Nigel Barnett Buys Back TalkTalk’s Stake in TAL Group

Nigel Barnett, (PICTURED) chief executive of West Sussex-based Telecom Acquisitions Ltd (TAL Group), has repurchased the 51% shareholding held by TalkTalk Group for the past four years.

The buyback was planned over 18 months, with both companies working together to reach an agreed outcome. 

During TalkTalk’s involvement, TAL Group doubled in size and now serves more than 80,000 customers every month.

Barnett said the opportunity was different from what he had expected four years ago, but one he could not miss. He also praised his daughter, Sasha Barnett, who has taken the reins of the residential business.

“I’m incredibly proud of my daughter, Sasha Barnett, who shows the same passion for the residential business that I’ve always had,” he said. Barnett added that, after working in the business-to-business sector with Global 4, he had found the residential market “refreshing and fast-moving”. He thanked TalkTalk for its support over the past four years.

Home services for people moving house

Home Telecom, one of TAL Group’s leading brands, receives more than 30,000 introductions each month from people moving home across the UK. With energy and Sky TV added to its offering, the brand aims to provide movers with a wider package of home services.

The group’s growth has come through both organic expansion and acquisitions. Before and during TalkTalk’s involvement, TAL Group acquired 17 residential broadband customer bases. It says further deals are in the pipeline, with several hoped to be completed before Christmas.

A round-the-clock service

TAL Group moved to new premises in Horsham, West Sussex, in September 2025. It now employs more than 100 people, working both from its office and from home across the UK.

The company says it is among the few residential broadband suppliers to provide a 24-hour service, 365 days a year. Its service has received more than 20,000 reviews on Trustpilot, where it has a 4.7 rating.

TAL Group also offers a postcode checker covering the major broadband networks and larger alternative network operators. This enables homeowners to compare services available at their address in one search.

The group comprises Home Telecom, Fleur Telecom, Eclipse Broadband and EZE Talk Residential. It also serves customers from a number of other providers, including Bulldog Broadband, Cuckoo, Gigabit Networks, Link Broadband and Origin, under its trading brands.

Barnett’s repurchase returns the majority shareholding to TAL Group’s leadership as the company continues to pursue growth in the UK residential broadband market.

https://www.telecomacquisitions.co.uk

Solvent company liquidations have surged around tax deadlines, research finds

Solvent company liquidations have clustered sharply around tax deadlines, with activity reaching almost seven times its usual daily level before a tax increase in April 2025, new research has found.

The findings come as businesses look ahead to the Autumn Budget on 28 October, amid speculation about possible Capital Gains Tax changes and further reforms to Business Asset Disposal Relief (BADR). 

The research suggests that known deadlines can prompt shareholders to bring forward decisions about closing solvent companies, though it cannot establish why individuals acted when they did.

Licensed insolvency practitioners Clarke Bell analysed 21,839 Members’ Voluntary Liquidation (MVL) resolutions recorded between January 2024 and September 2026. MVLs allow solvent companies to be wound up, with remaining funds distributed to shareholders.

The study found the three highest monthly totals occurred ahead of the 2024 Autumn Budget or BADR tax increases. In October 2024, there were 2,760 resolutions, including 1,092 in the five working days before the Budget.

In April 2025, as the BADR tax rate rose from 10% to 14%, activity in the final five working days reached 6.83 times the January daily average, with 604 resolutions recorded. A year later, ahead of a further increase from 14% to 18%, 673 resolutions were recorded in the final five working days. In each case, activity fell by 93–94% over the five working days immediately after the deadline.

Clarke Bell’s Senior Partner, John Bell, said the pattern was consistent ahead of all three events, with activity concentrated in the final few working days before falling sharply afterwards. He added that the figures could not explain individual shareholders’ motivations, but that the timing was difficult to ignore.

The researchers also compared the figures with other periods to test whether seasonality might explain the peaks. Activity before the 2024 Budget was 3.38 times its usual level, with no comparable increase in 2023. The April 2025 and 2026 spikes were also substantially higher than in April 2024, when BADR did not change.

Jason Piper, Head of Tax and Business Law – Policy and Insights at ACCA, told That's Businesses that tax reform timetables inevitably influence behaviour. 

While the figures cannot prove people’s reasons, he said they suggest tax can be a factor in the timing of decisions.

The latest figures show solvent liquidation activity also rose through summer 2026, from 11.5 resolutions per working day in May to a provisional 22.0 in September.

With the Budget approaching, the previous peaks highlight how strongly activity has gathered around fiscal deadlines. Whether that pattern will be repeated remains to be seen.

https://clarkebell.com

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Bunta Beer founder shortlisted for Entrepreneur of the Year

Gunikka Ahuja, founder of Bunta Beer, has been shortlisted for Entrepreneur of the Year at the 2026 Women in Beer Awards.

The nomination recognises Gunikka’s ambition to bring a fresh perspective to the UK beer industry. 

She founded Bunta in 2025 after leaving a successful career at Adidas in Los Angeles, where she worked in textile innovation.

