Rosebud Finance, a Lancashire-based business loans provider, has injected £5.8m into 43 businesses across the region since July 2019, when GC Business Finance was appointed as the funds delivery partner.

Rosebud is owned by Lancashire County Developments Ltd (LCDL), a wholly owned subsidiary of Lancashire County Council. Since 1986, Rosebud has provided loans to Lancashire businesses of all sizes, ranging from £10,000 to £300,000, helping them develop, grow and create jobs.

Alternative finance provider GC Business Finance has been the delivery partner for Rosebud Finance since July 2019. It works closely with the entrepreneurs to understand their business, guiding them through the loan process and instilling confidence.

This support spans across the entire Lancashire region, with business loans distributed across all 12 boroughs. Chorley and Preston have received the most support, both with seven businesses in each borough benefitting from the fund. Five businesses in Burnley also secured funding from Rosebud.

Rosebud takes a sector agnostic approach to funding, but is focused on innovative, ambitious businesses with plans to grow their teams. Businesses operating in the manufacturing and creative and digital sectors secured the most funding, accounting for 65 per cent of loans provided by Rosebud through GC Business Finance.

Across all of these businesses, Rosebud is forecasted to have created over 400 jobs in Lancashire.

Recent businesses supported through Rosebud include Accrington-based Pharma Sheet Metal, a sheet metal specialist, which secured a £200k loan. The Secret Garden Glamping, an award-winning glamping site in Skelmersdale, also secured a £250k loan to complete its current site, adding five additional pods to meet its strong demand.

Jonathan Nelson, fund manager at Rosebud said: “I am extremely proud of the impact the funding we provide has had on businesses across Lancashire. It showcases our important role in fostering regional economic prosperity, with over 400 jobs forecasted to have been created through our funding. This is why it is so important to unlock the growth potential of businesses and we are excited to continue this work, helping even more people and businesses in the region.”

Paul Breen, director of GC Business Finance said: “Helping growing businesses thrive is at the centre of what we do, so we are thankful for our partnership with Rosebud which has allowed us to support so many businesses across Lancashire. The success of the collaboration between Rosebud and GCBF showcases the importance of putting time and resources into supporting regional businesses, and the benefit this can have for regional job creation and economic growth.”

Councillor Aidy Riggott, Cabinet Member for Economic Development and Growth at Lancashire County Council, added: “The success of the Rosebud fund further demonstrates Lancashire’s key role as an innovation hub in the UK. Accessible business finance is essential to unlocking business potential in our region and strengthening our diverse regional economy. Rosebud has clearly had a strong positive impact in creating jobs and promoting economic prosperity across our region, and I look forward to seeing the effect it will continue to have in the coming years.”

Read more:
Rosebud accelerates the growth of 43 businesses across Lancashire  

Edinburgh-based investment syndicate, Archangels, invested more than £13.8m during 2023 in eleven of Scotland’s best early-stage tech and life science companies.

The total investment for 2023 among 11 businesses represents a small increase on Archangels’ investment activity in 2022.

The year saw Archangels make two new investments including Bioliberty who secured £2.2M to fund the development of its soft robotic glove and, more recently, 1nhaler who secured £2M to develop its unique dry powder inhaler device.

Other portfolio businesses to receive follow-on funding included Cytomos, Calcivis, Administrate and BioCaptiva.

Co-investors on deals totalling £21.7M during 2023 included British Business Bank, Scottish Enterprise, Par Equity, Mercia and various Scottish angel syndicates. Earlier this year, Archangels bolstered its funding fire power through a £12m co-investment agreement with British Business Investments via its Regional Angels Programme.

As well as funding some of Scotland’s brightest businesses, Archangels also scored a major success for its investors with the acquisition of medical AI company Blackford Analysis by Bayer, a global life science company.

David Ovens, Joint Managing Director at Archangels, said: “We started 2023 knowing that we faced a difficult macro-economic and geopolitical environment, and that proved to be the case. However, despite those challenges, Archangels has remained consistent and steadfast in our support for some of Scotland’s most exciting tech and life sciences companies. The exit we achieved through the sale of Blackford, our two new investments and our deal with BBI were all significant success stories for our investors. While the outlook for 2024 remains relatively unchanged from this year, we can look forward with confidence to another busy year of investment in Scotland’s buoyant tech and life science sectors.”

Read more:
Archangels invests £13.8M in tech & life science companies

Frasers Group has snapped up luxury clothing website Matches Fashion for £52million.

The company, which is controlled by billionaire Mike Ashley, will buy Matches from private equity firm Apax Partners, its owner since 2017.

It marks a further expansion of Ashley’s empire, with Frasers owning retailers including Sports Direct, House of Fraser and Flannels as well as Savile Row tailor Gieves & Hawkes and bike shop Evans Cycles.

The move into luxury is part of the ‘elevation’ strategy under chief executive Michael Murray (pictured), who is married to Ashley’s daughter Anna.

Murray said: ‘This will strengthen Frasers’ luxury offering, accelerating our mission to provide consumers with access to the world’s best brands.’

Matches, which sells designer brands such as Gucci and Valentino, suffered a £33.5million loss last year.

Its chief executive Nick Beighton said: ‘Being part of Frasers, with their utter commitment to luxury, will give this business the financial stability it needs.’

Read more:
Frasers Group snaps up luxury clothing website Matches Fashion for £52m

The number of entrepreneurs under the age of 40 selling their businesses has increased by 23% in the last year, rising from 4,719 in 2019/20 to 5,803 in 2020/21, new research shows.

Recent years have seen significant success stories for young UK tech company entrepreneurs selling their businesses to PE/VC funds, alongside consolidation across various other sectors, including veterinary, healthcare and financial services.

These deals formed part of a strong period of private equity-led dealmaking in the UK from late 2020 to mid-2022. The year ending April 5 2021 saw under-40 entrepreneurs sell businesses worth £1.03bn.

Andy Hogarth, financial planning partner at Hazlewoods, the chartered financial planning and business advisers who commissioned the research, says: “In the last few years, a lot of young entrepreneurs in the UK have become extremely wealthy by building their businesses and exiting them, often to PE. These figures show just how successful those exits were.”

Hogarth says those selling their businesses will need to carefully consider their exits – both before and after the deal is made.

Adds Andy Hogarth: “Having sold  their businesses, many of these young entrepreneurs now have  new opportunities, including potentially  retiring early. However, it’s important to consider how the change will impact their income, pension planning and tax position.”

Hogarth says that tax efficient investment management is vital for those who have exited businesses.

“Sellers  need to think long term by investing sale proceeds in tax efficient funds. Inflation will often erode the value of funds held in cash, meaning through investing these monies it will provide individuals with the opportunity to grow their funds in real terms, or the potential for a more sustainable income stream.”

“Often cash flow modelling can help with contextualizing matters and provide insight for these individuals to help them in making decisions on their next step. Those selling their businesses will often have different objectives with the funds and need to consider their affairs holistically, including  the impact of the sale on their dependents.”

“Post-sale, the cash from the sale of a business becomes part of their estate, making it potentially subject to inheritance tax, whereas  If the business had been passed on before sale, those assets would normally be exempt from IHT.”

Read more:
Number of young entrepreneurs selling their businesses increases by nearly quarter in one year

Harriet, the first full-stack AI solution designed to get companies’ internal data ready for the AI revolution, relieve People teams of their daily admin burden, and give every staff member their own HR assistant, has raised a £1.2m pre-seed round led by Concept Ventures and joined by Frontline Ventures, Portfolio Ventures, and Notion Capital.

Poor data management is a major blocker to the adoption of AI tools, particularly those designed to drive efficiencies for companies and their staff. Harriet is the first HR-focused AI solution created to overcome this hurdle and get companies and their data ready for AI.

Harriet starts by scanning all existing organisational policies and documents to build a picture of what’s currently in place, what’s missing, and where duplicate or conflicting information exists. It then signposts companies towards issues and helps them clean up their data – creating the right foundations for the deployment of additional AI.

Harriet then sits on top of this clean data and information to become a personal HR assistant for every employee.

Accessed via Slack and plugged into other HR tools (such as ticketing systems, HRIS’ and payroll), Harriet can book staff leave, update them on company policies, find relevant documents, source payslips, and signpost them to support services, with answers tailored to the location of a specific employee. In addition, Harriet can help with people management questions, such as providing tips on how to motivate a direct report or moderate a workshop.

This removes a daily friction point for employees, who can now receive instant support based on streamlined and accurate documentation, unlocking workforce efficiencies.

In addition, Harriet provides an anonymous route for staff looking for company information that may be sensitive, such parental leave policies for those thinking about family planning, or information about booking bereavement leave.

Harriet also removes a large volume of distracting “micro requests” from overstretched People teams, enabling them to focus on higher-value, more meaningful actions around culture, compensation and training. This is making it possible for lean People teams (who themselves have been the subject to intensive cuts during the downturn) to continue delivering high quality employee experiences.

HR teams report that, currently, 20% of their time is spent on small, admin-based requests.

Harriet has been launched by two former startup founders; Cecily Motley, previously founder and CEO of Motley, and David Buxton, former founder and CEO of risk profile SaaS company Arachnys.

Cecily Motley, CEO of Harriet, comments: “The world is heading towards a future where every employee has an AI-powered assistant – with all the major tech players racing to build one. But companies aren’t currently set-up to reap the rewards of these advancements. And one of the main blockers to AI adoption for companies is the state of their knowledge bank. It’s a familiar story – multiple versions of policies saved in different places which are forgotten about until someone needs them. As organisations look to take advantage of AI solutions, and as teams begin to expect instant access to information and support, it’s vital to ensure tools lay the right foundations as well as unlock efficiencies. That’s why Harriet has been designed to clean up data, get companies onto the right track, and then offer the daily assistance staff and People teams are looking for.”

“HR and People teams are responsible for so many vital things – from culture to compensation. But too many colleagues see them as just a route to key information, like their payslips and P60s. This means HR teams are drowning in fiddly, low-value admin tasks. Harriet AI is freeing them from this burden; allowing HR teams to focus on their real purpose and show how valuable their role in a company really is.”

Harriet connects with a range of interfaces in a company tech stack including Google Drive, Notion, Xero, HiBob, BambooHR and Zapier, amongst others. This means, regardless of where information is stored, staff can make HR requests and source the information they need without leaving Slack.

The technology is powered by a Large Language Model, with multiple interlocking and cross-checking AIs built into the system to safeguard privacy, truthfulness and accuracy. Harriet always makes sure there is a source link for every answer, to provide assurance to employees, and all company and employee data is protected.

A team of highly experienced HR industry leaders are joining Harriet as advisors, including Jessica Zwaan, COO at Whereby, and future of work advocate Johannes Sundlo.

Oliver Kicks, Partner at Concept Ventures, who led the round, comments: “Cecily and David are serial entrepreneurs who know how to build products people want to buy. They’re a tenacious, creative duo who have built something that truly adds value. We’re excited to be joining them on this journey and can’t wait to see their innovation make the world of work better for thousands.”

Read more:
Harriet raises £1.2m to transform HR with AI

Sir Rocco Forte is increasing the pace of expansion of his luxury hotel group after selling a 49 per cent stake to Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund which values the business at £1.4 billion.

Rocco Forte Hotels announced the sale of a “significant minority stake” in the group to the kingdom’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) but emphasised that the Forte family would retain majority ownership and control.

It said that PIF’s investment would include “an element of primary equity”, which would accelerate the brand’s expansion in both existing and new global markets, building on the eight new hotel properties opened or committed in recent years.

Sir Rocco, 78, will remain executive chairman, alongside his sister, Olga Polizzi, 77, who will continue as deputy chairman. His children, Charles, Lydia and Irene, will also continue to hold key roles in the business.

CDPE Investimenti, an Italian group that has held a 23 per cent investment for the past eight years, will sell its entire shareholding as part of the deal. During its involvement, CDPE backed expansion across Europe, mainly in Italy.

Turqi Al Nowaiser, deputy governor and head of international investments at PIF, said: “Our investment in Rocco Forte Hotels reflects PIF’s confidence in both the commercial opportunity and strength of the international hospitality and tourism industries that have shown remarkable resilience in recent years.”

The hotel group was established by Forte and his sister in 1996 following the hostile takeover of the old Forte hotel and catering empire by Granada.

Today it has 14 hotels and resorts, including Brown’s in London, the Balmoral in Edinburgh, the Astoria in St Petersburg and the Hotel de Rome in Berlin. In Rome it also has a Rocco Forte House, run in the style of an exclusive private home, while the Verdura resort in Sicily is dotted with luxury villas.

A further Rocco Forte House villa will open in Milan next year and in 2025 it will open The Carlton in Milan and Costa Smeralda, Sardinia. It will also open a hotel in Dubai and step up the search for hotels in Saudi Arabia.

According to the Financial Times, which first reported the investment by PIF, the deal values Rocco Forte Hotels at £1.2 billion, or £1.4 billion including debt. PIF is expected to invest tens of millions of pounds in the business to double the size of the hotel portfolio over the next five years, with a particular focus on the Middle East.

PIF, which last year bought a minority stake in Aman Resorts, is accelerating investments in hospitality with the aim of diversifying away from fossil fuels. It will be handed two seats on the Rocco Forte Hotels board, alongside the Forte family’s three seats.

