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The Lagoon Resort merges two Meliá properties ahead of 20th year

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SAL, CAPE VERDE. September 25th, 2026 – The Lagoon Resort in Sal is preparing for a significant change to its hotel portfolio, with Meliá Lana and Meliá Laguna Beach set to combine under a single hotel operation as the resort approaches its 20th anniversary in 2027.

Meliá Lana and Meliá Laguna Beach will merge to become Meliá Lana Hotel, forming part of a new chapter for The Lagoon Resort on the island of Sal.

The change comes ahead of 2027, when The Lagoon Resort will mark 20 years since its development began, and reflects the continued evolution of a resort group that has played a significant role in the growth of Cape Verde’s five-star tourism sector.

The wider Resort Group PLC (TRG), founded by entrepreneur Rob Jarrett in 2007, has built its business around large-scale beachfront hospitality developments in Cape Verde, working with international hotel and tourism brands to attract visitors from overseas markets.

Its strategy has centred on securing beachfront locations and developing large resort destinations in a market that was considerably less established when the group first began investing.

The group has developed a portfolio that has included Meliá Tortuga Beach, Meliá Dunas Beach and Meliá Llana Beach Resort & Spa, alongside other hospitality and leisure operations.

The partnership with Meliá Hotels International has been central to the group’s approach, combining TRG’s role as developer with the international hotel company’s established brand, operating expertise and distribution network.

The merger of Meliá Lana and Meliá Laguna Beach will now bring the two properties together under the Meliá Lana Hotel name.

Rob Jarrett, Founder of The Resort Group PLC said: “Bringing Meliá Lana and Meliá Laguna Beach together as Meliá Lana Hotel marks another important stage in the evolution of The Lagoon Resort. We have always taken a long-term view of Cape Verde and our investment in Sal, and it is particularly fitting that this next chapter comes as the resort approaches its 20th anniversary.

“Over the past two decades, we have seen Sal develop into an internationally recognised holiday destination, and we are proud of the role our resorts have played in that journey. Working alongside established international hospitality partners has been central to our approach from the beginning, and we believe this latest change will strengthen the offering at The Lagoon Resort as we look towards its next 20 years.”

For The Lagoon Resort, the change comes as Cape Verde’s tourism industry continues to expand and Sal strengthens its position as one of the country’s best-known international holiday destinations.

The island has become particularly associated with long stretches of sandy beach, year-round warm weather and a growing portfolio of international hotels and resorts.

The Lagoon Resort itself represents a significant part of that development. Over two decades, its growth has mirrored Cape Verde’s emergence from a relatively niche holiday destination into an established market for European visitors.

TRG has previously described its Cape Verde investment programme as exceeding €1 billion, covering resort developments, infrastructure and associated hospitality projects across the country.

The group’s expansion has not been without scrutiny. Its earlier use of investment products linked to Cape Verde hotel developments became the subject of regulatory attention in the UK, particularly in relation to pension-transfer advice. The FCA’s findings related to the conduct of the advisers and the suitability of the pension advice, rather than representing a finding against the hotel developments themselves, and the Resort Group is no longer under investigation in relation to this.

Rob Jarrett’s approach has focused on identifying emerging tourism markets and using partnerships with established international operators to support large-scale development.

The group’s Cape Verde strategy has also extended beyond individual hotels, with leisure and entertainment venues developed alongside accommodation in an effort to create destinations offering more than traditional resort stays.

The latest hotel consolidation therefore represents another stage in the development of a resort that has been part of Cape Verde’s tourism story since the late 2000s.

With its 20th anniversary approaching in 2027, The Lagoon Resort will enter the milestone year with Meliá Lana Hotel alongside Meliá Tortuga Beach and Meliá Dunas Beach, as part of its Meliá-branded hotel portfolio.

The anniversary will provide an opportunity to look back at two decades of development on Sal while the resort continues to adapt its accommodation offering for a new generation of international visitors.

Further details about the transition from Meliá Lana and Meliá Laguna Beach to Meliá Lana Hotel, including arrangements for existing bookings, are expected to be provided to guests as the changes take effect.

For more information, visit lagoonresort.com.

Trust A Forwarder Introduces New Global Directory to Help Freight Forwarders

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TAF combines peer reviews, company credentials, and verification tools to address trust and counterparty challenges in international logistics.

