Plexal

Effective from today, Wednesday 1st April 2026, UK Home Office has appointed PA Consulting and Plexal as the new delivery partners for the Accelerated Capability Environment (ACE). Together, we'll build on ACE’s strong foundations to support the delivery of mission-driven innovation across government. Our partnership comes as threats are evolving at speed, with criminals, hostile actors and organised networks using new tools and methods. At the same time, powerful new technologies are creating opportunities to understand risk earlier, respond faster and protect the public in smarter ways. And through ACE, we're collectively providing the collaborative space, trusted environment and specialist capability that allows government, industry and academia to work side by side. 🗣️ Saj Huq, CEO at Plexal, says: "We're thrilled to further our work with UK Government as the delivery partner for ACE. By focusing on stimulating breakthrough technology that solves public sector problems, we can enhance sovereign capability while delivering economic growth for the country alongside public good. Along with PA, we're delivering scale ingenuity, innovation, customer engagement and community advocacy that will deliver significant impact for UK citizens, businesses and government." 📰 Read the announcement in full on gov.uk: https://lnkd.in/eCgWy645 Dave Rowley | Bruno Sussat | Monika Radclyffe | Ruby Motabhoy | Brandon Hucq | Erika Wilkins | Megan Masters | Sam Brooks | Mike Blair | James Lamb | Matthew Eddison | Alan Every | Bea Pengelly | Waleed Backler | Nicole Lyons | Reece Morris | Jennifer Parker | Francesca Hall | Harry Walker |

🛡️ The UK and Netherlands have positioned innovation and dual‑use technologies such as AI, quantum and semiconductors as central to future defence strategies. 🇬🇧🇳🇱 At Plexal, we’ve been exploring how these technologies can strengthen our sovereignty and resilience, so we were excited to join the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in the United Kingdom’s Innovation Mission for Dual‑Use Technologies in Intelligent Systems and Sensors event. This convened UK and Dutch defence ministries, startups and organisations including Innovate UK and TNO for an exciting day of engaging discussion. 🗣️ Representing Plexal, our Innovation Consultant Daniel Burt joined a panel to share his expertise. "One of the biggest challenges we face is strengthening supply chain resilience in semiconductors and photonics," he says. "That’s why collaboration between the UK and the Netherlands is so important – together, we can diversify our supply chains and build capability across the entire value chain to provide both countries strategic leverage." 📰 Read the full rundown of insights from the day here: https://lnkd.in/ekJDHJfc Saj Huq | Lou-Davina Stouffs | Hamza H. | David Cumming | Prof. Eiman Kanjo Nottingham Trent University | Joris Janssen

Meet Alexander Munday, Growth Partner at Plexal. Alex brings first-hand insight into the realities of product development, customer acquisition and scaling, having built and launched his own business end-to-end. His experience spans cyber security, digital health, emerging technologies and agricultural technology with a background in commercial strategy and sales. Growth Partnership is providing startups, SMEs and scaleups with 1:1 tailored guidance to help companies unlock peak potential faster than any other support products on the market. 👉 Learn more about Growth Partnership and meet the rest of the team here: https://lnkd.in/ev4vTKFS Saj Huq | Lisa Perkins | Mina Begum | Emma Marshall | Giulia Sale