The move by PIF comes on the back of a big bounce back in travel this summer that has boosted hotel occupancy and room rates. The fund has also just acquired a 10 per cent stake in Heathrow airport.

Read more:
Saudis buy 49% stake in Forte Hotels group

A Yorkshire-based property company, which specialises in buying homes for cash in just seven days, is eyeing further expansion having gained full shareholding ownership of the business after securing a £10.5m funding solution.

The Property Buying Company based in Wetherby, is primarily utilising the facility provided by Reward Finance Group to buy out a London investment and lending company, which has owned a 50% shareholding in the business since 2017.

The complexity and speed of the buy-out meant that it needed a lender that could offer the pace and flexibility of funding. The deal is the highest single lend provided by Reward, which specialises in providing tailored business finance and asset based solutions to SMEs across England, Wales and Scotland.

The Property Buying Company was founded in 2012 by Karl McArdle and Jonny Christie and has rapidly grown into the UK’s largest house cash buyer. It guarantees a swift property transaction in any location nationwide to vendors facing a range of lifestyle circumstances, such as having recently inherited a property or needing a quick sale due to a chain break.

The company is now looking to accelerate the next stage of its growth plans, with the funding allowing it to further bolster its systems, infrastructure and recruit, whilst being in a position to complete a significantly increased volume of property purchases in the year ahead.

Karl McArdle, co-founder for The Property Buying Company, said: “We’re hugely grateful to the contribution made by investors who have helped us rapidly expand the business over the last 11 years. It’s been an amazing journey. However, we’d always hoped to regain full shareholding to gain greater control over the direction of the business. Now feels like the right time to make that move as we enter a major phase of growth.

“We turned to Reward as we needed a lender which understood our business and could provide a fast and flexible funding solution of this size and complexity which also involved taking 49 properties as security in a short space of time.  The additional working capital will provide the catalyst for expansion and gear us up for what promises to be an exciting 12 months ahead.”

Dave Jones, Reward’s founding director, added: “I’ve recently had the pleasure of spending a significant amount of time with both Karl and Jonny, to get under the skin of their business and structure a deal which is bespoke to their needs. They’ve built up a fantastic business and so we’re really pleased to have been able to provide an agile finance solution that has enabled them to regain full ownership and fuel future expansion.

“A single deal of this lending size, being in excess of £10m, is also a first for Reward and a real landmark for the business. We have now completed over 2,000 deals. However, it seems very fitting that this milestone has been achieved by supporting Karl and Jonny, as Reward also first started its own journey in Leeds at a very similar time to them.”

Read more:
£10.5m funding deal accelerates next stage of growth for Yorkshire SME

Octopus Electric Vehicles (Octopus EV) has agreed a £550 million debt securitisation facility from Lloyds Bank to fund electric vehicles, accelerating total EV funding to £1.2 billion.

The funds from this deal will play a pivotal role in financing Octopus’ flagship EV salary sacrifice programme. Launched in 2021, this scheme empowers drivers to save 30-40% each month on a brand new electric vehicle. Octopus offers an easy all-in-one service, providing the brand new car, charger and discounted energy tariff.

Fiona Howarth, CEO of Octopus Electric Vehicles, (pictured) commented: “Electric cars are revolutionising our roads. With battery prices down 90% since 2010, electric cars are more affordable and can travel further than ever on a single charge. Drivers can fill up at home, work or on public networks, many saving over £1,000 every year on fuel.

The tech in our pocket transformed when Apple led the smartphone revolution. Now our roads are catching up, and with Tesla leading the way, there are now almost 30 brands with great EVs on sale in the UK.

We’re delighted to be partnering with Lloyds to supercharge the transition, with an additional £550m to help drivers switch from old school gas guzzlers to a cleaner alternative.”

Octopus EV – the EV specialist business from the Octopus Energy Group – has become a driving force in the transition to clean, electric transport in fewer than five years.

When it launched its own lease offer in 2019, there were only a handful of electric vehicle models available to customers. Octopus EV now offers over 85 vehicles from 28 brands with a fleet exceeding £450 million in value.

Octopus EV now has more than 4,000 companies signed up to its salary sacrifice offer, including household British businesses such as Dyson, McLaren and Innocent Drinks.

Since launching its salary sacrifice offer in April 2021, Octopus EV has created more than 300 new green jobs across offices in London, Weybridge, Brighton and Manchester. Octopus recently took its expertise to America with the launch of Octopus Electric Vehicles in the US.

Octopus has also opened up its full service electric car package to drivers outside of salary sacrifice. This means that anyone is able to benefit from their all-in-one service, regardless of where they work – making the switch to an electric car the easiest it has ever been.

The electric car market has rocketed in recent years, with close to 900,000 cars registered on UK roads and forecasts predict that the UK will register more than 500,000 new electric cars each year by 2028. This growth has in part been driven by favourable incentives set by the UK government – including salary sacrifice and low Benefit in Kind (BiK) rates.

Transport Secretary Mark Harper said: “As more electric vehicles become available for consumers, private sector innovation plays an important role on the road to zero emission vehicles.

“That’s why it’s fantastic to see Octopus EV expand their flagship salary sacrifice scheme to help drivers with the upfront costs and easily make the change – with Government already committing to £2 billion to support the transition to zero emission vehicles, today’s announcement shows the UK continues to make good progress on enabling people to buy the zero emission vehicles they want.”

Miray Muminoglu, Managing Director, Head of Securitised Products Group and FIG DCM at Lloyds Bank, said: “We’re delighted to become a funding partner to Octopus EV with this innovative £550m securitisation facility. Given the alignment across the two institutions in supporting the transition to net zero, and our leading auto franchise within SPG, this facility demonstrates not only our strategic ambitions to broaden and deepen our client relationships but also our commitment to help Britain prosper.

Read more:
Octopus EV silently speeds past £1 billion electric car funding

A new partnership between the University of Liverpool’s VEC (Virtual Engineering Centre), Liverpool John Moores University (LJMU) and Edge Hill University has launched to support business innovation across the Liverpool City Region (LCR).

The new £5.1m Horizons programme, funded by the Liverpool City Region’s £44m UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF) allocation, will support more than 100 SMEs in its pilot phase. The partnership aims to deliver industry-leading innovations across six boroughs, providing the expertise, facilities, and funding businesses need to drive innovation.

Launched by Liverpool City Region Mayor Steve Rotherham, Horizons is the first innovation support programme in the city region funded by the UKSPF and will prioritise supporting businesses providing sustainable practices and technologies.

SMEs accessing the support, via a streamlined paperless process, can also apply for capital grant funding to further accelerate innovation and drive long-term success across communities and businesses, and support the upskilling of their people.

Since 2016, the VEC, led projects that have helped organisations across the Liverpool City Region contribute more than £121 million GVA to the local economy, creating more than 1,400 jobs across multiple businesses.

The Horizons programme, which was developed following consultation with SMEs, and in partnership with the Combined Authority and the city’s Universities, will deliver on Mayor Rotheram’s ambitions to turn the Liverpool City Region into the UK’s next science and innovation superpower.

Steve Rotheram, Mayor of the Liverpool City Region, said: “SMEs really are the cornerstone of our business community. Together, they account for a massive 99% of all businesses in our region and have a crucial role to play in helping to diversify our economy. Fortunately for us, we’re home to some of the country’s leading universities, who possess the expertise and world-class facilities that can really help our SMEs to unleash their full potential.

“Horizon is the first innovation support programme of its kind that directly connects our region’s SMEs to our world leading institutions. It’s my hope that this partnership will help more entrepreneurs and innovators to achieve their ambitions and, more crucially, help us to catapult our area to the forefront of UK science and innovation.”

Professor Andrew Levers, Executive Director of the Institute of Digital Engineering and Autonomous Systems (IDEAS), reflects on the impact of the project:

“The University of Liverpool has set out a clear and compelling vision for regional impact under our Liverpool 2031 strategy. Horizons will help deliver our vision to drive prosperity in the city region by bringing the benefit of our ground-breaking research to local businesses and helping to ensure that the next generation of world-changing innovation is translated from research to industry by local SMEs.

We are determined to continue playing our part to drive a culture of ambition, inclusive collaboration and responsible innovation that bridges the academic and business communities, enabling us to break new ground and make a positive impact in the communities we serve.”

Read more:
Liverpool’s VEC to deliver £5.1m innovation support programme for city region’s SMEs

Maison Sport, the leading online platform connecting ski enthusiasts with professional instructors, has announced the successful completion of an ambitious £3.1 million investment round, bolstering its position as a trailblazer in the ski tech industry.

The investment will be instrumental in expanding the platform’s lesson offerings, accommodating the surging demand for personalised and professional skiing and snowboarding experiences, revolutionising the way ski instructors and ski schools operate.

One of the key aspects of Maison Sport’s growth strategy is to further collaborate with travel agents, and this investment positions the platform to onboard more agents than ever before. With an expanded pool of instructors and lessons, Maison Sport is well-positioned to meet the increasing demand from travelers seeking unique and tailored winter sports experiences.

Co-Founder and CEO at Maison Sport, Nick Robinson, said: “Our goal is to become the largest seller of snow sports activities worldwide within the next five years and this investment not only validates Maison Sport’s mission to make snow sports accessible to everyone but also empowers us to scale our operations and bring more value to both the instructors and the holidaymakers.

“This investment will not only enhance the overall experience for our users but will also create exciting opportunities for travel agents to partner with us and benefit from our commission and affiliated link programs.”

He continues: “Travel agents partnering with Maison Sport stand to gain commission on every lesson booking through the platform, by using sales agents accounts, via our affiliate program or via a full API integration.”

The funding lands at a time when experiences are becoming more and more of a focal point within people’s holidays with Tripadvisor releasing a preview for its upcoming 2024 study on the Experience of Travel, showing that 67% of travelers surveyed across 7 key markets placed more value on experiences than things.

Maison Sport remains committed to providing seamless and memorable winter sports experiences for enthusiasts worldwide. This investment round marks a significant milestone in the company’s journey and reinforces its position as a leader in the ski and snowboard instruction space.

Previous investment rounds for the global platform revolutionising the ski lesson industry have attracted renowned investors, including of Gareth Williams, Co-Founder of Skyscanner and Kevin Byrne, the visionary Founder and owner of Checkatrade.

Read more:
Maison Sport Secures £3M Investment to Expand European Reach and Onboard More Travel Agents

Paysend, a global fintech leader in international money transfers, has successfully raised an impressive $65 million in its latest funding round.

The investment round follows the partnership with Mastercard announced earlier this year, through which Paysend will enhance cross-border payments for SME’s via its Open Payments Network (OPN). In addition, Paysend has secured a strategic partnership with TelevisaUnivision, the world’s largest Spanish language media company. This innovative partnership is designed to target the lucrative USA-Latin America money-transfer corridors, and will see Paysend’s advertising featured on TelevisaUnivision’s network for the next three years, enhancing Paysend’s visibility and reach across the Hispanic community in the USA.

Existing investors, including Infravia Growth Capital, One Peak, and Hermes GPE Innovation Fund, also participated in the funding round, underscoring their continued confidence in Paysend’s mission and growth trajectory.

Since its inception in 2017, Paysend has experienced rapid expansion. The company’s integrated cross-border platform for businesses and consumers positions Paysend to capitalize on the $133 trillion market opportunity. Earlier this year, Paysend announced a number of strategic expansions, including the provision of digital payments for Western Union’s global consumer business.

Ronnie Millar, Co-Founder and CEO of Paysend, expressed gratitude for the continued support, stating, “This significant investment is a testament to the strength of Paysend’s vision: to build the best-in-class cross-borders solution for businesses and consumers, making money transfer simple for everyone. We are thrilled to welcome our new stakeholders, and we appreciate the unwavering support from our existing investors.”

Paysend’s latest funding round builds upon the success of its previous Series B round, where the company secured $125 million to accelerate the expansion of its global payments platform.

Read more:
Paysend Raises $65 Million in Latest Funding Round, Including Strategic Investment from Mastercard

CatX, a platform designed to facilitate the flow of alternative capital into the insurance sector, has successfully raised $2.7 million in seed funding. Its backers include top Silicon Valley venture capital firms and angel investors from leading proprietary trading firms and hedge funds.

The funding round marks a key milestone for the company in its mission to bridge the gap between supply and demand in the reinsurance industry.

Earlier this year, CatX was accepted into the startup accelerator programme Y-Combinator, which has helped to build hundreds of successful companies including household names like Airbnb, Instacart, Doordash, Monzo and Dropbox. CatX was also named by TechCrunch as one of its favorite YC startups following its debut at the accelerator’s demo day in September.

The insurance sector is facing a critical challenge due to a shortage in reinsurance capital which is needed to protect insurers from major losses. This has led to substantial price increases, especially for risks like natural catastrophes and cyber threats. In some cases, this has forced insurers to limit their coverage or completely stop writing business such as hurricane insurance in Florida. CatX’s innovative solution to this problem is to introduce more alternative capital to the market. They do this by offering high-return investment opportunities to institutional investors and providing them with the tools they need to understand insurance risks.

Benedict Altier, co-founder and CEO of CatX, emphasises the company’s vision: “Our goal is to help make the insurance industry more robust and adaptable in the face of increasing global challenges.

