business cannot meet its financial obligations.
An insolvency practitioner is appointed to manage the company’s affairs and may attempt to restructure the business or sell off assets to repay creditors.
What happens when a company goes into Liquidation?
Founded in 2006, The London Mint Office describes itself as “one of the UK’s most trusted suppliers of historic, commemorative, and collector coins.”
It is part of Samlerhuset AS, a Norwegian company based near Oslo and one of Europe’s largest distributors of commemorative coins and medals.
Samlerhuset’s website states that it offers “provide a wide range of coins from ancient to modern, originating from virtually every country in the world.”
The London Mint Office has advised anyone with an interest in the company’s assets to contact the administrators at INS_THLMOL@alvarezandmarsal.com.
Business & Technology
Warning of new rules for Aldi and Lidl after watchdog review
The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has provisionally decided that both discounters should be added to the Groceries Market Investigation (Controlled Land) Order 2010, which currently applies to Asda, Co-op, Marks and Spencer, Morrisons, Sainsbury’s, Tesco, and Waitrose.
This order is designed to prevent large grocery retailers from using land agreements to block competitors from opening nearby stores, often through restrictive covenants or exclusivity terms.
Juliette Enser, executive director of competition enforcement and markets at the CMA, said: “We want everyone to have the best choice of supermarket and range of prices when buying their groceries.
“To ensure this happens, we put rules in place to prevent big supermarket chains blocking rival stores from opening nearby – and now we propose applying those rules to Aldi and Lidl too.
“This is about allowing shoppers to choose where they spend their money and levelling the playing field for all major supermarkets.
“Today’s proposals are provisional and we welcome views before deciding the best way forward.”
The CMA’s review found that Aldi, Lidl GB, and Lidl NI now meet the criteria of ‘Large Grocery Retailers’ (LGRs) due to their store footprint, nationwide presence, procurement model, and the breadth of their grocery range.
Aldi and Lidl were originally excluded from the 2010 order as ‘limited assortment discounters’, offering a smaller selection of products compared to traditional supermarkets.
However, the CMA’s provisional findings indicate that this is no longer the case.
All three now operate large grocery stores, each with more than 1,000 square metres of shop floor space, and offer a full range of products, though with less category choice than some competitors.
They also purchase goods directly from suppliers through integrated wholesaling.
With the UK grocery market estimated to be worth £215 billion, Aldi and Lidl are now ranked among the top five retailers by market share.
The CMA is seeking feedback from stakeholders before reaching a final decision.
Aldi and Lidl could join the other supermarket chains later this year.
The CMA is inviting views until 5pm on Monday, September 7, 2026, and will issue its final decision in the autumn after reviewing responses.
If the discounters are included under the order, they will be prevented from using land agreements to limit competition from other supermarket chains.
The CMA aims to ensure competition across the grocery sector to give shoppers more choice and competitive pricing by removing obstacles to new store openings.
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