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And 13a is the seventh note of the scale (2 letters) in an anagram (messy) of a 6 letter word in the clue; definition is “They send out”

10a I solved it from the definition.
Then I googled financial backers and all was revealed!

Hi BarryC

Many thanks for your help. I thought my P might be wrong. I've now got 10ac and I got 20ac a few minutes ago. I have an answer for 13ac but I'm not sure it is right as apart from "messy", the letters don't quite match yours.

I'm getting there now. I've got six of the letters in 4 down, but can't see where the last two come from in a word I've heard of. I have an answer for 21d, but I'm not sure it is right. I'm still looking for 24ac, 8ac and 5d

I'll be glad to finish and see if I can find 18 theme words!

4d only guessing but you might need an abbreviation for number.

5d is a homophone for darkness.

The "100" is a common synonym, in cricket and motorcycling in particular.

8a a 4 letter word for labour around leading letter of economist and an article reversed.
Definition a kind of growth.

Did anyone else find an equally valid alternative plant in 18a? Doesn't help the SW corner though!

18a is an anagram but not easily found in searches.

The definition is a bit loose - it's not a specific plant, as far as I know.