“In an era where the frequency and intensity of catastrophes are on the rise, the need for adequate capital to safeguard against these risks has never been more important. By channeling alternative capital into insurance, we’re not only helping to close the growing protection gap but also unlocking a promising new asset class for investors that is uncorrelated to traditional investments like stocks and bonds.”

CatX is already working with more than 15 leading institutional investors, including North American pension funds, hedge funds and structured credit funds offering insurance companies the opportunity to access billions in capital through the platform.

Lucas Schneider, co-founder and CTO, adds: “At CatX, we focus on providing all the tools necessary for investors to understand and invest in insurance risk. Our platform features advanced risk models to generate actionable investment insights. A key focus for CatX is to make the whole investment process as simple as possible by digitising the workflow and utilising AI tools to shorten contract negotiations. Technological innovation is critical in attracting alternative capital providers that want sophisticated analytics and information tools.”

Sanford Lincoln from HackLegacy, a premier VC fund who invested in the round, highlights the transformative potential of the platform: “CatX offers a new model for the modern insurance market by opening access to investors outside of traditional reinsurance players and streamlining transactions with standardised paper and state of the art insights. CatX will help greatly expand reinsurance transaction volume to create a more liquid risk market to ultimately reduce costs and expand coverage opportunities for consumers across the world.”

The growing concern around the insurance coverage crisis, which became front-page news in Time Magazine earlier in the year, underscores the extent of the problem. In this context, CatX’s successful $2.7 million funding round marks a significant step in its mission to address these challenges. CatX presents a sustainable, long-term solution to address the challenges of the insurance sector by transforming insurance risk into an investable, tradeable asset class.

Read more:
CatX raises $2.7 million to bring more alternative capital into the insurance sector

The team behind runna, the world’s #1 rated personalised running coaching app that launched in 2021, has closed its latest venture capital round having raised £5 million.

After early backing from ultra-athlete and double-world record holder Joshua Patterson, Runna (RunBuddy at the time) raised an initial £485,000 via crowdfunding in late 2021/early 2022, with 303 of their earliest customers owning part of the app as well as British Olympic Marathon runner Steph Davis. The team shortly after went on to raise an additional £2.25 million led by Eka Ventures and with a variety of angel investors and top-level athletes, including Olympic Triathletes Alex Yee and Beth Potter, and Irish rugby union player Greg O’Shea. Both Beth Potter and Steph Davis also joined the coaching team.

The latest investment round totalled £5 million and was led by JamJar, the innocent drinks founders’ venture capital fund who have previously invested in What3Words and Deliveroo among others, with participation from Eka Ventures (Jon Coker, one of the founding partners, has previously invested in the likes of Bloom & Wild and Gousto), Venrex (who have invested in Revolut and Tala, to name but a few) and Creator Ventures (who have invested in the likes of Eleven Labs and Wild). The latest investment round brings the total funds raised since 2021 to more than £8 million.

Runna was founded by Dom Maskell and Ben Parker – two University best friends with a dream of sharing their love of running. The coaching app uses advanced technology combined with real-world running and strength and conditioning plans and workouts from top running coaches to personalise every user’s experience based on their ability, goals and schedule.

Anything and everything that everyday runners might need is available on the app, from free ‘couch to 5k’ training plans, to personalised plans for those looking to run a marathon or even work up to a multi-day ultramarathon. The app also features a multitude of product functionality, including smart treadmill control, live Apple Watch coaching and Garmin, Fitbit and COROS integrations.

Used in over 180 countries, Runna now has over hundreds of thousands of users, which – thanks to the latest investment round – can be used to develop and train sophisticated coaching algorithms with the incorporation of AI. Runna has also partnered with some of the largest races in the UK and beyond, from the AJ Bell Great North Run to the Los Angeles Marathon presented by ASICS.

Ben Parker, Co-Founder and Head Coach of runna, commented: “I felt a huge sense of privilege to get to work with up to 40 private clients at a time before launching Runna, helping them to be healthier and happier. Now having been able to build a service to deliver a better experience, at a tenth of the price, to over 50 thousand people is hard to get my head around.

“What makes us that much more excited is the fact that we’re only just getting started. Runna today is only 20% of the experience that we’ll be delivering to our Runnas with all the product features we have in mind, making this fundraise so pivotal so we can bring these revolutionary ideas to market that much faster!”

Dom Maskell, Co-Founder and CEO ofrunna, continued: “It’s been an amazing few years for us all at Runna and we’re incredibly thrilled to have raised such a phenomenal amount of money in our latest investment round. All we’ve ever wanted to do is spread the benefits of running to as many people as possible, while making running as accessible as possible to all, regardless of background, body type or fitness level.

“To have JamJar lead the investment round was something we could only dream of, and it’s great that we have the backing of such well-known venture capital firms, as well as such well-known athletes.

“The funds raised previously have allowed us to hire amazing talent, invest in the app and the product offering, and partner with some of the biggest race organisers in the UK and the world. We’re excited to be able to continue to invest further into the product offering, making Runna an even better experience for our users, affiliates and partners – making training even more accessible, while having a positive impact on people’s physical and mental wellbeing.”

Read more:
Fitness tech start-up secures new £5 million to help improve peoples’ lives through running in latest investment round

1nhaler, a Scotland-based drug delivery device developer, has raised £2 million to develop its unique single-use dry powder inhaler (DPI).

Inhalable medicines are already widely used to treat conditions such as asthma, epilepsy, allergies and Parkinson’s but, to date, delivery options have been limited due to user accessibility, cost, performance and impact on the environment. 1nhaler has developed a way of enabling many different dry powder drugs to be readily delivered in a sustainable, low-cost delivery device.

Other inhalers are typically made from bulky plastic and are expensive to manufacture and distribute.  1nhaler’s revolutionary sustainable DPI is cardboard-based with the same dimensions as a credit card. The discreet platform technology includes a breathable membrane which can be tailored to deliver individual drugs to patients.

Investment will allow 1nhaler to work with innovative companies around the world, allowing them to bring new and existing drugs to patients in a more efficient and affordable way, opening up the next generation of inhaled products.

The funding round was led by Archangels with support from Dr Yusuf Hamied, British Business Investments (BBI) and seed investors. Dr Hamied, non-executive Chairman of Indian pharmaceutical giant Cipla, is globally respected in the field pioneering the manufacture of affordable drugs for developing countries to fight AIDS and other life-threatening diseases.

Based in Edinburgh, the company was founded by Don Smith and Lisa McMyn in 2017.  They have assembled a team of industry experts, with decades of experience taking inhaled products to market, including Chief Scientific Officer Helen Muirhead who had responsibility for GSK’s blockbuster respiratory portfolio, including the Diskus and Ellipta inhalers.

Lisa McMyn, founder and Chief Executive Officer at 1nhaler, said: “Our DPI has the potential to become the simplest, most convenient single-dose, disposable inhaler on the market, revolutionising the delivery of critical drugs, without the cost and environmental impact of existing devices.

“Securing funding from Archangels is invaluable for the next steps in the 1nhaler’s development. Their life sciences expertise and patient capital approach are exactly what we’re looking for in a funding partner.”

Dr Sarah Hardy, Director and Head of New Investments at Archangels, said: “Don, Lisa and the team at 1nhaler have developed a truly innovative technology platform with a clear route to market and opportunity to positively disrupt the status quo of single-dose medicine delivery”.

“We’re proud to add 1nhaler to our portfolio of Scotland’s leading life sciences and technology businesses and look forward to working with them to increase the availability of life-saving drugs affordably and sustainably.”

Operating for over 30 years, Archangels’ investor members have invested over £160 million in the most innovative early-stage companies with disruptive technology, protectable IP and the potential to scale globally.

Archangels has enjoyed a number of significant exits in recent years, including the sale of medical AI business, Blackford Analysis, to Bayer Pharma earlier in the year and the sale of optical platform business, Optoscribe, to Intel Corporation in 2022.

Read more:
1nhaler raises £2 million to develop single-use sustainable inhaler

UKEF and K-Sure have secured support worth £367 million for South Korean manufacturer SeAH Steel Holding’s construction of a wind tech factory near Redcar, in the Tees Valley.

The financing will secure inward investment which will create 750 jobs in Teesside and ensures construction of the world’s largest wind monopile factory in Redcar.

Issuing its first ever ‘Invest-to-Export’ loan guarantee to secure overseas investment in British industry, UKEF together with K-Sure has ensured that SeAH Wind UK can fund the construction project – worth almost £500 million – with £367 million in financing from Standard Chartered Bank and HSBC UK. The facility was also eligible for longer and more flexible repayment terms as a ‘Clean-Growth’ facility.

Wind monopiles act as the foundation for most offshore wind turbines and are critical to the growth of the global renewable energy sector.

Lord Offord, Minister for Exports, said: “This landmark deal brings substantial overseas investment to Teesside and consolidates the UK’s place as a world leader in offshore wind – and renewable energy – expertise and exporting.

Through UK Export Finance, this government is bringing in new investment for the UK’s world-class manufacturing sector and securing the long-term prosperity of the United Kingdom.”

Yoshi Ichikawa, Head of Structured Export Finance for Europe, Standard Chartered, said: “With our long-standing partnership with UKEF and K-Sure and the Bank’s commitment to accelerating the transition to net zero, we are proud to structure this financing for our important client SeAH Group and contribute to the UK supply chain in the wind sector.”

Philip Lewis, Global Co-Head of Export Finance for HSBC, said: “We are delighted to have supported SeAH Wind with the combined UKEF and K-Sure backed financing for the UK’s first offshore wind monopile manufacturing facility. This plays an important role in supplying the offshore wind industry and helps meet the rising demand for renewable energy.”

Chris Sohn, SeAH Wind, said: “We are delighted to invest in the UK. This project is significant in that it contributes not only to the growth of UK’s local economy but also global de-carbonization efforts. Our aim is to become a global leader in the offshore wind supply chain. We would like to express our gratitude to UKEF and K-Sure for their support.”

SeAH Wind UK, a subsidiary of South Korean steel company SeAH Steel Holding, announced its decision to invest and broke ground at Teesworks Freeport last summer.

The confirmed support which is now being announced will secure the project’s future. The £367 million financing comprises £257 million supported by UKEF and £110 million supported by K-Sure.

This deal creates British jobs and cements Teesside’s place as a centre of manufacturing expertise for renewable energy. Upon completion of the factory, SeAH Wind UK will export monopiles to US and European markets, creating up to 750 jobs by 2027 and supporting more than 1,500 jobs in the wider supply chain.

The ongoing construction has already secured a deal worth over £100 million for British Steel and will create opportunities for the UK supply chain in sectors like manufacturing, construction and logistics.

UKEF’s support was provided under the Export Development Guarantee (EDG) product, which supports UK companies looking to bolster their exporting capability. Today’s news highlights the availability of UKEF support for both UK and overseas companies seeking to invest in new export opportunities, with financing available based on the applicant’s potential for winning overseas orders.

Read more:
Ground-breaking UK Export Finance deal secures huge investment in North-East England

Formula One stars Mika Hakkinen and David Coulthard have teamed up with a pair of entrepreneurs to launch a stock market business that allows the public to invest in ultra-rare classic cars.

The duo, along with the Le Mans endurance-race winner Allan McNish, have joined the board of a start-up that will this week fire the starting gun on a £50 million fundraising through the broker Oberon Capital to start building up its collection.

Tertre Rouge Assets — named after a famous bend at Le Mans — has secured six rare cars for £30 million, including a 1963 Jaguar E Type Lightweight, a 1960 Formula 1 Ferrari and a 1958 Mercedes-Benz 300 SL, to start the business.

The rest of the £50 million will be spent on buying other car-related businesses, starting with the supercar events company The Run To, which organises luxury driving rallies to the Monaco Grand Prix for wealthy petrolheads.

The idea was dreamt up by Tertre Rouge chairman Steven Schapera, a wealthy cosmetics entrepreneur, and chief executive André Ahrlé, a racing driver turned classic car investor, after the pair successfully co-invested in buying and selling classic motorbikes and cars.

Schapera, who does not even own a car, said he started working with Ahrlé simply as a way of spreading his investments after receiving a windfall from the €400 million sale of Invincible Brands, in which he was an investor.

“I really don’t know much about cars. For me, it was just about diversifying my portfolio. I wanted to put maybe 3 to 5 per cent of my wealth into alternative assets other than art, or wine or whatever, that are not correlated to the stock market. I met André and we ended up making a whole lot of money in classic cars and bikes.”

The problem, he said, was that cars and bikes are illiquid — meaning you cannot buy and sell them quickly. So they came up with the idea of creating a stock market company to trade vehicles in which investors could buy shares.

The group is targeting 15 per cent annual returns from the portfolio, on which it will make money by renting out the vehicles for photoshoots, as well as by selling them at a profit.

Ahrlé, whose first business was providing security services for stars including Bruce Springsteen and The Rolling Stones, got into racing when he won the speed challenges during a Mercedes-Benz course on driving for bodyguards. He went on to become a professional racing driver, winning the Daytona 24 hours race twice, before spending more time buying and selling rare classic cars.