BORDON, UK. September 25th, 2026 – A new digital platform is giving freight forwarders a dedicated way to research, verify, and assess international logistics partners. Trust A Forwarder (TAF) has officially launched worldwide, providing an independent directory and peer-review network created specifically for the forwarding community.

TAF brings together information that can help logistics companies assess potential overseas partners before entering into commercial relationships. Its verification network is designed to address issues including unreliable counterparties, communication breakdowns, and unsubstantiated claims about a company’s capabilities or credentials.

With international supply chains facing increasing regulatory and operational demands, selecting the right overseas agent has become an important consideration for freight forwarders. Requirements such as the EU’s Import Control System 2 (ICS2) and expanding carbon-tracking measures add further complexity. Through TAF, users can review company credentials, statutory licences, and verified feedback from other industry participants in one central location.

“Finding a dependable overseas agent shouldn’t be a game of chance,” said Gary Magee, Director of Trust A Forwarder. “Too many logistics businesses lose time, money, and reputation due to poor communication and broken promises from unvetted third parties. TAF shifts the power back to reputable forwarders, creating a transparent community built on accountability and real operational data.”

Key Platform Features

  • 7-Point Peer Reviews: Moves beyond basic 5-star sliders with operational evaluations covering reliability, proactive communication, cargo handling, pricing transparency, and payment settlement speed.
  • Centralised Compliance & Accreditations: A dedicated hub to display statutory operating licences and recognised credentials, including FIATA, IATA, AEO, BIFA, and ISO certifications.
  • Live Trust Toolkit: Verified members can deploy live website review widgets and email signature badges to prove their vetted standing on commercial quotations and correspondence.
  • Pre-Loaded Network Access: More than 1,700 international companies are already indexed, allowing forwarders to immediately claim, verify, and optimise their corporate profiles.

To support business growth and international visibility, TAF provides tiered annual membership options, Approved and Premium, designed for forwarders aiming to secure regional territory dominance, enhance digital credibility, and capture high-intent B2B routing tenders.

Logistics professionals and independent forwarding companies can locate their company listing, select a membership tier, and explore the directory at www.trust-a-forwarder.com.

From anaesthesia to aesthetics: Dr Ed Robinson adopts new tools to improve cosmetic care

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Dr Ed Robinson is applying lessons from his medical background to aesthetic practice by bringing together targeted pain management, ultrasound imaging and AI-supported administration within his clinic.

Dr Ed Robinson, founder of Dr Ed Robinson Aesthetics, is introducing the systematic use of regional nerve blocks alongside ultrasound, while also incorporating AI into the organisation and administration of his clinic.

The aim is to make selected procedures more comfortable, reduce reliance on assumptions and give practitioners greater information about a patient’s individual anatomy before and during treatment.

Building on his background in NHS anaesthesia and his training in anatomy, Dr Ed is applying established medical principles more systematically within an aesthetic setting.

Dr Ed said: “A cosmetic procedure is still a medical procedure, and patients shouldn’t be expected to put up with unnecessary pain or uncertainty because their treatment is elective.

“My background in anaesthesia taught me to think very carefully about pain management, while ultrasound allows me to see what’s happening beneath the skin rather than relying on assumptions.”

Regional nerve blocks can be used during selected facial procedures to make treatment significantly more comfortable without unnecessarily swelling or distorting the area being treated.

Rather than repeatedly injecting local anaesthetic throughout a treatment area, the technique involves placing a carefully calculated amount close to a sensory nerve to temporarily numb the wider area.

Dr Ed said: “Nerve blocks are not new. They’re well established in medicine, dentistry and anaesthesia.

“What I want to challenge is the idea that discomfort is something patients have to accept during aesthetic treatment. Where appropriate, we can use medical techniques to make the experience much more comfortable.”

Dr Ed is also integrating ultrasound into assessment, treatment planning, injections and complication management.

It can help Dr Ed visualise muscles, blood vessels, tissue layers and existing filler before treatment, as well as assess complications or help make filler dissolving more targeted.

He said: “Everybody’s anatomy is slightly different.

“Ultrasound gives us another layer of information so we can make more informed decisions before we treat.”

Ultrasound can be used to assess the masseter muscle before Botox treatment, map anatomy ahead of filler procedures and investigate problems following previous injectable treatments.

