UK Investor Magazine

The UK Investor Magazine is joined by Rob van Straten, CEO of Skytree, a European Space Agency spin-off that builds machines to capture carbon dioxide directly from the air. The technology was originally developed to remove CO₂ from the atmosphere aboard the International Space Station, and Skytree has adapted it for use on Earth.

Find out more about Skytree’s crowdfunding round here.

Rob explains how the business started and the problem it aims to solve. Many industries depend on a steady supply of CO₂ for their processes, with greenhouses among the largest users, yet most of that supply is a by-product of fossil fuel production and has been prone to shortages.

Skytree’s machines produce a reliable, fossil-free on-site supply of CO₂, removing reliance on traditional supply chains. Rob sees this as a market worth around $10bn, and one that will need new sources of CO₂ as the world moves beyond oil.

The conversation looks at where Skytree sits in the wider direct air capture landscape and how its approach differs from better-known players such as Climeworks. Rather than capturing carbon and relying on buyers of carbon removal credits, Skytree sells CO₂ to industrial customers who need it for their day-to-day operations, giving the business a more direct commercial footing.

Rob also outlines the company’s revenue model. Skytree sells its machines at a margin and earns recurring income from maintenance, while a CO₂-as-a-service option lets customers buy the gas instead of the equipment, with externally financed machines.

We discuss progress to date, the key milestones the company has achieved and the potential pipeline ahead. They also cover what Skytree is raising funds for, why now is the right time, and why the company has chosen crowdfunding to raise capital. Investors can join Skytree’s Series B early at a 20% discount.

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Philip Kent, CEO of Gravis Capital and Lead Manager of GCP Infrastructure Investments (LSE: GCP), joins UK Investor Magazine to discuss the state of the infrastructure investment trust sector and how GCP is designed to achieve capital preservation and reliable, inflation-linked income from UK infrastructure projects.

Infrastructure trusts have spent much of the past few years trading at wide discounts to NAV. Philip explains why, how Gravis-managed portfolios react to interest rate moves, and how the team balances income against capital protection in a weak economy.

The conversation also covers the outlook for infrastructure dividends over the next five years, opportunities in net zero and the energy transition, and where capital is flowing across the UK today. Philip addresses the health of GCP’s debt book directly, including whether any project borrowers are falling behind on interest payments.

From the perspective of investors who may use an ISA or SIPP, Philip outlines the portfolio mix, the advantages listed vehicles offer over private funds, and the most common misconceptions about infrastructure investing. He closes with how Gravis is approaching AI and what role infrastructure should play alongside equities and bonds in a diversified portfolio.

Topics covered:

• Why infrastructure trusts trade at discounts to NAV
• Interest rate sensitivity
• Income vs capital protection
• Dividend sustainability over five years
• Net zero and energy transition opportunities
• Where UK infrastructure capital is going
• Debt quality and borrower performance
• GCP’s portfolio mix for ISA and SIPP holders
• Listed vs private infrastructure funds
• Gravis Capital’s approach to AI
• Retail misconceptions about infrastructure
• Infrastructure in a diversified portfolio

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The UK Investor Magazine was thrilled to welcome Sir Martin Sorrell to the podcast for a broad-ranging conversation covering FIFA’s failed attempt to raise private investment, the current state of the UK economy, and where he sees opportunities by geography.

Having been in the US for the World Cup, S4 Capital Chairman Sir Martin starts by providing his view on the commercial opportunities for FIFA and where he sees the business of football going.

The conversation moves to the UK and his views on the country’s trajectory before covering AI and breaking down, country by country, where he sees opportunity.

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The UK Investor Magazine was delighted to welcome Ed Croft, CEO of Stockopedia, back to the podcast to delve into Stockopedia’s rules-based investing indicators and how investors can gain an edge on share price re-ratings.

In this episode, he discusses new research into a pattern he had traded on instinct for years: what happens when a company’s quality score jumps sharply upward.

Register for the webinar here.

The conversation covers:

What a StockRank is: how Stockopedia scores every company on the market out of 100 based on how good, how cheap and how improving the business is, and why the top-ranked shares have historically outperformed while the lowest-ranked have lagged.

Why the score jumps: the public information that drives a sudden re-rating, from company results and broker upgrades to the language in a trading statement, which often shifts before the numbers do.