“My first investment was in 1993, when I bought a Ferrari 1963 250 GT Lusso for 130,000 deutschmarks (£325,000). I sold it for $1 million (£800,000),” he recalled. His second investment was equally successful, but could have been far better: he bought a 1961 Competizione Ferrari 250 GT SWB Daytona race winner for 1.3 million Swiss francs (£1.2 million), then sold it for a 250 per cent profit. The car sold a few years later for $25 million.

Investment companies have in the past set up funds to buy classic cars, but they have struggled to raise a diversified investor base or car portfolio.

Fund profits can be reduced by the cost of storage, maintenance and insurance, although Schapera said that would be offset by revenues from renting out the cars for photoshoots and videos.

For investors looking at investing in up and coming classics cars the investment company Car Crowd who boast F1 broadcast host Natalie Pinkham and her Capital FM brother as ambassadors, and car aficionado Jodie Kidd as and investor, and part owner in two cars, the ability to but a share in a private company which exclusively owns a car believed to up-and-coming classic value wise with an agreed period of ownership and exit strategy.

The Knight Frank Luxury Investment Index for the second quarter of this year shows that cars outperformed art, jewellery and handbags over a ten-year period, with a return of 118 per cent against 109 per cent, 39 per cent and 60 per cent respectively. However, rare whisky bottles had the highest return with a 322 per cent gain.

Read more:
Formula One stars team up to allow public to buy shares in multi-million pound classic cars

Nc’nean Distillery has secured a Virgin Money funding package with the backing of UK Government department UK Export Finance (UKEF) to help the independent distillery grow in North American markets and bring its vision for sustainable, organic Scottish whisky overseas.

Taking its name from Neachneohain – a Gaelic goddess known as the Queen of Spirits and as a fierce protector of nature – Nc’nean Distillery produces organic whisky which is making a big impression on overseas markets while making the smallest environmental footprint possible.

The distillery is known for its dedication to sustainability, as well as its experimentation with different strains of yeast. The team use 100% organic Scottish barley in a distillery powered by renewable energy from a wood-chip biomass boiler, recycle 99.97% of their waste, and bottle the whisky in 100% recycled glass.

As well as being crowned Craft Producer of the Year 2023 at the Icons of Whisky Scotland Awards, Nc’nean were recently recognised at no. 21 in the World’s Most Admired Whiskies. Their growing team of 19 now produce a number of different of whiskies from the distillery near Drimnin on the Morvern peninsula of Scotland’s west coast.

The funding package from Virgin Money will help Nc’nean as they continue to grow and move into new international markets. The US and Canada will continue to be a key growth area for the distillery as their Organic Single Malt becomes available in more and more states across both countries.

Virgin Money’s Strategic Finance and Trade Finance teams worked closely with UK Export Finance (UKEF) to structure a deal to help Nc’nean achieve their ambitions. UKEF supported Virgin Money in providing a tailored funding package, issuing a General Export Facility (GEF) loan guarantee which covered 80% of the financing and enabled Virgin Money to complete the transaction. The GEF product is a flexible government-supported scheme that helps UK export businesses – especially SMEs – to access working capital facilities, helping to improve cashflow or speed up international trade growth.

Annabel Thomas, CEO of Nc’nean Distillery said: “Our partnership with Virgin Money has been critical to Nc’nean as we develop and grow the business, and this recent funding package has been fantastic to support our expansion to new markets.”

Craig Wilson, head of FX sales & trade finance at Virgin Money said: “Nc’nean Distillery has entrepreneurship and sustainability at its heart, and this is embodied in the founder Annabel who we are delighted to have been able to support in the next step in her business growth journey. At Virgin Money we aim to ensure businesses have access to key specialists that can add value at the right time, and by bringing together the skills of our Trade Finance team, who are available to support internationally trading businesses, our Strategic Finance colleagues and UK Export Finance, we have delivered a winning package for the customer.”

Lara McGrath, UKEF Export Finance Manager, added: “UKEF is pleased to support Nc’nean Distillery, a small business in one of Scotland’s most iconic export markets, with its ambitious plans to accelerate its growth and export sustainable whisky to new overseas markets. We share Nc’nean’s passion and drive for bringing quality, sustainable Scottish produce to new markets, and we look forward to supporting more companies in the Scottish Food and Drink sector with our General Export Facility. This latest deal builds on £325 million in working capital which we unlocked for small businesses all over the UK with the General Export Facility last year.”

Read more:
Independent Scottish organic whisky distillery Nc’nean secures new funding package

Award-winning Afro hair care company Nylah’s Naturals has raised a £530k seed round led by Midven.

The investment will come from both the Midlands Engine Investment Fund (MEIF) through the MEIF West Midlands Equity Fund and the West Midlands Co-Investment Fund, in addition to a syndicate of angel investors. Both funds are managed by Midven, part of the Future Planet Capital Group.

Nylah’s Naturals’ mission is to craft the future of purposeful hair care by creating high-performance solutions using non-toxic, naturally occurring ingredients – the key to which is a trade secret formulation. A 2020 study found that around 50% of products advertised to Black women contained toxic chemicals that were linked to serious health issues (Harvard, 2020). For Black women hair represents more than beauty; it also represents heritage, community and belonging. Currently there are no non-toxic hair care solutions available that address the physical and mental issues associated with hair loss, experienced by almost half of black women around the world. Nylah’s Naturals’ initial strategic focus is providing hair restorative solutions for Black women with Afro hair, with a long term vision to expand its global market presence to serve every demographic.

The company has a long-term product road map to continue addressing hair loss and hair care for the underserved Black community. Pivotal elements of this plan include a direct-to-consumer subscription proposition in the UK and international expansion which will include a strategic state-by-state launch in the US.

This round of investment will enable a number of key hires that are fundamental to Nyah’s Naturals’ road map. The first of these is Bob Holt OBE, former CEO of global cosmetics brand, Revolution Beauty PLC, who will be joining as executive chairman. Renowned dermatologist and specialist in hair loss disorders, Dr Sharon Wong, has been appointed as clinical adviser putting Nylah’s Naturals in a strong position to meet their global goals.

In the run-up to securing this seed round investment, Midven has provided strategic guidance to Nylah’s Naturals. It has also assisted substantially towards shaping the opportunity and improving the business’ investment readiness. Midven will continue to support the growth of the company including helping to build out the senior management team and helping to find new investors for this and future rounds. The current round remains open until April 2024, with hopes to raise an additional £500,000.

Celebrating the heritage and hair of the community the company serves, Nylah’s Naturals provides a positive solution whilst addressing the emotional and cultural discussions around hair and beauty in modern society.

Andy Street, Mayor of the West Midlands and WMCA Chair, said: “We set up the Co-Investment Fund to support great local entrepreneurs and businesses that had tremendous growth potential. Nylah’s Naturals is a wonderful example of that. That’s why I’m delighted that the company has become the second business to benefit from this new fund and I’m confident that this investment will help Kameese to go global.

SMEs are the lifeblood of our regional economy so it’s vital that we improve their access to the finance they need to advance. These local businesses will help power our region’s recovery and I cannot wait to see them succeed – along with the local people they employ – in the months and years ahead.”

Huw Sparkes, Investment Manager at Midven says, “This investment isn’t just about backing a brand. It’s about empowering a community, embracing diversity, and championing beauty in every curl and coil. Having known Kam for a few years I’m excited to be working with her, as well as Bob and Sharon, as the business scales into a global solution for Black women everywhere.”

Kameese Davis, CEO of Nylah’s Naturals says, “In a landscape where less than 1% of VC money in the UK is allocated to all-female teams and only 0.02% reaches Black women entrepreneurs, this investment from both the MEIF and the West Midlands Co-Investment Fund, and our esteemed angels takes on an even greater significance. It not only demonstrates Midven’s commitment to levelling the playing field for underestimated founders but also serves as an example of hope for those facing immense barriers in the world of entrepreneurship.

“With this support, Nylah’s is poised to redefine the hair care offering for Black women, and make a meaningful impact, not only for ourselves but for aspiring entrepreneurs who look up to us as well. The future holds incredible promise, and we’re eager to begin this journey.

Mark Wilcockson, Senior Investment Manager at the British Business Bank, says, “The Midlands Engine Investment Fund has been backing innovative solution focused businesses since its launch in 2017 and MEIF’s latest investment in Nylah’s Naturals is a great example of this. Having identified a gap in the hair care market, the funding secured will help the business to continue to grow and establish itself in international markets.”

The Midlands Engine Investment Fund project is supported financially by the European Union using funding from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) as part of the European Structural and Investment Funds Growth Programme 2014-2020 and the European Investment Bank.

Read more:
Award-winning Birmingham Afro hair care solutions company secures £530,000 investment

Following the success of last year’s inaugural Seed Capital Investment Fund, The Dyers’ Company are pleased to launch the Fund for a second year.

This initiative is designed to support innovation and the commercialisation of business ideas within the colouration industry. The deadline for applications is 15th December 2023.

The Dyers will consider initial equity investments of up to £25,000 per venture for fledgling businesses and entrepreneurs seeking to transform their innovative ideas into successful businesses. The initiative is relevant to a vast range of industries/activities with a connection to colour and colouration including colour chemistry and science, food technology, healthcare (e.g., medical dyes), engineering, sustainable dyeing, textiles production for fashion and interiors and much more.

Over time it is hoped that this fund will enhance the economic impact of colouration in the UK by the creation and ongoing support of new businesses, providing vital resources and mentoring for colour and colouration practitioners from across industries.

Historically, The Dyers’ Company has supported academics and students in their field with grants, bursaries, and financial prizes.  This will continue, and this initiative extends that support to individuals who may be looking for ways to take the next step in their careers. The Dyers’ Company Seed Capital Investment Fund is provided in exchange for a minority equity stake in the business.

Martin Lane, Clerk of The Dyers’ Company states: “The Dyers’ Company supports the UK dyeing industries by promoting innovation, technical education and sustainability. This builds on the work of the Company in previous centuries, to uphold quality standards across the craft and industry of dyeing. This fund enforces those historic links with the industry, as we support those at the forefront of new technologies.”

Recipients of the inaugural round of funding were SAGES London, a London-based start-up using plant waste to create sustainable dyes, and Loom and Power, a Cotswold-based company focused on developing new technologies in the field of fibres and materials.

Tom O’Haire, Director at Loom and Power says: “We’re using the investment in our journey to develop a new method for dyeing yarn which increases design freedom and has a lower carbon and water footprint. Following an engaging session with the committee we were thrilled to be successful in securing seed funding from The Dyers’ Company. This has been a real catalyst for our business and has enabled us to invest in equipment and materials to further develop our dyeing technology and accelerate our plans significantly. From here we hope to be generating our first sales utilising our technology within the next quarter, marking a significant milestone in our journey.

Longer term, we are looking to attract further venture capital and angel investors in a wider funding round to help build and scale our capabilities. This will enable us to have a real impact on the industry and reduce our collective footprint. The Dyers’ Company are now with us on this journey, and we look forward to further interactions with the committee and the broader Company.”

Emily Taylor, director at SAGES: “The Dyers Company Seed Investment has been crucial to SAGES’ ongoing development. It has allowed us to acquire key pieces of equipment, which have in turn, allowed us to complete innovative R&D into the commercialisation of our dyes. The investment has acted as validation of our endeavours and has given us confidence in pursuing our goals of creating commercially viable dyes from food waste. We are very grateful for the support and are looking forward to continuing our relationship with The Dyers’ Company as our business grows.”

Timings

The Dyers’ Company Seed Capital Investment Fund is organised as a two-stage process. Stage one is an online application, and entries will be open until 15th December 2023. These will then be reviewed by a vetting committee including members of The Dyers’ Colour Committee with substantial experience of colouration commercialisation.

Stage two is the short-listing of a small number of potential candidates, who will be invited to interview in early Spring 2024, following which the successful businesses for The Dyers’ Company Seed Capital Investment funding will be announced.

How to apply

Open to UK residents only, applications for The Dyers’ Company Seed Capital Investment can be made online here.

Read more:
Seed capital funding launches for UK entrepreneurs in colour/dyeing industries

Allica Bank is offering a 50-basis point discount against its standard rates for electric vehicles to make going green more affordable

Allica Bank, the challenger bank dedicated to serving Britain’s established small and medium businesses, has launched a new £10m fund to support businesses with the purchase of electric vehicles (EVs), part of a wider initiative to help businesses reduce their carbon footprint and achieve sustainability targets.

The new fund has been introduced following Allica’s latest broker survey of its asset finance brokers, in which more than half (54%) of respondents stated the main reason for their clients seeking sustainability-based finance was to purchase electric vehicles.

Allica has also discounted rates to fund electric vehicles, with the bank offering a 50-basis point (bps) reduction on its standard hard asset pricing, available for a limited time from the 1st of November through to the 31st of December this year.

Brandon Hall, Head of Sales – Asset Finance at Allica Bank, says forward-thinking banks need to place added emphasis on making sustainability targets an easier task to reach: “Our latest survey of the broker community highlighted the growing demand from UK businesses looking for funding support to help improve sustainability, with making the switch to EVs top of the agenda.

“We hope that the new fund and rate reduction on electric vehicles will give brokers and their clients more opportunities to do that, along with the support of our award-winning business development team.”

Read more:
Allica bank launches £10m EV fund dedicated to supporting businesses go electric

xtype, the agile software delivery company, today announced that it has secured additional funding following a stellar year of growth in the business, having achieved 4x revenue growth over the last 14 months and a significantly increased market presence.

