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Page 10 July 2025 AD SALES 01204 478812 BUSINESS TO ADVERTISE CALL 01204 478812 £ LARGE businesses in the North West are increasingly exposed to cyberattacks, with fresh data showing a clear link between company size and breach frequency – but experts are warning that smaller firms may be dan- gerously underestimating the threat. According to the latest Azets Barometer, just 41 per cent of large UK businesses avoided cybersecurity incidents in the past year, compared to 65 per cent of smaller firms. Meanwhile, 13 per cent of com- panies with revenues over £10mil- lion reported multiple breaches. The biannual survey, conducted by the international business advisory group, reveals a grow- ing concentration of cyber risk in specific sectors. In finance, fewer than four in ten firms avoided breaches in the past 12 months. In retail and hospitality – a sector rocked by high-profile incidents – 43 per cent stayed incident-free, with more than a third suffering at least one attack. The findings come just weeks after Marks & Spencer disclosed a cyberattack expected to wipe £300m from this year’s profits, with systems remaining dis- rupted for over a month. The Co-op, Harrods, and Adi- das have also suffered recent attacks, highlighting the real- world impact of digital exposure. Paul Kelly, head of cyber and data privacy services at Azets, which has offices in Manches- ter, Preston and Stockport, said: “The findings show a worrying trend for ongoing cyber-attacks on the UK’s larger, data-heavy organisations. “This underscores the need for continued focus on cyber resilience, especially in higher risk sectors. “Even though the majority of smaller organisations report no incidents, it’s a matter of when cybersecurity incidents occur, not if. Smaller organisations must continue to be vigilant and invest in cyber resilience meas- ures to reduce the risk of inci- dents occurring.” MID-MARKET private equity investor Palatine has taken a majority stake in fulfilment- crowd, a fast-growing tech-driven global fulfilment provider based in Chorley. Palatine’s investment will support fulfilmentcrowd as it continues to scale organically in the UK, Europe, Aus- tralia and the US, as well as delivering on M&A opportunities. The transaction sees a partial exit for BGF, the UK and Ireland’s most active growth capital investor, who invested in the business in 2021. BGF will continue to support the business on its growth journey it reinvests along- side Palatine. The disruptive technology company has increased revenue by 20 per cent in the last year as more than nine million items were shipped through its plat- form worldwide. Fulfilmentcrowd’s proprietary cloud-based platform enables growing omni-channel retailers to outsource their entire end-to-end logistics and fulfilment process, including receipt of goods, picking, packing, dispatching and delivery. Its technology seamlessly integrates with its customers’ own sales channels and provides a live view of stock across multiple sites and provides data for management information and supply chain management. Fulfilmentcrowd has recently expanded its international footprint, launching a new Asia-Pacific fulfilment hub in Sydney, Australia and a new hub in Dublin. Further bases in the US will open this year. The company has more than 100 employees, with more than 30 per cent there for 10 years. TomWildig, senior investment direc- tor at Palatine, said: “We are very excited to be backing this entrepreneur- ial management team at fulfilment- crowd. They have done an excellent job in building a market-leading, asset- light tech company.” Lee Thompson, chief executive of ful- filmentcrowd said: “We flex our tech- nology, expertise and service delivery model to deliver solutions that create competitive advantage. “In Palatine, we have found a gen- uine growth partner with the strate- gic expertise and positive approach to value creation that will help develop our entrepreneurial culture and drive sustainable growth over the com- ing years.” BGF Partner, Spencer Woods, added: “We’re proud to have supported fulfil- mentcrowd through a sustained period of growth since our initial investment in 2021. We look forward to having an ongoing role alongside Palatine as the company continues to find new oppor- tunities for international expansion. ANEWreport has highlighted the staggering burden of tax compliance being placed on small businesses in the UK today. The cost of tax compliance to the small business community amounts to nearly £25billion per year, according to the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB). Small business owners spend an average of 44 hours per year on tax admin, while three in five say dealing with HMRC has caused their personal stress levels to rise. FSB is calling for the cost of tax compliance to be lowered by a third, a time limit to be set on tax investigations, and for HMRC to speed up replies to cus- tomer queries. Tax compliance costs small businesses nearly £25billion a year, while three in five small business owners report that deal- ing with HMRC has increased their personal stress. The findings, from a survey of over 1,400 small business owners, come froma new report by the Fed- eration of Small Businesses (FSB), Taking a Toll: Small businesses and the cost of tax compliance. The report tallies up the demands – in terms of stress and time, as well as the financial costs – levied upon small business owners when they engage with the tax system. These costs fall not just on small business owners; by holding back productivity and reducing the time and funding small firms have for investment, they are also hamper- ing overall economic growth. The average small firm spends £4,500 and 44 hours a year on tax compliance, according to the research. These annual totals could include time spent trying to contact HMRC, the cost of staff time used to manage compliance, and the price of software subscrip- tions and/or an external account- ant, among other outlays. Poor levels of customer service from HMRC are a recurring theme within the report, making tax compliance, already a demand- ing task, even more difficult and stressful, and using up time that would be far better spent develop- ing business operations. Growth ambitions: Lee Thompson, chief executive of ful!lmentcrowd New chapter for tech disrupter “They have proven to be a highly scalable business, powered by strong management and award-winning technology. We’re excited to see the company embark on its next phase of growth as they build a truly global network for omnichannel brands, accel- erated by sustained demand for their exceptional customer-focused fulfil- ment and logistics platform.” Palatine’s Tom Wildig and James Painter will be joining the board follow- ing the investment. A new debt facility from Thincats has been agreed along- side the investment. Palatine was advised by Alvarez & Marsal (Corporate Finance) and by law firms Gateley (Corporate) and Browne Jacobson (Banking). Clear- water (Corporate Finance) and Hill Dickinson advised the shareholders of fulfilmentcrowd. Crosslake (Technical Due Diligence), RSM (Financial Due Diligence) and Roland Berger (Com- mercial Due Dilligence) also supported the transaction. BGF was advised by Squire Patton Boggs (Legal). M&S cyberattack is ‘just the start Warning: Paul Kelly of Azets Cutting through the red tape