It can also help make filler dissolving more targeted by identifying where existing product is located before treatment takes place.

Dr Ed said: “Innovation in aesthetics shouldn’t be about using something because it’s new.

“It should be about whether it can genuinely improve the patient experience, precision or outcome. That’s the standard we’re trying to establish. We’re currently using AI to support clinic notes and help with clinic organisation, but in time I’m sure we will be able to expand to treatment decisions and procedures too.”

The approach follows Dr Ed Robinson Aesthetics’ recent first CQC assessment, in which the clinic received an overall Good rating.

Inspectors recognised the clinic’s governance and culture of continuous improvement, finding that it used emerging evidence and developments within the sector to improve treatment and patient outcomes.

BroadShield Brings Accredex into MyrusBuild Following Acquisition

Accredex will join MyrusBuild, adding established construction learning and assessment expertise to the wider BroadShield group and expanding its ability to support competence, compliance and workforce assurance across the built environment.

STEVENAGE, UK. September 24th, 2026 – BroadShield has acquired Accredex, an established provider of construction learning and assessment that has supported more than 8,000 professionals across the UK built environment.

The acquisition brings Accredex into a growing group focused on helping organisations understand, develop and evidence the capability of their people. It also represents BroadShield’s continued investment in sectors where competence, safety, assurance and workforce visibility play an important role in organisational performance.

Accredex will become part of MyrusBuild, BroadShield’s Construction and Built Environment business. Its established learning and assessment expertise will complement MyrusBuild’s broader approach to workforce capability, competence and assurance.

For employers, contractors and professional bodies operating across construction and the wider built environment, demonstrating competence increasingly involves more than simply completing training. Organisations need to connect learning outcomes with role requirements, assessment, evidence, development planning and ongoing review.

Accredex delivers the Construction Industry Council Health & Safety Certification, an online course and assessment that provides eligible built-environment professionals with an approved route to relevant CSCS and SKILLcard cards.

The certification helps professionals demonstrate an appropriate understanding of health and safety requirements when accessing recognised industry card schemes. Accredex has established a reputation for providing an accessible online route that is practical for individuals and organisations while remaining aligned with recognised industry requirements.

The acquisition further develops MyrusBuild’s construction-specific learning and assessment capability at a time when competence and organisational assurance are becoming increasingly important across the sector.

As part of MyrusBuild, Accredex will sit within a broader construction-focused proposition spanning consultancy, competence framework development, assessment design, evidence management and technology-enabled reporting. This will allow the business to build on its existing strengths while providing customers with access to wider support as expectations around competence continue to develop.

Training, qualifications and certification remain important components of workforce capability and can provide valuable evidence of competence. However, organisations also need to establish what competence means for individual roles, assess people against those requirements, maintain appropriate evidence, identify development gaps and ensure competence remains current.

MyrusBuild brings these elements together through Myrus, its technology platform, alongside specialist competence expertise and consultancy.

This approach enables organisations to move beyond individual training records towards a more comprehensive and up-to-date view of workforce capability. This is particularly relevant in construction, where multiple roles, contractors, standards, sites and regulatory requirements can make it challenging to maintain consistent evidence of who is competent to perform particular activities and where further development may be needed.

Emma Perry [pictured], Chief Executive Officer of BroadShield, said: “Accredex is a great fit for what we are building with MyrusBuild. It has an established reputation, strong construction expertise and has already supported more than 8,000 professionals across the industry.

“Learning and assessment are important parts of developing and demonstrating competence, but organisations increasingly need to connect them with the wider picture of workforce capability.

“Bringing Accredex into MyrusBuild allows us to build on what is already working well while creating a broader offer for the construction industry. It strengthens what we can provide today and gives us an exciting platform for future growth.

“This is not about changing the fundamentals of what Accredex does well. It is about protecting that value, investing in its continued development and connecting it with the wider resources, technology and experience of the BroadShield group.”

Across the BroadShield group, more than one million learning and assessment interventions are delivered annually, bringing significant experience in workforce development, learning, assessment and competence to the next stage of Accredex’s growth.

At the centre of the group is Myrus, BroadShield’s cloud-based workforce development platform, which brings learning, competence, compliance, performance and reporting together within one integrated system.