This round was led by Columbia Capital and Innerloop Capital, and saw participation from SaaS Ventures and other investors. Specializing in enterprise clients using ServiceNow, xtype will use the new funding to meet increased demand and expand product development.

With xtype, enterprises can supercharge its ServiceNow Center of Excellence and Innovation (CoEI), redefining the parameters for enterprises to accelerate their rate of innovation on the ServiceNow platform, and finally be able to meet and exceed enterprise demand for new digital transformation workflows and applications.

The funding comes at a time when large enterprises, who rely heavily on ServiceNow to drive digital transformation and business workflows, are turning to xtype to augment the built in capabilities of the platform with platform engineering capabilities to realize the full potential of the platform. Zurich Insurance and Heineken are two such organizations currently working with xtype to further develop their IT processes and applications in real time. While investors are continuing to tread cautiously in the current market, xtype’s fundraise highlights investor confidence in its product market fit and exceptional ability to achieve exactly what it sets out to do – solve the clear problem of its customers in unleashing the enormous capabilities of ServiceNow.

xtype’s latest funding round will provide fuel for the next stage of growth, enabling wider adoption of  its technology in enterprise accounts, expanded technical support capabilities, and investment in additional product capabilities. With proven fit and momentum in the ServiceNow ecosystem, xtype is poised to further scale its business and team. The new capital will expand the startup’s ability to drive innovation and meet the needs of large global enterprises relying on ServiceNow. This also includes enhancing its core product and solving more of the unique pains of customers, such as growing backlogs of undeployed updates, off-hour work to meet deadlines, and an inability to innovate at the pace demanded by the business.

Ron Gidron, co-founder and CEO of xtype said: “We are thrilled to announce that xtype has secured additional funding, a resounding endorsement of our game-changing solutions in the ServiceNow ecosystem. This investment not only reaffirms our market leadership but also underlines the immense confidence our investor community places in us. As we continue to revolutionize enterprise software solutions, this financial backing empowers us to accelerate our innovation, scale our reach, and continue delivering unparalleled value to our clients.”

Justin Label, Managing Director of Innerloop Capital agreed, saying: “xtype has seen tremendous growth over the past year, and the expansion of its enterprise customer base to include industry leaders made us extremely confident in the trajectory they are taking. With this, we are eager to support the next stage of growth for the company and invest further into its unique product offering.”

Collin Gutman, Managing Partner of SaaS Ventures, said: “We saw that ServiceNow’s customers all have a large need, which xtype fills perfectly. The scope of the problem xtype solves is matched only by the quality of its team.”

The latest fundraising round will bring the total to $10.8 million. xtype is looking to take advantage of the significant potential for growth as the ServiceNow ecosystem has over 7,000 leading enterprises relying on the platform for their software deployments.

Read more:
xtype hits $10.8 million In Funding, Amplifying Its Impact In The ServiceNow Market Amidst Soaring Demand

It’s a yes from him! Got Talent and X Factor creator Simon Cowell is backing a new online streaming platform, Lounges.tv, which showcases exclusive content of rising content creators and gives a new chance for their talent to be noticed and most importantly, to be more quickly financially rewarded.

Cowell, who discovered some of the biggest names in music – from One Direction, Camila Cabello, Leona Lewis, to Labrinth – has joined Lounges.tv to help creators get heard, earn money and take their careers to the next level.

The content creator industry has never been bigger. With a staggering 3.7 million new videos flooding YouTube alongside an additional 34 million TikToks uploaded a day, creators are finding it impossible to be seen and fairly compensated.

The global video streaming market size is expected to reach USD 416.84 billion by 2030. Yet, just under half of full-time creators make under $1,000 annual revenue, while 68% of part time creators bring in under $1,000, as rewards are built on an ad-based views system rather than genuine talent.

Lounges.tv provides a faster new way for content creators to monetise their content online, ensuring content creators get to keep 80% of all their streaming income, and are paid within 24 hours of going live. The platform offers a sanctuary for content creators – including musicians, comedians and fitness trainers – that rises above the noise, ensuring exceptional talent receives the recognition it deserves.

Thousands of creators have already signed up to the ad-free platform, which is also backed by iconic musician Prince’s former manager Kiran Sharma and BBC iPlayer founder Ben Lavender.

Speaking about his investment, Simon Cowell, said: “I am proud to be involved with and to support Lounges.tv. You never know where the next great talent will emerge from and I really believe that creating as many opportunities as possible for talent to be discovered and to build their own fan bases is great for everyone. The artists and the audience, rightly, are making 100% of the decisions and Lounges.tv is giving talent another new type of platform to promote themselves. I was really interested to learn that on Lounges.tv creators get paid within 24 hours and I thought that was a really good idea and hopefully will make a difference.”

Ben Lavender, Creator of BBC iPlayer and equity stakeholder of Lounges.tv, comments: “With the support of Simon Cowell, Lounges.tv has the potential to revolutionise an industry that has long neglected the needs of the community and the aspiring individuals forging their careers within streaming. The platform offers creators a fresh opportunity to not only showcase their talents, but to be more quickly financially awarded. At a time where the cost-of-living crisis is casting a shadow over the creative industries, entities like Lounges.tv play a crucial role in shaping a brighter and more sustainable creative future.”

With thousands of hours of on-demand content readily available, the platform is designed to create a direct interaction between creators, influencers, brands, and their audience. It also offers a real-time fan engagement experience during live streams, creating the ambiance of a live concert, allowing viewers to interact with creators through live chat, song requests, and a tipping revenue model for creators.

The online platform incorporates a rapid pay-out system, ensuring that creators receive their earnings within 24 hours of their on-demand content or live stream. The feature addresses a long-standing issue in the industry, providing financial stability to content creators, as well as a sense of community and helping creators build a dedicated fan base.”

Scott Green, Lounges.tv Co-Founder and CEO comments: “We are thrilled to announce Simon Cowell as a shareholder of Lounges.tv. Simon is the undisputed global authority when it comes to talent recognition in this country and aligns perfectly with what our platform represents. Lounges.tv serves as the haven for exclusive content, where exceptional creators shine amidst the noise, garnering the recognition they truly deserve. “Creators and artists now have the opportunity to not only showcase their talent but also earn a fair income while pursuing their passion. By eliminating the reliance on ads and introducing diverse fan funding options, our platform departs from the conventional ad-centric model that values creators solely based on ad views and follower count, rather than their genuine talent. Together with Simon, Lounges.tv will be shaping the world of online talent.”

Read more:
Simon Cowell backs new streaming platform launched to champion millions of content creators

iwoca, one of Europe’s largest SME lenders, today announces a new funding line with initial commitments of £200 million from Barclays and Värde Partners.

In January this year, iwoca secured an increase and extension to its existing funding line, with long-standing partner Pollen Street Capital – from £125 million to £170 million – as demand for SME finance soared. With the new £200 million funding line from Barclays and Värde, this now takes the total debt commitments to over £850 million.

Bridging the SME funding gap

As high-street banks reduce access to capital for SMEs, this funding line equips iwoca to meet the growing SME demand for working capital. According to iwoca’s Q2/23 SME Expert Index, more than four in five brokers (84%) say high street banks are reducing their appetite for funding SMEs. This increased by 7 percentage points since Q1 2023.

A similar proportion of SME finance experts (81%) predict demand for finance for SMEs will increase by the end of the year, indicating that the funding gap for SMEs is set to widen without support from alternative lenders.

Supporting the full range of SMEs

Across the UK and Germany, iwoca has lent over £2.5bn since its launch in 2012 across more than 120,000 business loans. As of Q3 2023, the lender is on track to end the year having doubled the number of small business loans it has funded when compared to 2021.

iwoca‘s top-funded sectors to date are as diverse as construction (15% of total funding); retail (11%); and manufacturing & food production (10%).

Christoph Rieche, iwoca CEO and co-founder, (pictured) said: “We started iwoca after the financial crisis to offer SMEs the support that was so badly needed during uncertain times. Now, over 10 years later, we are fully tested and have proven that we can be there for SMEs when they need us the most. With this new funding, we’re in an even better position to help smaller businesses in the UK and Germany at a time of economic uncertainty. These SME businesses form the basis of a strong economy, and iwoca will lead from the front to help them thrive and achieve their goals.”

“We are pleased to support the expansion of commercial financing opportunities in the UK through iwoca,” said Aneek Mamik, Global Head of Financial Services & Diversified Private Credit at Värde Partners. “iwoca’s differentiated sourcing and underwriting capabilities give us access to a high quality portfolio of commercial businesses. This builds on our leading position in providing commercial lending and leasing solutions to parts of the economy increasingly underserved as banks are less able to meet the full spectrum of the demand.”

iwoca is reaching nearly 3 million businesses across the UK and Germany through its embedded lending technology, which allows businesses to access loans directly through a range of platforms such as accountancy software apps and digital neo-banks. In addition to its Flexi-Loan, the lender offers an omni-channel B2B payment solution – iwocaPay, and a Revenue-Based Loan, which it launched with eBay in 2022, where repayments are a percentage of a business’s monthly sales.

Read more:
SME lender iwoca raises new £200 million funding line after reaching £2.5bn in finance lent

Edinburgh-based venture capital firm Par Equity has today announced the launch of its new venture fund – Par Equity Ventures I LP.

The firm has secured a first close of £67m to boost innovative technology companies with high-growth potential in the North of England, Northern Ireland and Scotland. Par Equity will continue raising capital to close out the full £100m target fund size.

Backed by the Scottish National Investment Bank and British Business Investments, with further support from the Strathclyde Pension Fund, Par Equity will add further resources and capabilities to its venture programme, accelerating some of the North of England, Northern Ireland and Scotland’s most promising tech scale-ups and strengthening the talent pools in these regions.

The fund will be managed from Par Equity’s Edinburgh office, as well as its recently launched Leeds base, and will lead or support Series A funding rounds.

Certified B-Corp, Par Equity, partners with early-stage companies, operating B2B business models and with strong IP. Many of these companies are innovating in the fields of health tech, climate tech and industrial tech, often driven by new technologies such as robotics, photonics, advanced materials and artificial intelligence.

Launched in 2008 by Paul Munn, Robert Higginson, Paul Atkinson and Andrew Castell, Par Equity has invested over £160m into 77 early-stage technology companies to date, with 30 realisations, including Edinburgh-based Current Health, which was Europe’s second-largest digital health exit ever following its sale to Best Buy.

On the fund’s launch, Paul Munn, Managing Partner at Par Equity said: “Accelerating innovation and talent in this part of the UK is an absolute priority for us and we believe that this fund can be a positive catalyst for the local tech ecosystem. Not only are we uniquely delivering capital to scaleups in the region, but we hope this fund will trigger a mindset shift to encourage and enable our very best and brightest companies to shine on the world stage.”

Andrew Noble, Partner at Par Equity, who led the fund’s launch, added: “People often forget that the North of the UK is a big market in its own right. Worth around $1 trillion GDP, it would be the eighth largest economy in Europe but is still largely overlooked by investors. We are surrounded by incredible innovation in this part of the UK, and we must now turn these fledgling start-ups into global category leaders.  We look forward to working with these companies to unlock those ambitions.

Judith Hartley, CEO, British Business Investments, said: “The Regional Angels Programme plays a vital role in developing the early-stage funding ecosystem across the UK Nations and regions. Par Equity was one of the first delivery partners of the programme, and we are really pleased to continue our support for them, through Par Equity Ventures I LP, targeting Series A follow-on commitments for smaller businesses across the North of England, Northern Ireland and Scotland.”

Jimmy Williamson, Executive Director at Scottish National Investment Bank said: “The Bank’s cornerstone investment will enable significant access to crucial scale-up funding to drive growth in the Scottish tech sector, delivering real impact by catalysing innovation and supporting the critical development of the locally-based venture capital industry.

“Working with Par and its new fund is complementary and additive to the Bank’s own direct investing activities and directly aligns with our mission to harness innovation, investing in the industries of the future.”

Par Equity’s investment model combines its discretionary managed funds with the experience of its engaged pool of sophisticated angel investors. This hybrid investment approach is drawing attention from the industry, with the firm winning Best Angel Group of the Year (UK Business Angel Awards, 2021 and 2023) and Best EIS Manager of the Year (EIS Association Awards, 2021 and 2022), as well as being selected as a finalist for the upcoming European Private Equity Awards for Venture Capital House of the Year and Venture Capital Deal of the Year in 2022.

Read more:
Par Equity launches £100m fund to help scale high-growth tech companies in the North

European variable pay management leader Qobra has announced a new €10m funding round. This follows an initial fundraising round of €5m in March 2022 and remarkable adoption of the solution by major companies.

The fund-raising was orchestrated by Singular, with the participation of UK group Revenue Syndicate and long-standing investor Breega. This strategic financing will enable Qobra to develop new functionalities, strengthen its customer acquisition strategy and accelerate its international expansion.

Qobra is the innovative platform dedicated to the strategic management of variable pay

Qobra is a French company that is revolutionising commission management. It is already deployed by a number of major accounts. The platform makes it possible to streamline information across the entire payment chain and align all the company’s stakeholders: management, financial decision-makers, sales teams and human resources.