We recently co-hosted the Rule of Law: Powering business success, investment and innovation event at Plexal HQ with the Attorney General's Office (UK) to discuss how the rule of law underpins growth for startups and scaleups.    “When we talk about innovation and growth, we often focus on the UK’s entrepreneurial ecosystem, research base, talent and academic institutions,” began Plexal CEO Saj Huq, opening the event. “But really, trust in the rule of law is beneath all our success in the UK and globally. This creates the UK’s ability to provide certainty in disruption and drive business trust, which is a crucial catalyst for growth, investment, success and innovation.”    🎤 Taking to the stage to deliver his keynote, the Attorney General Richard Hermer, reflected on the synergy between British traditions of business and the rule of law, which he attributed to the UK’s commercial success.    👨⚖️️ Looking back at the rule of law rollout in the 1800s, the Attorney General championed its significance. “By recognising a company as a separate legal entity, the law gave entrepreneurs the opportunity to take risk – knowing their personal lives wouldn’t be destroyed if a venture failed," he said. "It established a principle at the heart of modern business that through the rule of law you could have a platform for change that showed agreements are respected, obligations are clear and companies can operate in a way that’s predictable and trustworthy.”    🇬🇧 On the UK as an environment for entrepreneurship, the Attorney General declared: “If the legal foundations are strong, innovation doesn’t just survive – it grows. Fast. And that’s exactly the environment the government wants to support. The rule of law makes us one of the finest jurisdictions in the world for everyone to grow ideas, protect intellectual property and create world-class businesses.     “This government’s ambition is to build world leading innovation corridors across the UK – places where ideas, talent and investment come together, where businesses can grow. My message to you is the next great UK global company might not start in a traditional boardroom – it may start in student flat, a shared workspace or here.     “What makes a difference is if people feel confident enough to take that first step. And the UK’s rule of law tradition has been giving entrepreneurs that confidence for a century. The job of the goverment is to make sure that continues. If you have an idea, even a small one, don’t dismiss it. We want you to be part of that Great British success story. This government is behind you and so is our rule of law heritage. Go for gold.”    🤝 Thank you to our speakers, Richard Hermer, Dr Sofía González De Aguinaga, PhD, from The Bingham Centre for the Rule of Law, Brendan Vickers from International Chamber of Commerce and Victoria Thompson, as well as our attendees, for being part of this stimulating conversation.

⏳ Coworking Week is less than three weeks away! Join us from Monday 13th – Friday 17th April and enjoy a free week of access to our innovation workspace at Plexal Stratford. We’ve got a packed lineup of events for the week to help you and your business thrive, including: 🤫 A silent office auction giving you the chance to secure a versatile, modern office space for an exclusive, Coworking Week price. 🧑💻 Business workshops from the Growth Partnership team on topics including customer acquisition, channel partnerships and value proposition. 🍕 Members night to meet Plexal members and network with other Coworking Week participants over drinks and pizza. 🎓 A session exploring how you can collaborate with Loughborough University London to help develop future talent pipelines for your business. 💆 Complimentary seated massage sessions, courtesy of our friends at Glo Pamper Ltd to help you stay relaxed and focused. All of these great events are free to attend for our members and those taking part in Coworking Week. Why not bring your whole team? 👉 Register your space here: https://lnkd.in/gCUUyC_u Jennifer Underwood | Randa Al-H. | Monica C. | David Clayton | Brandon Hucq | Zen Terrelonge | Dan Moskovenko | Here East | Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park

After 7.5 years at Plexal, I’m really pleased to be stepping into the CEO role today. It’s been a privilege to be part of the journey from the early days through to where we are now, working with an incredible team, ambitious founders and partners across government and industry. I’m excited to build on that and lead Plexal into its next chapter. Given everything going on in the world, our work feels increasingly important in shaping how the UK thinks about innovation and how we actually scale it. The UK is good at creating new technology. We’re less good at getting it used, particularly in complex industries. For Plexal, that means a deeper focus on adoption, especially where it matters most for sovereignty, strategic technologies and critical sectors. We already connect startups, government, industry and academia. The next step is to turn more of that into real-world deployment that consistently addresses pressing challenges. In practice, that means helping startups navigate complex supply chains, working more closely with partners that have real problems to solve, and using our locations as places where this can happen faster. I’m very grateful to Andrew Roughan for his support over the years, and to the whole team for everything that’s got us to this point. Looking forward to what comes next.

Meet Mina Begum, Growth Partner at Plexal. She brings outside-in thinking to pressure-test your assumptions and ask the uncomfortable questions to help your team focus on the challenges that’ll move the needle. Alongside this approach, Mina understands founders are juggling product, customers, teams, fundraising and day-to-day tasks, which makes it hard to step back and see what’s blocking growth. Growth Partnership is providing startups, SMEs and scaleups with 1:1 tailored guidance to help companies unlock peak potential faster than any other support products on the market. ✍️ Learn more about Growth Partnership and meet the rest of the team here: https://lnkd.in/ev4vTKFS Andrew Roughan | Saj Huq | Lisa Perkins | Giulia Sale | Emma Marshall | Alexander Munday