Myrus helps organisations consolidate workforce information, making it easier to plan learning, monitor progress, evidence competence and provide insight to managers and leaders. Within MyrusBuild, this technology is combined with construction-specific expertise to help organisations translate standards and requirements into clear and practical competence arrangements.

MyrusBuild sits alongside MyrusCare, BroadShield’s Health and Social Care business. Together, the businesses apply BroadShield’s experience in workforce development and competence to sectors where understanding, developing and evidencing workforce capability is critical.

Garreth O’Connell, Head of Strategy and Innovation at MyrusBuild, said: “The construction industry already has extensive training, qualifications, standards and competence frameworks. The challenge is bringing them together to create a clear and current understanding of workforce competence.

“Accredex gives us an established learning and assessment capability with deep construction experience. Combined with MyrusBuild and the Myrus platform, we can connect learning and assessment with the wider process of defining, assessing, evidencing and developing competence.

“For individuals, that means accessible learning and assessment that supports progression. For organisations, it means better visibility, stronger evidence and a clearer way to manage competence at scale.”

Accredex’s existing services will continue as the business becomes part of MyrusBuild, with continuity for existing customers and partners remaining a priority throughout the transition.

BroadShield will invest in the continued development of Accredex and explore opportunities to connect its learning and assessment services with the wider capabilities available through MyrusBuild.

The immediate priority will be maintaining service continuity while identifying practical opportunities to improve the customer experience, expand the offer and align Accredex’s services with MyrusBuild’s wider competence management capability.

Paul Jenkinson, Director of Accredex, said: “Accredex has always focused on making construction learning and assessment accessible, practical and relevant.

“Joining MyrusBuild gives us the opportunity to build on what we have achieved and take Accredex into its next stage of development. We can retain the strengths of the existing service while becoming part of a much broader approach to learning, competence and workforce capability.

“The combination gives Accredex a strong home for the future. It allows us to continue supporting construction professionals while opening up new ways to help employers and industry stakeholders connect learning, assessment and competence more effectively.”

HIPER Global Launches Configurable Rugged Edge AI Servers for Mission-Critical Deployments

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The new HIPER Rugged Edge AI Server Series combines Dell PowerEdge XR-Series platforms with HIPER Global’s proprietary ruggedised infrastructure, delivering high-performance computing, AI capability and enterprise reliability in challenging edge environments.

WOKINGHAM, UK. September 25th, 2026 – HIPER Global, a provider of application-specific computing solutions, has launched its new HIPER Rugged Edge AI Server Series, designed to bring configurable enterprise computing and AI capabilities to demanding environments where conventional infrastructure may not be suitable.

Developed through a strategic engineering relationship with Dell Technologies, the new product line delivers enterprise performance and mission-critical reliability for high-performance computing and AI workloads across defence, industrial IoT and extreme-edge deployments. Each platform undergoes rigorous environmental qualification testing to ensure compliance with demanding MIL-STD-810H environmental and regulatory requirements.

Designed for the intense demands of rugged field deployment, the HIPER Rugged Edge AI Server Series remains a high-performance, general-purpose platform capable of supporting a wide range of workloads at the edge, while retaining the native Dell quality, stability and cyber-resilient architecture associated with Dell’s PowerEdge XR Series servers.

“The HIPER Rugged Edge AI Server Series brings together proven enterprise-class technology with HIPER Global’s application-specific engineering and ruggedisation expertise,” said Mark Turner, Chief Executive Officer of HIPER Global UK.

“It enables customers to deploy highly configurable, high-performance systems in demanding mission-critical environments, supported by local engineering, integration and manufacturing options here in the UK.”

By leveraging the foundation of Dell PowerEdge XR Series servers and combining it with HIPER Global’s proprietary high-durability architecture, the series enables customers to deploy mission-critical, general-purpose applications in environments that were previously difficult or impractical to reach.

The series has been engineered to address the logistical challenges faced by deployed teams. Externally accessible components support rapid in-field servicing, while versatile mounting options enable straightforward integration across a range of platforms. These features are combined with thermal management designed to maintain performance in extreme operating conditions.

Interested parties can contact their local HIPER Global or Dell representative for more information.

In Venice, Liberatum asks whether film can bring humanity back to online conversation

Bruno Wang brought Lee Daniels, Nadine Labaki and Marisa Berenson together for a Liberatum discussion on the human stories that disappear when people are reduced to digital snapshots

At a time when online platforms can turn a single image, phrase or comment into a lasting judgment, filmmakers Lee Daniels and Nadine Labaki argued in Venice that cinema can create space for greater understanding. Their conversation explored the ability of film to restore context, complexity and empathy to stories that might otherwise be reduced to a single public impression.