Worldwide, between 2 and 3 trillion dollars are spent each year on variable remuneration for sales staff. However, this investment is rarely controlled, as it is most often based on the use of manual Excel files, which lack clarity, reliability and agility. Manual errors can easily creep into Excel files, needing continuous checking between different departments. This wastes time, money and ultimately causes frustration and a lack of confidence within sales teams.

“Variable pay is the No. 1 sales investment for the vast majority of B-to-B companies, and the commission plan is one of the most powerful tools management has to guide the behaviour of its sales staff. We are part of the new generation of software that is more flexible and more motivating for sales teams”, says Antoine Fort, co-founder and CEO of Qobra.

Automating commission plans to boost sales performance

Qobra automates commission calculations by implementing precise calculation rules in its no-code tool. This saves Operations and Finance teams valuable time and ensures the reliability of commission data. It also provides management teams and senior management with global visibility of performance and the entire commission budget. As for sales staff, they have total transparency over their targets in real time, making variable pay a real motivational lever.

“We can already see that since implementing Qobra, there is 15% to 20% uplift in terms of target achievement” Thomas Hons, GTM Strategy & Operations Manager at Make.

Qobra is compatible with the majority of CRM, ERP and HR software on the market. Data is collected at source and in real time, making commission calculations more reliable and limiting the margin for error. This management solution meets the needs of all companies with more than 100 employees in which sales staff receive variable pay. Antoine Fort and his team have already convinced more than 100 companies worldwide, including Doctolib, CoachHub, SeLoger and Payfit.

“We’re seeing a lot of interest from customers in different verticals, such as advertising agencies, pharmaceuticals, medical devices, real estate, financial services, insurance brokers, automotive… Everyone in sales-led sectors needs us, and we know how to help them,” explains CEO Antoine Fort.

Qobra aims to become the world leader in commission management over the next few years.

On the strength of its first round of funding in March 2022, Qobra can boast annual growth of 300%. With its initial model validated, this new round of funding will enable Qobra to accelerate its international growth, particularly in the United Kingdom. The company will open a London office in early 2024 as a gateway to the United States. A European leader with the ambition of becoming the world’s benchmark software company, Qobra plans to double its workforce from 30 to 60 employees by 2024, and to expand its software offering.

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European variable pay management leader Qobra announces new €10m funding round

British smart home energy technology manufacturer, myenergi, has secured an investment of £30m to support significant future growth and internationalisation from Energy Impact Partners (EIP).

This follows on from the £30m debt finance myenergi secured from HSBC earlier this year to further fuel its expansion.

Lee Sutton and Jordan Brompton founded UK-based myenergi in 2016 with the purpose of removing the barriers to a greener future, including the technological, behavioural and financial challenges relating to fast adoption of smart energy products, setting the company on a mission to pioneer a simple transition to renewable energy.

myenergi has been recognised as one of the country’s top 30 fastest-growing private companies, with average annual growth of more than 125% for the past three years. It manufactures a range of ‘eco-smart’ home energy technologies, including the market-leading solar-compatible zappi electric vehicle charge point, the eddi power diverter, and the libbi smart home battery.

EIP is a global investment firm focused on investing in the energy transition by supporting companies developing solutions that will define the future of energy and climate. This includes mission-driven, high impact UK and European tech companies, like myenergi, that contribute to safer, more flexible and cleaner energy sources.

As part of the equity investment, EIP’s Nazo Moosa, Managing Partner, EIP Europe, will join the myenergi board alongside Sir Terry Leahy, former CEO of Tesco and Peter Richardson, former COO of Dyson. “Transportation is responsible for nearly a quarter of the global energy related CO2 and road transport makes up the lion’s share of it. EIP targets the largest sources of greenhouse gas emissions,” Moosa said. “We are proud to back Lee and Jordan who have built a truly unique company in the climate sector that is both growing rapidly and is profitable. Zappi is already one of the leading charger brands in the UK and Ireland and with the success of its libbi energy storage product, we believe myenergi is in pole position to become the leading Home Energy Management provider.”

Lee commented: “We are delighted to have found an investor in EIP that truly understands our purpose, mission, vision and values. With the team’s extensive support, we will be able to further expand the products and services offered within our home energy ecosystem, making our solutions available to even more consumers worldwide. The investment will help to deliver our next generation of product development and innovation, including our planned growth in grid services – such as demand side response, allowing us to better support our customers in undertaking their own home energy transition. We will also be investing in service excellence to ensure that our customers benefit from the best frontline support.”

Jordan added: “As we transition to a net zero future, it’s vital for consumers to be given easy and convenient ways to make the shift away from fossil fuels towards clean, green, renewable energy. We are really excited by the investment from EIP, which will help to bring our eco-smart products into more households, enabling our customers to monitor, manage and maximise their home energy, as well as reducing their emissions, streamlining their energy bills and ultimately empowering them to become more energy independent.”

Read more:
myenergi lands £30m investment from Energy Impact Partners to drive growth and internationalisation

The clothing brand FatFace is poised to become the latest high street fashion retailer to be taken over by Next, in a deal thought to be worth more than £100m.

FatFace, which sells clothes, footwear and accessories, is expected to be bought by the FTSE 100 high street fashion chain and a deal could be announced by the end of the week, according to Sky News, which first reported on the matter.

The prospective tie-up underlines Next’s status as Britain’s most prolific buyer of rival high street brands, having snapped up Cath Kidston, Made.com and JoJo Maman Bébé since the Covid pandemic.

FatFace was founded in 1988 by friends Tim Slade, a former police officer, and Jules Leaver, a business graduate. It now has more than 180 stores in the UK and 20 in the US.

The pair first sold 40% of the business for £5m in 2000 to the private equity firm Livingbridge, which sold its stake to Advent International five years later.

The lifestyle brand was eventually acquired by Bridgepoint Capital in 2007 as part of a deal worth £360m that reportedly netted Slade and Leaver £90m. The private equity firm moved to list it in London in 2014 but later cancelled the flotation plan because of lack of confidence.

By mid-2020, when the pandemic was affecting high streets, FatFace was taken over by its current owners, a group of lenders including the debt investor Alcentra, Goldman Sachs and Lloyds Bank, in a debt-for-equity swap.

FatFace’s debts were reduced from £146.8m to £25.6m, freeing it up to carry on trading throughout Covid. Sales have since returned to pre-pandemic levels.

The company’s owners were reported to have appointed bankers to advise on strategic options, including a potential sale, in May last year.

Last month Next increased its stake in Reiss to 72% in a deal that valued the fashion retailer at almost £400m.

It had built a 51% stake in the business since 2021 and the Reiss family have struck a £128m deal to buy a 34% shareholding from the private equity company Warburg Pincus. After the completion of the deal, Next will control 72% of the retailer – a favourite of the Princess of Wales – the Reiss family will own 22% and the company’s management team will control 6%.

Read more:
Next in talks to buy fashion brand FatFace in £100M deal

Audoo, the music technology company revolutionising public performance royalties, has secured $5m investment in its latest funding round, with investors including global music and business icons Elton John & David Furnish, taking its total raised to $22m.

Multiple Grammy-winning superstar Elton John joins MPL Ventures and ABBA’s Bjorn Ulvaeus as investors, alongside Tileyard and Edinv, in their support to improve the challenge of accurate royalty payments for musicians worldwide. Artists globally currently lose out on up to $3bn in unaccounted royalties.

Founded in 2018 by Ryan Edwards, London-based Audoo actively provides a solution to the challenges faced in public performance royalty data collection and payment distribution with its Audoo Audio Mete and unique insights platform.

Audoo’s devices are being rolled out across Europe, Australasia & Africa through industry-first partnerships with the likes of PRS for Music and PPL, to track and report every song played in public performance locations like cafes, bars, hair salons, restaurants, gyms and retail locations with world-leading accuracy.

This round of investment follows several key hires at Audoo, including music publishing veteran / ex-PRS for Music’s Nigel Elderton as Chairman and former CEO of NASDAQ-listed Contract Research Organisation Syneos Health (SYNH), Alistair Macdonald, as a board advisor.

Elton John comments: “Working as a musician can be seen as all glitz and glamour but for the vast majority of artists, especially new and emerging acts, this isn’t the case. It’s often brutally unfair and this sadly extends into being paid correctly. Right now, artists are not being paid accurately for their plays because the data simply doesn’t exist. People have given up on their dreams and we’ve lost talent and future stars because of this disparity. That’s why we’ve invested in Audoo and their world-class technology and data, to help create a more transparent system for everyone, and ultimately to keep the music alive.”

Ryan Edwards, Audoo founder and CEO, comments: “Being able to draw on the support of artists in our mission to revolutionise the royalty space has been key to Audoo’s success, and we are incredibly proud to welcome even more icons to aid in the next stage of our journey. With Elton & David’s strategic investment, we will be able to continue to champion & deliver a fairer, and more transparent music industry for creatives to benefit for generations to come. We look forward to welcoming more international partners, licensees and creators to join us on this industry-changing journey.”

Read more:
Audoo rockets to $22M in funding with investment led by Elton John

Celebrated worldwide for his exceptional fitness levels on the court, British male number 1 tennis superstar, Cam Norrie is thrilled to announce his involvement with global Blood Flow Restriction (BFR) brand, Hytro.

Following on from the exciting announcement of a wider public investment funding round through Seedrs – one that will see the brand rapidly expand their presence in the US as well as begin their move towards the medical market – the tennis sensation has announced his involvement as Pro Sport Advisor and Investor. Having used Hytro products over the last season to prepare and recover during a hectic schedule, Norrie will bring a wealth of experience and a deep understanding of the importance of fitness and recovery from the world of professional sports, in a bid to support the rapid expansion of the world’s first BFR wearable.

Cam Norrie, professional tennis player and Hytro Pro-Sport Advisor and Investor said: “I’ve experienced the incredible benefits of BFR and Hytro wearables first hand, and I’m excited to join forces with the company as an advisor and investor. With Hytro making BFR much easier to deliver, I’ve been able to work harder between tournaments and recover quicker. After seeing how my team and Dr Warren Bradley have been able to introduce BFR so easily into my own training, it was a no-brainer to come onboard and help them find ways to support even more athletes like me.”

The addition of Cameron Norrie as a senior advisor and investor is a significant milestone for Hytro BFR. He is joined by his wider coaching and physio team Julian Romero and Vasek Jursik who are also personally investing in the brand, becoming part of a community that includes other well known athletes such as ex Lions and Wales Rugby Union Captain Sam Warburton with investment in the company, and more than 50 other professional sports coaches from across the industry.

Raj Thiruchelvarajah, CEO and Co-Founder of Hytro, expressed his enthusiasm about the collaboration: “We are honoured to welcome Cam Norrie to the Hytro family. His dedication to his sport and his unwavering commitment to fitness and recovery align perfectly with our mission. It is inspiring to see the reputation we have built within professional sports already, that has seen us work with the likes of Cam and so many other world leading athletes. Together with his help, we look forward to expanding into new targets and territories, as we unlock BFR for the benefit of some many more people worldwide.”

Hytro is a pioneer in Blood Flow Restriction (BFR) wearables tailored to enhance sports performance. Over a short few seasons, the brand has established itself as a trusted collaborator with over 60 esteemed professional sports teams across the UK and US including: St Helens RLC, Leeds Rhinos, Catalan Dragons, Bath Rugby, Newcastle Falcons, Newcastle Thunder, Aston Villa FC, Rangers FC, Blackburn Rovers FC, Everton FC, UFC Performance Institute and Alpine Academy.

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Cam Norrie joins Hytro as sports advisor and investor

Maison Sport, the leading connecting independent ski and snowboard instructors with snowsports enthusiasts, today announces it has successfully raised £2.5million in its latest investment round, with a further £500,000 due to close within weeks.

The series A funding round was led by Alp Invest, a Swiss based family company, which sees them join the company as shareholders alongside other notable investors including Gareth Williams (founder of Skyscanner), Kevin Byrne (Founder of Checkatrade) and Lorenz Bogaert (Founder of Netlog).

In addition, Luke Steyn, a former Winter Olympian and property investor, has joined Maison Sport’s board of directors, bringing valuable expertise and strategic insights to support the company’s growth trajectory.

The investment marks a significant milestone for Maison Sport, allowing the company to accelerate its expansion across Europe and empower more instructors to operate independently on its innovative tech driven platform. The company is present in over 400 resorts with over 1,300 trusted, qualified instructors across France, Switzerland, Italy and Austria. Their goal is to become the largest seller of snow sports activities worldwide within the next five years.

With this funding, Maison Sport will focus on enhancing the customer booking experience through a large overhaul of the platform. The site will focus on personalised user journeys and providing a seamless and enjoyable experience for both new and experienced skiers and snowboarders. This includes the roll out of sophisticated AI and customer service robots which will use intelligent aggregated data capture to be the leading AI expert on snowsport instructor bookings.

As a result of this funding round, Maison Sport’s headcount is set to exceed 50 employees by the end of the year, allowing the company to provide enhanced support to both instructors and customers. Furthermore, Maison Sport anticipates forecasted revenue to surpass £13 million for the 2023/2024 season, reflecting the growing demand for its platform and services as customers turn away from traditional, impersonal ski schools.

