{
  "id": 7271650,
  "title": "Big Technologies founder talks collapse as profits rebound from boardroom battle",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/14/big-technologies-founder-talks-collapse-as-profits-rebound-from",
  "topic": "finance",
  "section": "Finance & Markets",
  "published": "2026-09-14T06:46:24.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "City AM",
    "slug": "city-am",
    "url": "https://www.cityam.com/big-technologies-founder-talks-collapse-as-profits-rebound-from-boardroom-battle/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Big Technologies, led by founder Sara Murray, is embroiled in a legal battle despite seeing a return to statutory profit and an optimistic outlook. The electronic monitoring group's AIM-listed company announced on Monday that mediation talks with Murray had ended without resolution, indicating their intention to proceed with legal action against their founder unless fresh settlement discussions arise. This development occurs three months after Murray tried to remove four directors during a contentious annual meeting, resulting in one director's removal. Murray, who holds about a quarter of the company's shares, was previously ousted from the company in the previous year for allegedly concealing beneficial ownership interests and forging documents for a share restructuring before the 2021 flotation. She has denied these claims, stating that the company made \"a whole heap of false allegations\" against her. Big Technologies remains hopeful that a settlement can be reached, but if discussions fail, they will pursue litigation. The latest dispute follows a £38.5m settlement with former shareholder Buddi in January, with the company paying £33.4m during the first half, reducing cash reserves from £96.7m to £67.1m. However, legal cash costs dropped to £2.6m from £5.3m over the same period. Big Technologies returned to profit in the first half, reporting an operating profit of £9.1m, up from a £27.1m loss a year earlier, and revenue increased to £26.9m from £24.8m, driven by new contracts in the Americas and Europe. The company also secured a seven-year contract in Chile worth around $19m, alongside new business in Peru, Mexico, and six U.S. contracts. Despite the positive financial performance, the founder-led dispute continues, with Murray voting against re-electing the four directors at the recent AGM. Three directors retained their seats with around 60% shareholder support, while non-executive director Camilla Macun was voted out. Murray attributed the vote to \"huge disquiet\" among shareholders and called for the board to reconsider or face replacement.",
  "summary": "Big Technologies’ bitter battle with founder Sara Murray has flared up again after settlement talks collapsed, overshadowing a return to statutory profit and a raised outlook at the electronic monitoring group. The AIM-listed company said on Monday that mediated discussions with Murray had ended without an agreement, meaning it would continue pursuing legal proceedings against [...]",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}