Held at Palazzina Grassi on 7 September as Liberatum marked its 25th anniversary, the programme brought film, performance and public dialogue together around the theme of human dignity. Pure Land Foundation founder Bruno Wang hosted Daniels, Labaki and actor Marisa Berenson in a discussion about the consequences of reducing a complicated person to one photograph, comment or label.

Labaki described the speed at which people can be judged online. “It takes a moment, it takes a situation, it takes a phrase, it takes a comma, it takes a word to completely judge somebody,” she said. “And then it becomes like a verdict.” Film, by contrast, gives audiences time to understand a character through their motivations, history and contradictions. “You start seeing their contradictions,” she said, and may ultimately “fall in love with that person, even if you don’t agree with them.”

For Daniels, the question of visibility is deeply connected to his own career. “Precious was just representative of me not being seen as a Black queer man in the ’80s when I wanted to be seen,” he said. “So many of us are invisible to people. We don’t fit the norm, then we are not significant.” He said his work is intended “to give voice to people that don’t have voices and a face for people that aren’t seen.”

The panel also addressed whether art can create meaningful change beyond the screen. Labaki recalled creating Capernaum with the hope that it might help influence legislation concerning children’s rights, while recognising that films cannot easily change institutions. Daniels described a personal response that offered another measure of impact, recalling an abuser who approached him after seeing Precious and said, “Thank you. I will stop doing this to my daughter.” Berenson emphasised the significance of these individual moments, saying that “change starts on an individual level”.

A representative of the Pure Land Foundation said: “The Pure Land Foundation is increasingly interested in what happens when a person is misunderstood, judged or reduced to one public moment, and in what it takes to recover a fuller account of who they are. Cinema asks an audience to stay with a life long enough for the fuller person to emerge. Supporting Liberatum Art & Cinema allowed the Pure Land Foundation to place those questions at the heart of a public cultural programme.”

The wider programme included a poetry recital by Iranian singer and songwriter Sevdaliza and the 2026 Liberatum Pioneer Awards. Marina Abramović, Daniels and Labaki were recognised for their work in performance art and cinema, with tributes delivered by Rossy de Palma, Debi Mazar and Berenson.

In his closing remarks, Bruno Wang linked the discussion to the Buddhist teaching of right speech. “Language is not always neutral,” he said. “The words that we use actually could shape perception, shape relationships and shape the reality.” He called for “a more humane culture of communication” where accountability, compassion and complexity can coexist alongside the possibility of transformation and growth.

In an AI-Saturated Web, Trusted Curation Could Become the Key to Discovery

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As AI dramatically increases the volume of content and digital products available online, web entrepreneur Miles Noble argues that people may increasingly rely on trusted curators to identify what is genuinely useful, relevant and worth their attention.

For years, the internet has become better at connecting people with information. The arrival of increasingly capable AI tools is accelerating that process while also making it far easier to produce new content. According to web entrepreneur Miles Noble, this creates a different problem: helping people identify which of the growing number of available resources are actually worth their time.

That challenge is already visible in specialist digital ecosystems. SquareLocator, Miles’ curated discovery platform for the Squarespace community, now lists more than 1,300 products created by almost 80 independent creators, reflecting the growing number of resources competing to be noticed.

For independent developers, designers and creators, the problem is particularly relevant. Thousands of specialist digital products are being created every day, but producing a strong product does not necessarily mean that its intended audience will find it.

Miles believes the internet has unintentionally built an environment in which visibility can become disconnected from product quality.

“We spent 20 years optimising the internet to help people find information,” says Miles. “We now need to optimise it to help people make choices.”

For some independent creators, the importance of careful selection is already clear. Hannah Shaw, founder of Studio Founded, trained in museum curating before launching a full-service studio and template library. Her experience has shaped her belief that the strength of a collection depends on the judgement used to build it, rather than simply its size.

“We keep our collection small, with art-directed designs that carry a point of view,” says Hannah. “I prefer a curated collection of templates that can form part of a customer’s brand for years to come.”