The central finding: why change beats level, and how the company that has just become excellent tends to outperform the one that was always excellent.

Why the market is slow to catch on: the decades-old academic thinking behind the effect, and why it is strongest among the small companies institutions cannot reach.

Where it works and where it fails: the sweet spot, the danger zones, real companies that quietly re-rated, why the well-known compounders never triggered the signal, and a Rolls-Royce case where the score turned ahead of the headlines.

What to do with it: practical rules for using a jump as a trigger to research rather than a signal to buy, when to sell, and an honest account of where the approach falls short.

Find out more: Register for further insights here.

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The UK Investor Magazine is joined by Marc Kimsey, Director at F&O Research, to review the first half of 2026 and look ahead to the rest of the year.

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Marc shares his take on the recent AI wobbles and whether the sell-off marks a healthy pullback or the end of a bubble, before exploring where the winners and losers of the AI spending boom could emerge. The conversation turns to the UK market and whether British stocks deserve a place in portfolios for stability, along with the housebuilders’ comeback and whether the sector’s recovery has further to run.

Marc also reflects on AST SpaceMobile, one of F&O’s top performers this year, and discusses whether the space trade has legs following SpaceX’s record-breaking IPO. We then consider the prospects for Anthropic and OpenAI listings and whether recent volatility could see them hold off.

Marc finishes with his top picks for 2026.

Listeners can enjoy 50% off F&O Research using the discount code ‘UKIM2026‘ at checkout.

Secure your 50% off here.

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UK Investor Magazine speaks with Daniel Prickett, Group Chief Executive of Christie Group plc, the long-established professional and financial services group serving the hospitality, leisure, healthcare, medical, childcare & education and retail sectors.

In this interview, Dan introduces Christie Group and the brands behind it; Christie & Co, Christie Finance, Christie Insurance and Pinders in the Professional & Financial Services division, alongside Venners in Stock & Inventory Systems & Services.

He explains how the firm’s services complement one another, the value of cross-selling across divisions, and why it chooses to specialise in particular property-backed sectors with functioning M&A markets.

Dan also walks through the Group’s history (with roots dating back to the late 1800s), where it stands on strategy today, and the opportunities he sees over the next five years.

He presents a compelling investment case, discussing the key takeaways for investors from the FY25 results published in April 2026.

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UK Investor Magazine sits down with Kevin Limn, CEO of Adsure Services, to unpack a transformational strategic update that sets out the group’s ambition to become a leading cluster of specialist professional services businesses across the UK, powered by its own AI technology.

Learn more about Adsure Services here. 

In this interview, Kevin explains how Adsure plans to build on the foundations of its established subsidiary TIAA Limited, a B Corp-certified business with more than 30 years of trusted advice and assurance work across the UK public sector. He sets out the firm’s vision for diversified growth, the role of selective acquisitions alongside organic expansion, and how proprietary AI could become a value driver in its own right.

Kevin also discusses TIAA Insight, the AI technology developed with the University of Essex through an Innovate UK Knowledge Transfer Partnership, and why management is exploring a dedicated AI services subsidiary to leverage the technology across the group and help power the acquisition strategy.

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UK Investor Magazine is joined by Lord Michael Spencer, one of the City’s most successful entrepreneurs of the past 25 years, as he sits down with David Buik and Michael Wilson.

In this discussion, Lord Spencer shares his views on financial markets, the economy, and the business landscape, drawing on decades of experience at the forefront of global finance.

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The UK Investor Magazine is joined by Tekcapital Executive Chairman Cliff Gross, who unpacks Tekcapital’s 2025 results and progress for their portfolio companies.

Cliff walks through the 2025 results, touching on financial performance and the key drivers of portfolio fluctuations.

He then introduces Vesari, Tekcapital’s fifth portfolio company, targeting geothermal-powered hyperscale AI data centres. The thesis is that power, not chips, is now AI’s real bottleneck. Cliff explains why geothermal is uniquely suited to the job and how Vesari’s integrated, closed-loop architecture differs from peers. He also explores the funding opportunities for Vesari.

The conversation turns to Guident’s IPO and when investors can expect the autonomous vehicle to begin trading on NASDAQ.

We finish with an outlook for the year ahead.

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