Inspired by her Indian heritage and Britain’s much-loved “curry and a pint” tradition, Gunikka saw an opportunity to create a beer designed to complement Indian food. Bunta’s flagship citrus lager is brewed with orange peel and coriander seed. At 0.5% ABV, it is light, crisp and refreshing, and is also gluten-free and vegan.

Since launching, Bunta Beer has secured more than 100 listings across the UK, including more than 40 restaurants. Its venues include acclaimed restaurants Kricket, Jikoni, Pahli Hill and Bombay Bustle, as well as the Royal Albert Hall, Novotel, The Gladstone Arms and East West Pizza.

The brand’s first draught listing was at The Latimer in Notting Hill. Bunta is now poured at 60 accounts across London, with a distribution partnership with Champers Drinks supporting further growth in the capital and South East.

The company reports 40% year-on-year growth, as interest grows in premium alcohol-free beers made with food and flavour in mind. For Gunikka, winning the confidence of respected hospitality operators has helped show that diners are looking for more thoughtful choices than a standard alcohol-free lager.

Her plans reach beyond the beer, too. Drawing on her textile innovation background, she is developing Buntatex™, a concept exploring how brewing by-products could be turned into biodegradable textiles and packaging.

Gunikka said: “I started Bunta Beer because I saw an opportunity to create something different, a beer that celebrates my Indian heritage while bringing a fresh perspective to the UK drinks industry.

“Seeing Bunta listed in restaurants, pubs and hospitality venues across the country has been one of the most rewarding parts. It’s exciting to see operators embracing a different approach to alcohol-free beer, one that’s focused on flavour, food and the overall drinking experience.”

The Women in Beer Awards celebrate women’s achievements across the brewing and beer industries. The 2026 winners are due to be announced at the awards ceremony on 20 October.

Founded in 2025, Bunta Beer is on a mission to rethink how beer can pair with Indian food. Find out more at buntabeer.com.

LinkedIn Lead Generation Starts with a Clear Proposition

Businesses struggling to generate leads from LinkedIn may be focusing on the wrong problem. 

According to social selling expert Dean Seddon, the answer is not simply to post more often or blame the algorithm. It starts with a clear commercial proposition and a joined-up sales strategy.

Dean, founder of social selling training company Maverrik, says businesses often treat posting, networking, outreach and engagement as separate activities.

But these tactics are unlikely to deliver consistent results if a company has not first worked out what it is selling, who is most likely to buy it and why they would pay for it.

“The three big reasons people don't get leads on LinkedIn are that they're unfocused on what they're selling, unfocused on who would buy it and unfocused on why,” Dean told That's Business.

It is a useful reminder for businesses tempted to focus on activity for activity’s sake. A regular stream of posts might attract attention, but attention alone does not explain what a company offers or give a potential customer a reason to take the next step. 

Likewise, networking and outreach need a clear purpose if they are to support sales.

Dean says consistent lead generation rests on three connected elements: content, newsletters and events. Each can help a business communicate its offer, build relationships with potential customers and create opportunities for further conversation. The key is to bring them together around the same commercial proposition, rather than treating them as isolated marketing tasks.

For businesses, that means starting with some straightforward questions. What problem does your product or service solve? Who is most likely to need that solution? And what makes your offer worth paying for? Clear answers can help shape the messages shared through LinkedIn content, the subjects covered in newsletters and the focus of events.

This approach also offers a more useful way to judge LinkedIn activity. Instead of asking only whether a post received likes or comments, businesses can consider whether their communications are reaching the right people and helping them understand the value on offer.

LinkedIn can be an important part of a sales strategy, but it cannot make an unclear proposition compelling by itself. Before changing the posting schedule or chasing higher engagement, businesses may want to review the foundations of their offer and how each part of their marketing supports it.

Dean Seddon’s comments were issued in London on 15 October 2026.

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Countryside Connections uses KeySIM multi-network IoT SIMs for Ajax alarm systems

Rural connectivity makes access to multiple mobile networks important for alarm installations across the areas served by the Welsh connectivity provider.

Countryside Connections is using KeySIM multi-network IoT SIM cards with Ajax alarm systems, helping provide cellular connectivity for security installations in rural locations.

Founded by Morgan Jones, Countryside Connections works to improve connectivity for rural communities and businesses. 

In areas where mobile coverage can vary from one location to another, a multi-network IoT SIM gives a connected device access to multiple available mobile networks.

That flexibility is valuable for Ajax alarm systems installed across Countryside Connections’ service area. By using KeySIM IoT SIMs, the company can support alarm connectivity with a SIM designed for connected devices and deployments where network availability matters.

Morgan Jones of Countryside Connections told That's Business: “We work across rural areas where mobile coverage can differ significantly from one place to another. 

"Having a multi-network SIM is important for the Ajax alarm systems we install, because it gives us more flexibility in finding the best available connection. KeySIM is a good fit for the way we work and the locations we serve.”

KeySIM provides multi-network IoT SIM cards for security, telemetry and other connected applications. Its SIMs help businesses connect devices in locations where relying on a single mobile network may not be suitable.

https://www.keysim.co.uk