That principle has particular relevance for independent creators. A developer may produce an excellent plugin. A designer might create a highly effective template. A small software business can build a tool that solves a genuine problem.

However, quality alone does not ensure that any of these products will be discovered. Larger businesses can spend heavily on SEO, paid advertising, content marketing and sophisticated digital campaigns. Independent creators often have considerably fewer resources available to compete for attention.

Roland van den Hout, co-founder of Squarespace plugin developer SQSMODS, says this challenge can continue even once a product has demonstrated its usefulness. “We’re living in an attention economy where the real problem isn’t access; it’s overload. More tools, more choices, and more noise compete for the same limited attention. That makes curation incredibly valuable.”

Roland continues: “SquareLocator helps people cut through that noise and find the Squarespace tools worth discovering. For us at SQSMODS, it means being found in the right context, by people already looking for ways to make Squarespace better.”

“The internet has become very good at rewarding visibility,” says Miles. “But visibility and quality aren’t necessarily the same thing.”

This becomes even more important in specialist ecosystems, where people frequently search for very particular solutions. A designer may need a specific Squarespace integration, while a business owner could be looking for a specialist template. A developer might need a tool designed around a very specific technical requirement.

The relevant resource may already be available, but discovering it can require navigating search results, social platforms, community conversations and individual websites. SquareLocator was created by Miles to address this issue. Launched in June 2026, the platform brings Squarespace templates, plugins, tools and courses from independent creators together in one curated discovery environment.

Rather than seeking to become an all-inclusive directory, SquareLocator puts greater emphasis on selected resources and clear ways to explore them. Miles sees this as an exercise in improving the filter rather than simply expanding the database.

“There’s a misconception that discovery means giving people more options,” he says. “Sometimes the most useful thing you can do is remove 90 per cent of the options and help someone understand why the remaining 10 per cent are worth looking at.”

Miles believes the importance of this approach could increase as AI makes digital creation faster and more accessible. An increase in products and content could give users more choice while simultaneously making it harder for individual creators to attract attention. Platforms that help people distinguish between visibility and genuine value could therefore play a larger role.

“AI is going to make it easier to create,” says Miles. “But if everyone can create more, the ability to discover the right things becomes even more important.”

While SquareLocator currently concentrates on Squarespace, Miles believes the underlying approach could work across other specialist communities. He sees an opportunity for niche ecosystems to develop smaller, focused platforms based on expertise, trust and recommendations rather than relying entirely on vast, indiscriminate directories.

“The creator economy doesn’t necessarily have an ideas problem,” he concludes. “It has a discoverability problem. There are incredible people building incredible things. The challenge is making sure the right people can find them.”

Engage Customer Summit set to bring 3,000 customer leaders together in London

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The two-day event takes place at Evolution London on 7 and 8 October, bringing together senior leaders and 250 case studies from some of the world’s biggest brands around a joined-up approach to customer experience

LONDON, UK. September 23rd, 2026 – Customer engagement leaders from across the UK and beyond will gather at Evolution London on 7 and 8 October 2026 for the return of the Engage Customer Summit. Free to attend for senior customer engagement professionals, the two-day event is expected to welcome around 3,000 senior delegates for a programme focused on how organisations can connect every function involved in the customer journey.

Seven stages will run simultaneously across the summit: the Main Stage, Future of the Contact Centre, Customer Contact, Customer Experience Management, Marketing and CRM, Loyalty, Retention & Growth, and Data, Insight & Analytics.

Rather than remaining within their individual disciplines, delegates are encouraged to explore the different stages and hear perspectives from across the customer journey. Several sessions will directly examine the challenge of organisational silos, including Breaking Down the Walls: How Cross-Functional Teams Are Transforming CX, Breaking Down the Silos: Uniting Sales, Marketing & Service Around the Customer, and From First Click to Loyal Customer: Leading the End-to-End Experience.

The two-day programme is centred on one practical question: what is actually working? Day one, The Customer Reality, explores the impact of rising customer expectations, economic pressures and fast-moving technology through case studies, panel discussions and open conversations between peers.

Day two, The Engagement Benchmark: Where Do You Stand?, is designed to help delegates understand how their organisation compares, what other businesses are prioritising and where they should focus their attention next.

Katie Browne, Head of Events at Engage Business Media said: “Customers do not experience an organisation department by department, yet most organisations are still built that way. Sales, service and marketing each own a stretch of the journey, each measure their own success, and the customer feels the seams.