“We are thrilled to have secured £2.5million in funding, which will play a pivotal role in fueling our European growth and transforming the customer booking experience,” said Nick Robinson, Former GB skier and CEO at Maison Sport.

“The appointment of Luke Steyn will drive our vision to be Europe’s largest instructor booking platform. In addition, this investment will enable us to empower more ski and snowboard instructors, giving them the freedom to work independently while connecting them with passionate individuals eager to learn and improve their skills in a friendly and tailored environment. We are grateful to our investors for their support and trust in our vision and we are excited for the future.”

In addition to its commitment to driving growth and more sophisticated tech lead booking journeys, Maison Sport remains dedicated to social responsibility. The company continues to donate a percentage of its total revenue to Snow Camp, a charity that provides skiing opportunities to individuals from disadvantaged backgrounds. Through this partnership, Maison Sport ensures that skiing is accessible to all, creating a more inclusive snowsports community.

Read more:
Snowsports Platform Secures £2.5million in Series A Funding Round to Fuel European Growth and Enhance Customer Experience

Laverock Therapeutics, established to commercialise the gene editing induced gene silencing platform for all human therapeutic applications has announced it has expanded its seed funding round to £13.5M.

This investment was led by Calculus Capital with additional participation by Eli Lilly and Company, Mercia Ventures, Maven Capital Partners, Eos, UK Innovation & Science Seed Fund and Tekfen Ventures.

The funding will enable further development of the GEiGS technology and progression of Laverock’s programmes in regenerative medicine and immuno-oncology, with a focus on Type I Diabetes and solid tumour responsive T-cell and macrophage based immune therapies, through to in vitro and in vivo validation. A key part of this next phase will be bringing on new members of the team and expanding lab facilities.

David Venables, CEO of Laverock, commented: “GEiGS is already showing significant potential to transform the safety and efficacy of advanced therapies and we are excited that this new investment will allow us to progress towards pre-clinical candidate selection. We’re pleased to welcome such an experienced group of investors on board, bringing extensive sector expertise which will help us to grow as a company and accelerate the development of targeted, responsive treatments.”

Elizabeth Klein, Investment Director at Calculus, said: “We are delighted to support Laverock and its exceptional management team, led by CEO David Venables, as the company embarks on its next phase of expansion, pioneering a new era of programmable advanced therapies. We backed David’s previous venture, Synpromics, which delivered an exceptional return for Calculus investors in 2019. Laverock’s ambitious plans hold tremendous potential for the healthcare sector, and we are excited to be part of the journey.”

Read more:
Laverock Therapeutics raises £13.5M to develop unique gene silencing platform for programmable advanced therapies

Creative UK has launched a new creative industries investment fund to support the UK’s ambitions to grow the sector by £50bn and create one million extra creative jobs by 2030.

The £35m Creative Growth Finance II (CGF II) fund will provide the investment needed to meet the targets set out in the UK government and Creative Industries Council’s recently published Sector Vision.

Caroline Norbury OBE, chief executive, Creative UK, explains: “Over the past decade, the UK’s creative industries have grown more than 1.5 times the rate of the wider economy, currently generating £108bn in economic value and employing 2.3m people. However, this country’s talented creative businesses are experiencing a significant gap between their immense growth potential and access to the vital capital they need to succeed.”

Delivered in partnership with Triodos Bank, CGF II is the largest single fund to be delivered by Creative UK, following its investment of more than £50m into the UK’s creative industries over the past decade.

Tech expert Sjuul van der Leeuw, CEO of Deployteq said: “The creative industries are at a really exciting moment, with tech innovation like AI revolutionising areas such as marketing and creative production, so it’s fantastic to see the UK’s commitment to supporting this growth. This extra investment will enable companies to master emerging technologies and turbocharge the sector’s growth, adding significant value for businesses and the wider economy.

“The funding will also enable the onboarding and training highly skilled staff adds a new dimension to businesses’ creative offerings as well as their capacity to make use of automation-enabled technologies to boost the efficiency of critical processes and reach new audiences through channels such as email marketing” he added.

CGF II continues on from the first Creative Growth Finance fund, which launched in 2019 and has since invested over £17m into more than 30 creative businesses located across the UK and operating within sectors including film & TV, virtual production, video games, advertising and software.

The existing CGF fund portfolio has so far experienced an 108% improvement of average monthly revenues, a 39% headcount growth average with more than 225 jobs created, and nearly £19m raised in further third party funding.

Phillip Bate, director of business banking, Triodos Bank UK, said: “Four years on from the launch of the first Creative Growth Finance fund, our partnership with Creative UK goes from strength to strength and continues to support companies at the forefront of innovation. For a bank only focused on financing projects with positive impact, we can see the social importance of these organisations to the UK. Creative UK’s expertise has been key to helping us grow our funding of this important sector.”

Companies benefiting from Creative UK funding include Dimension Studio (virtual production), Moonraker VFX.

Read more:
Creative UK dishes out £35m investment fund

Financial wellbeing startup Mintago has closed a $4.75 million funding round to further enhance its platform and accelerate its growth across the UK.

Founded in 2019 by Chieu Cao, the former co-founder and CMO of Perkbox, Mintago helps employers to attract top talent, retain existing employees and boost productivity. It also enables businesses to reduce their national insurance costs and foster a more positive workplace culture.

Mintago’s powerful financial wellbeing platform is designed to help employees tackle their most pressing financial needs, such as managing pension contributions and locating lost pension pots through its Pension Hunter tool. The platform also enables employees to take control of their finances with free access to financial advisers, debt counselling, savings tools and unbiased financial education programmes.

The London-based startup went from strength to strength during the pandemic, underlining its position as a leader in financial wellbeing space thanks to its comprehensive suite of solutions for businesses, HR teams and their staff. Demand for its platform has also risen due to the cost-of-living crisis, with ongoing economic turbulence emphasising the need for employers to offer robust financial wellbeing support to their staff.

Well-known brands, such as Oddbox, Chilly’s, Lucky Saint, Olio and Superscript, are among the hundreds of forward-thinking organisations already signed up to provide Mintago’s financial wellbeing platform to their teams.

The funding round included $4.75 million in equity investment, with BlackLion Ventures (lead investor with $3.75 million), Love Ventures and Cur8 Capital among those involved. Mintago will use the funding to invest further in the technology underpinning its financial wellbeing platform. It will also expand its sales and marketing team to accelerate the growth of its client-base.

Chieu Cao, CEO and founder of Mintago, said: “We are proud to be at the forefront of the financial wellbeing movement, empowering businesses and giving employees everything they need to navigate their financial lives with confidence. This funding underlines Mintago’s immense potential, and with the backing of some exceptional investors, we are excited to be able to fast-track our growth in the months and years to come.”

Daniel Conti, COO, CFO and co-founder of Mintago, added: “There has never been a greater need for businesses to support their employees’ financial wellbeing. The cost-of-living crisis is a source of significant stress for millions of Britons, and this can naturally impact their work life – the best employers recognise this, and are upping their support for staff by providing the necessary financial planning tools and access to advice, in turn building better relationships with their employees. Mintago is on a mission to support its clients in this journey.”

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Financial wellbeing startup Mintago closes $4.75m funding round

Britain’s last remaining manufacturer of alloy wheels has been rescued by a 21-year-old who is also vying to buy Morecambe Football Club.

West Bromwich-based Rimstock, which makes forged wheels for luxury marques including Aston Martin and Bentley, has been bought out of administration by Sarb Capital, the investment vehicle of Sarbjot Singh Johal.

The financial details of the transaction were not disclosed by Interpath, the administrators, but it was understood to be a multimillion-pound deal.

“I am delighted to have played a part in saving such an iconic business,” Singh Johal, who is based in Solihull, said. “It is integral not only as a critical supplier to the UK car manufacturing industry but also to the local community as a major employer.”

He promised further investment “to grow this important business”.

Chris Pole, the joint administrator, said the sale to Sarb “preserves a significant number of jobs in West Bromwich”.

Singh Johal has a number of business ventures, which are financed using his family’s money. He set up Vitanic, a non-alcoholic drinks brand, in 2017 and this year has been working on a deal to buy Morecambe, the League Two football club.

Rimstock was set up in 1984 by Steve Neal, the founder of the British Touring Car Championship title winners Team Dynamics. He died in July, aged 82.

The company is one of two manufacturers in Europe with the spin forges required to make premium-forged wheels. Rimstock also counts McLaren, Ferrari and Jaguar Land Rover among its customers and also supplies wheels to motorsport teams and militaries.

Rimstock fell into administration with 76 staff in July but continued trading while Interpath sounded out potential buyers.

Read more:
West Midlands tycoon, 21, saves Britain’s last remaining alloy wheel manufacturer

British renewable heat scale-up Naked Energy announces its latest funding round targeting £30M.

The Series B round builds on recent high-profile investments from Barclays, Nesta and ELM Companies. The funding will enable Naked Energy to continue its international expansion, scale the production of its award-winning solar heat technology and deliver on its record sales pipeline.

As global demand for green energy accelerates, Naked Energy has developed innovative technology to tackle one of the biggest net zero challenges – the decarbonisation of heat.

Heating and cooling make up more than half the world’s energy consumption – and around 90% of that energy is currently generated from fossil fuels. The International Energy Agency predicts solar heat systems will be used in 30% of buildings globally by 2050.

With several major installations underway across the UK, Europe and the US – including an iconic London institution, projects with the IHG Hotels & Resorts, and other major hotel groups – Naked Energy’s cutting-edge Virtu technology is set to play a leading role in the IEA’s forecasted market expansion.

Naked Energy’s VirtuPVT collector combines high efficiency solar photovoltaic (PV) and solar heat technology generating electricity and heat up to 75°C from a single collector. The VirtuHOT collector generates solar heat up to 120°C and has received the gold standard TÜV Rheinland certification.

Both technologies are proven to be 4 times more impactful at offsetting CO2 emissions as well as providing greater financial returns when compared to traditional photovoltaic solar panels. Their unique modular design makes them the world’s highest energy density solar technology.

The Virtu product range is an ideal solution for businesses juggling high heat demand, limited roof space, and challenging ESG targets while seeking cost control and energy independence.

With further manufacturing hubs under development and a growing list of distribution and delivery partners across North America, Europe and the UK, Naked Energy now calls for impact-focused investors to back the company as it enters an important period of growth.

The business has engaged the Energy & Power team at Piper Sandler Ltd. to lead the fundraising process.

Christophe Williams, CEO and co-founder of Naked Energy says: “This is a pivotal phase of Naked Energy’s journey and the wider movement to decarbonise heat.

“We are committed more than ever to moving businesses and communities off natural gas as demand for renewable energy continues to skyrocket. As governments around the world roll out new green investment strategies, the direction of travel could not be clearer.

“It’s a very exciting time to be in renewable heat and we’re looking for the right investors who share our sense of urgency as we scale our operations to decarbonise heat on a global scale and change energy for good.”

Read more:
British solar innovator Naked Energy opens £30m funding round

Navenio, the UK location tech scaleup, has today announced its £5m million investment to help revolutionise healthcare efficiency worldwide.

The round was led by Oxford Science Enterprises, and saw Navenio’s existing investors, including G.K. Goh Ventures, Big Pi Ventures, George Robinson, and the University of Oxford, participate.

Navenio’s technology streamlines patient care logistics within complex healthcare environments, optimising workflow efficiency. Real-time location awareness of patients, staff and medical equipment combined with Uber-like intelligence of task allocation, current path of motion, and optimal route determination enables smart, automated orchestration of patient care.

With access to real-time actionable insights, such as over- or under-utilisation of resources (staff and/or medical equipment), Navenio’s ‘Intelligent Location and Workforce Solutions’ facilitate improved operational efficiency and effectiveness, optimal resource utilisation, creating enhanced revenue opportunities and better staff collaboration around the orchestration of care.  This transformation frees up clinical staff to maximise their time on providing the best care to patients.

The investment enables Navenio to build upon its proven technology platform and demonstrated customer value to accelerate momentum in healthcare and beyond. With a range of existing customer partners in the UK, including NHS organisations, facilities management businesses and private hospital groups, the investment will fuel further expansion and growth in the United States healthcare market, as well as other geographies.

Heather Roxborough, Head of HealthTech at Oxford Science Enterprises, commented: “We invest in companies with the potential to become leaders in their field, and that is why we’re proud to back the incredible team at Navenio on their latest fundraise. Navenio is revolutionising the way we create more efficient healthcare workplaces, through its proven technology powered platform for indoor mapping, and we are excited to continue supporting the team on the next stage of the company’s journey as they look to deliver its offering to a wider range of use cases and across new geographies.”

Andy Carruthers, CIO University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust commented, “Navenio has enabled a 66% increase in efficiency and effectiveness in our portering workforce across the 3 Leicester hospitals. Patient flow and experience has improved by getting the right person to the right place at the right time, and the platform has been enthusiastically adopted by our teams. I look forward to expanding our use of Navenio to support additional workgroups and integrate into our other core technologies.”

Connie Moser, CEO of Navenio, added: “This investment will go a long way in helping Navenio to ramp up its offering in the US as well as in new geographies. We’re on a strong growth trajectory, and accelerating our deployment for real world impact across healthcare and beyond is our top priority.”