“The 2026 summit puts all three audiences on one agenda for the first time, so the people responsible for the whole journey are in the same building, in the same conversations, for two days.”

Agenda highlights

The UK CX Report 2026. Engage Customer & Ipsos launch The Opportunity for Delight: Rising Above the Mediocre, a nationally representative study examining the rise of “nothing notable” experiences and making the case for looking at Voice of the Customer through a fresh lens.

250 Case studies from household names. Speakers include DHL Express, HSBC, Barclays, NatWest, Sky, Virgin Media O2, Specsavers, The Economist, the Financial Times, The Telegraph, Auto Trader, Xero, Experian, Depop, Anglian Water, HM Revenue & Customs, the NHS, Transport for Wales, the Open University and Cambridge University Press & Assessment.

Voice of the Room, a new format. Live audience polling will explore some of the biggest issues facing CX leaders, with responses from delegates compared against national data in real time. The format will run across seven breakout sessions throughout the two days.

An honest look at AI. The programme examines what organisations are actually experiencing with AI rather than simply focusing on promised outcomes. Sessions include The AI Reality Check: Why Investment Isn’t Delivering and What CX Leaders Need to Change, Why AI Automation Projects Stall (And How to Get Them Moving Again), and a roundtable exploring AI agent washing and how much of what organisations have purchased is genuinely agentic.

Day two headliner. Inside Out: Brand Building and Customer Engagement Starts With Your People. The session will be presented by Edelman following its recent Trust Barometer research.

Senior leadership focus groups and roundtables. Two 90-minute C-suite focus groups will take place on the mezzanine, alongside roundtable discussions covering customer outcome improvements, the transition from proof of concept to production, and the evolving relationship between people and automation.

Summit After-Party. Day one will conclude with drinks and networking from 5pm.

Registration is free for senior customer engagement professionals, with the last remaining tickets available at EngageCustomer.com. The full agenda can be found at www.engagecustomer.com/engage-customer-summit-agenda.

Charles Dowding takes Q3 title in UK Compost Championship

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HAMPSHIRE, UK. September 23rd, 2026 – No-dig gardening pioneer and garden influencer Charles Dowding has been announced as the Quarter 3 winner of the UK Compost Championship, following laboratory testing of his compost’s biological activity and nutrient profile.

Charles, widely recognised for his work championing no-dig gardening, came out on top in the latest round of the competition, which celebrates the production of biologically active, nutrient-rich compost across Britain.

The Compost Championship, organised by the Soil Ecology Laboratory, is running across four seasonal rounds over 12 months, with participants submitting compost samples for independent laboratory analysis of their biology and nutrient profile. A winner is selected in each quarter before the overall UK Compost Champion is crowned at the end of the year.

Charles Dowding, whose work has helped popularise no-dig gardening among growers and home gardeners, has spent decades demonstrating the importance of healthy soil and organic matter. He established an organic no-dig market garden in Somerset in the 1980s and has since written several books about soil, compost and growing without digging.

Commenting on his Quarter 3 victory, Charles Dowding said: “I enjoyed participating in the Compost Championship. It’s a wonderful way of gaining insights to the quality of my compost, and learning how it compares with others that people are making. The Soil Ecology Lab is doing a fantastic job in promoting this.”

The championship aims to broaden the conversation around compost, moving beyond its role as a source of organic matter to focus on the living biology that can make compost valuable to soil and plants. The competition gives participants access to laboratory analysis, allowing them to compare the biological and nutritional characteristics of their compost.

According to the Soil Ecology Laboratory, healthy compost can provide fertility, support soil life and offer an alternative to peat.

Daniel Tyrkiel, founder of Soil Ecology Laboratory, said the result reflected growing interest in understanding compost in greater depth.

“Charles has been talking about the importance of compost for many years, so it is particularly fitting to see his work recognised in a competition that looks beyond what compost looks like and asks what is actually happening biologically within it.

“We have been thrilled by the level of interest and participation since we set up the competition in 2025. The quality of compost matters, and we want the championship to encourage more people to understand, measure and improve it.”

The Soil Ecology Laboratory has made compost biology an important part of its wider work to help farmers, growers and gardeners understand and improve the health of their soils. The company supplies the world’s first and only living soil food web inoculant which can be shipped and stored, helping restore key functions in soils.

The laboratory provides soil and compost testing, including Soil Food Web microscopy, nutritional analysis and functional DNA analysis. Its testing is designed to help identify the organisms present in soil and compost and understand whether the biological community is providing the functions needed for healthy plant growth.

The Compost Championship extends this approach to a wider audience by giving compost makers comparable data about their material while building a community around the practical science of composting.

Daniel Tyrkiel added: “Britain has an enormous amount of organic material that can be turned into something valuable for our soils, but not all compost is equal and there is a lot of poor quality compost being sold across the UK.

“Our aim is to help people understand the difference and give them the tools to make better compost, whether they are managing a small garden, allotment, market garden or a farmer running a commercial growing operation.”

With three quarters of the competition now completed, attention turns to the final round and the search for the overall UK Compost Champion.

Daniel said: “The ultimate aim is not simply to crown a winner, but to help raise the standard of compost being made and used across the UK by putting its biological quality under greater scrutiny.”

For more information about the UK Compost Championship and how to enter, visit soilsmiths.co.uk/compost-championship.

Luxury assets fuel surge in pawnbroking as Prestige profits jump 115%

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LONDON, UK. September 23rd, 2026: Valuable watches, jewellery and designer accessories are increasingly being used as a source of short-term finance, as Prestige Pawnbrokers reports a 115% rise in pre-tax profits over two years.

Prestige Pawnbrokers has seen pre-tax profits soar by approximately 115% in just two years, while revenue increased by 54% to more than £15 million.

James Constantinou, founder of Prestige Pawnbrokers, who shot to fame on Channel 4’s Posh Pawn, said more people are using watches, jewellery, handbags and other luxury possessions to access money.

He said: “We’re seeing more people looking around their homes and realising they have thousands of pounds sitting in watches, jewellery and handbags.

“People need access to money for all sorts of reasons, and pawnbroking gives them the option of raising it against something they already own without having to sell it.

“Once the loan is repaid, they get their item back.

“With the cost of everything going up, people are becoming much more aware of what their possessions are worth and how they can use them.”

Prestige’s live loan book has grown by almost 50% in two years, with annual interest income now surpassing £5.3m.

The company has also recorded its strongest year in history, generating more than £15m in annual revenue for the first time.

James said: “Pawnbroking has changed enormously. There used to be a perception that you only walked into a pawnbroker if you were desperate for money, but that isn’t the case anymore.

“We’ve customers with assets worth tens of thousands of pounds who might need money quickly and don’t want to sell something they’ve spent years owning or collecting.

“For them, it can be a straightforward way of accessing money from an asset they already have.”

Prestige recorded nine months with revenues exceeding £1m during FY26, compared with just one £1m-plus month two years earlier.

Its highest-performing month brought in approximately £2m in revenue.

James said: “Two years ago, we had one month where revenue went over £1m. This year we’ve had nine.

“That shows just how much demand has grown and we’re now dealing with more high-value items than ever before.”

It isn’t just pawnbroking that’s growing, with second-hand luxury sales also soaring.

Second-hand luxury sales at Prestige have increased by more than 60% in two years to £10m annually.

James said: “The other side of the business has exploded as well.

“People still want beautiful watches, jewellery and handbags, but they’re becoming more careful about how they buy them.

“Buying pre-loved can mean getting the same Rolex, Cartier or Hermès piece for less than buying new, and people are far more comfortable doing that than they were a few years ago.

“We’re seeing people use the pre-owned market at both ends. Some are getting money from the luxury items they already own, while others are coming through the doors looking to buy them.”

Prestige’s profits have grown considerably faster than turnover, with pre-tax profit rising by approximately 115% compared with a 54% increase in revenue over two years.

James said: “These are the strongest figures we’ve ever had.

“Pawnbroking is one of the oldest businesses in the world, but the way people use it is changing.

“People are much more aware of what their possessions are worth and, with household finances being squeezed, I think more are going to look at what they already own.”

Constantinou currently runs eight Prestige Pawnbrokers stores across the country, with branches in Hatton Garden, Gracechurch Street in the City of London, Chelsea, Richmond, Weybridge, Guildford, Loughton and Manchester.

The business, which brought a premium approach to the traditional pawnbroking industry, has become a multi-million-pound enterprise.