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Location tech scaleup Navenio secures $6.3m to boost efficiency and capacity for patient care delivery teams

Awell, a digital health platform to build, operate and continuously improve clinical workflows, has secured $5m in seed funding.

The round was led by Octopus Ventures, with additional participation from S16, and angel investors including healthcare veteran Lord David Prior, former chair of the UK’s National Health Service (NHS).

Awell is used by clinicians to reduce the manual burden of traditional paper-based workflows, and to manage different technologies used in patient care on one platform. It also enables users to swiftly design and continuously update clinical workflows.

Inefficiencies in traditional workflows used to manage care can compromise patient wellbeing and increase strain on care teams. Research from SAGE has shown that paperwork is the single biggest perceived time waster by doctors and nurses.

Meanwhile, a rapid increase in the amount of published medical research has led to a gap between scientific research and clinical practice. A recent study showed that clinicians would need over 26 hours per day to follow national care guidelines for an average number of patients.

Awell tackles this problem by equipping medical teams to automate clinical workflows such as triage, patient onboarding, and care plans, while synchronizing data between different systems.

A study by AZ Delta found that a single lung cancer care process implemented by Awell increased overall patient survival by 55%. The company’s users include healthcare providers in the US such as Patina Health and Parsley Health.

Founded by Belgian entrepreneur Thomas Vande Casteele, Awell has seen monthly active patient numbers grow by 522% in the first six months of 2023. Since launching in July 2022, Awell has also led the development of a ‘CareOps’ community, which includes more than 3000 healthcare operators committed to continuously improving care flows and increasing the quality of patient care.

Commenting on the announcement, CEO & Founder of Awell Thomas Vande Casteele, said: “When you or a loved one gets hospitalised, it becomes painfully obvious how broken current clinical workflows are. Overwhelmed doctors wade through endless admin, patients juggle a different point solution for each medical condition, and care teams are forced to stay up-to-date with more medical research than they can handle.

“Our journey is inspired by these challenges faced by care teams across the world. We are on a mission to drive real change in the sector, supporting those on the frontline of healthcare by making care flows work harder than care teams. We’re delighted by recent customer growth in the US and across Europe, and nothing epitomizes the need for a solution to continuously improve care flows more than the rapid growth of the CareOps community in such a short space of time.”

Awell will use the funding to further increase product innovation and grow its team. It will target expansion in the US, particularly in growing relationships with traditional care organizations. The company also plans to make targeted investments in R&D to enable customers to tackle increasingly complex clinical workflows.

Prior to founding Awell, Vande Casteele set up an ecommerce and digital marketing business whose clients included Samsung, Audi and Nestlé.

Matthieu Vallin at Octopus Ventures stated: “Clinical workflows and patient pathways are broken in much of today’s healthcare environment. Thomas and his team have built an exceptional platform for providers and digital health companies to build, test, and deploy clinical workflows efficiently, while integrating seamlessly into their existing stacks.

“Awell has the potential to drastically improve care delivery while enabling healthcare organizations to improve operationally. Octopus is thrilled to play a part in supporting Awell as the company transforms how digital health is built and delivered to patients.”

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Digital health platform Awell secures $5m investment to automate and streamline care workflows

DKK Partners, a leading Frontier Markets FinTech company which specialises in emerging markets (EM) and foreign exchange (FX) liquidity has announced the successful closing of their pre-seed funding raise, totalling £3 million, prior to Series B set to take place at the beginning of 2024.

The company surpassed their initial funding target by 33 per cent, marking a significant milestone in their journey to democratise access to FX liquidity sector by providing financial services across the globe, driving forward business opportunities and supporting banks or financial institutions in emerging markets.

The London based frontier markets trading house is oversubscribed, cementing its current pre-money valuation at approximately £100 million as they have seen record revenue growth over the last 3.5 years, expanding rapidly since it was founded in 2020. The funding will be used to drive forward further expansion opportunities in the coming years.

The news follows DKK Partners’ recent expansion into East Africa, opening its newest office in Nairobi, Kenya followed by Uganda and Tanzania which is supported by the successful attainment of the CONSUMAF licence which will help to accelerate its financial services operations in Africa.

Khalid Talukder, Co-founder of DKK Partners, said “At DKK Partners we saw value in providing the opportunity for those who have supported us over the years, helping us to build the organisation that exists today, to continue their support, share our success and give thanks to all who have been a part of our journey up until this point.”

“Our organisation has grown tremendously since it was founded and we are excited to continue our journey, reaching more emerging markets and improving global trade by improving the FX and payments sector. It is all too common that business opportunities can be delayed or missed without access to high quality financial services, and we are looking forward to seeing how DKK Partners can provide help to those who need it around the globe.”

Dominic Duru, Co-Founder of DKK Partners, said: “The pre-seed funding raise will continue to strengthen balance sheets, allowing us to invest in additional compliance and technology to help drive efficiency and distribution of our products and services. As we continue to scale up our organisations and expand our operations, our goal is to provide the highest quality FX and payments services, making trading in key markets such as Africa easy.”

“We hope to further disrupt markets and liberate a whole new generation of companies, from ambitious start-ups to established corporates, allowing our customers to develop clear strategies, manage currency risk and develop sharp pricing.”

Read more:
DKK Partners closes pre-seed funding raising £3m

Cornish Lithium, a pioneering mining exploration company working towards securing a domestic supply of battery-grade lithium compounds, has already raised £2.5m through existing shareholders in its latest crowdfunding campaign and is now offering shares to the wider public.

With an offer of up to £6.9 million, the campaign is an opportunity for existing and new investors to be part of Cornish Lithium’s journey as it supports theautomotive industry and helps the UK transition towards net zero. Existing shareholders have received priority access to the financing round with Crowdcube, investing a milestone £1 million in just 27 minutes. New shareholders are invited to invest from Friday 15th September.

This latest offer to retail shareholders comes at a pivotal moment for Cornish Lithium. Last month the company announced a US$67 million (£53.6 million) initial investment from a group of leading institutional investors led by the UK Infrastructure Bank alongside The Energy & Minerals Group and TechMet.

The investment package together with the crowdfunding campaign will enable Cornish Lithium to progress its hard rock lithium project to a construction-ready status, as well as complete the engineering design work required to build a demonstration-scale geothermal waters extraction facility.

Jeremy Wrathall, founder and CEO of Cornish Lithium said: “We are delighted to have been able to offer existing shareholders the opportunity to invest further in Cornish Lithium and to open it out to new shareholders. The appetite to help us to succeed in our ambitions has already been overwhelmingly positive.

“This is an opportunity to invest in a British company doing great things for the UK’s green revolution.”

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Cornish Lithium kicks off crowdfunding campaign with £2.5m raised from existing shareholders

Maz Darvish has announced he has left his role as Chief Transformation Officer at Sweatband.com, the company he co-founded in 2000, and has launched an e-commerce focussed AI-Technology business named CognitionHub.com

With a track record of founding, scaling, and successfully exiting multiple e-commerce and digital marketing businesses, Darvish will serve as the Chief Executive Officer of CognitionHub.com

CognitionHub.com assembles a seasoned team of experts in e-commerce, data science, creative design, and software development. They will be creating a range of AI-native SaaS products that will transform the operations of e-commerce companies to help them gain a competitive advantage.

The new business will be launching its first products in Q4 2023.

Speaking about the launch of CognitionHub.com Darvish said: “I am really excited not just to be returning to my digital roots but also at a time when AI represents a fantastic opportunity for e-commerce brands gain a structural advantage over their competitors, gain market share and ultimately increase profitability.

“Our first-hand knowledge of the e-commerce ecosystem gives us a unique insight into the challenges faced by mid to large-scale operators and this gives us a fantastic unique selling point. We have really been there, done that, and want to pass on our knowledge.”

The business has already secured agreements with multiple, well-known e-commerce brands such as Sweatband.com, CardioFitness.de and JustMustard.com and has been beta testing AI SaaS offerings for several months.

Read more:
Sweatband.com founder Maz Darvish exits to launch AI-technology company, CognitionHub

The UK’s innovation agency, Innovate UK, has announced a £6.6m investment in research projects which aim to help build a stronger supply chain of the critical minerals we rely on everyday.

The Critical Materials for Magnets Competition is part of the CLIMATES programme, announced in February, which committed £15m of government funding for cutting-edge research to strengthen the supply of critical materials. This supply chain represents a huge opportunity for UK businesses; the global market for rare-earth elements (REE) is projected to grow from $2.5bn to $5.5bn by 2028. (Fortune Business Insights)

Today, 16 UK-based innovation projects have been announced as winners of the first competition. In total there are 40 organisations receiving funding. 27 are businesses (of those 22 are SMEs) and 13 are universities or Research and Technology Organisations (RTOs).

Mike Biddle, Executive Director for Net Zero at Innovate UK said: “By recycling and recovering valuable rare-earth magnets, we are reducing the environmental impact of extraction, saving energy, and creating a resilient supply chain in a growing global market. These materials are fundamental to building a net zero economy so we need a sustainable way to access these critical materials and for innovation to thrive in harmony with responsible resource management. I’m pleased for our competition winners, who have demonstrated their commitment to this by making this happen and I wish them well on their innovation projects.”

Minister for Investment Dominic Johnson said: “Critical minerals are vitally important to our economy, and the funding awarded for these cutting-edge projects today will help us strengthen the industry’s supply chain even further.

“There are huge opportunities for UK firms in the booming rare earth elements market, and I congratulate the winners on their success in helping to drive this growth; a brilliant way to kick off the Northern Ireland Investment Summit this week.”

Among the winners is Ionic Technologies Ltd, based in Belfast, which specialises in the recycling of magnets to enable the creation of sustainable and traceable rare-earth supply chains. The company has successfully secured funding for two CLIMATES projects: in partnership with the British Geological Survey, Ionic Technologies will complete a feasibility study of a commercial magnet recycling plant in Belfast. The other project aims to develop a traceable, circular supply chain of rare-earths for application in EV motors within the UK, working in partnership with Less Common Metals (LCM) and Ford Technologies.

Thomas Kelly, General Manager of Ionic Technologies said: “The funding provided via the partnership with Innovate UK, as well as the opportunity to work with purpose-driven and innovative organisations that the projects are affording, is adding significant value to our business. Ionic Technologies is driving the emerging supply chain for Rare Earths, and its ability to meet the increasing demand for critical minerals in the UK and abroad. This will enable the UK to meet its Net Zero ambitions, by serving renewable technologies such as wind energy and EV manufacturing.”

Another innovative project to successfully secure investment is a collaboration between EMR, HyProMag Ltd, Offshore Renewable Energy Catapult, Magnomatics and The University of Birmingham, which aims to sustainably decommission and recycle offshore wind turbines.

The first generation of wind turbines are now nearing the end of their life, and decommissioning them sustainably presents a multi-faceted challenge. The project aims to be part of a low-carbon decommissioning programme that allows for the retrieval of the Rare Earth Elements used in their construction.

Nick Mann, Operations General Manager of HyProMag said: “We are very excited about this innovative project and the opportunity to further develop the UK supply chain for rare earth magnet recycling with the support of Innovate UK and an excellent consortium of project partners. This project will address the hurdles for recycling of permanent magnets from wind turbines, effectively unlocking a new domestic source of rare earths.”

A collaboration between Materials Nexus (MatNex) and Less Common Metals (LCM) also received investment. The project aims to greatly reduce the use of heavy rare-earth elements in high-performance permanent magnets, without affecting performance.

The aim for the new magnet materials is to be cheaper, more sustainable and, by reducing reliance on supply from China, have a much more robust supply chain.

Dr Jonathan Bean, CEO of MatNex said: “We’re delighted to have this opportunity to partner with Innovate UK and LCM to use our AI platform in this area – and this is just one of many improved materials that we are planning to develop.”

Albert Slot, Managing Director of LCM said: “Critical materials are essential for various high-tech applications including electric vehicles, renewable energy systems, medical devices and information technology, and are often subject to supply chain vulnerabilities. By investing in projects such as this, the potential exists to revolutionise the production processes of these materials, therefore reducing dependence on foreign sources and enhancing domestic control.”

Read more:
Cutting-edge projects secure £6.6m investment to strengthen the UK’s supply of critical materials for magnets

The UK’s climate tech sector could receive a £4bn investment from Qatar as the Middle Eastern nation looks to establish a green energy research facility in southern England.

Funded by the Qatar Foundation, the university-style facility will also be supported by a partnership with Rolls Royce.

From the overall investment £1.5bn will be designated for the seed development of UK green tech startups with the goal of creating new climate unicorns valued at over $1bn.

A project leader told the newspaper that it will be the “MIT for UK energy transition”. They added that the scheme will support the UK’s ability to retain promising clean energy companies as they grow.

“The purpose is to scale up these projects to the level where they can be floated here in the UK, rather than losing our best ideas overseas at their early stage.”

The site will likely be established within the ‘golden triangle’ research area, which includes London, Oxford and Cambridge.

Management consultant McKinsey is reportedly involved in the planning. The project hopes to create 7,500 new jobs by 2030.

The Qatar Foundation said: “We continue to work alongside Rolls-Royce to develop new, leading climate tech ventures and technology hubs, both in the UK and Qatar.”

The foreign investment follows the announcement from the prime minister of a $2bn contribution to the Green Climate Fund.

Announced by Rishi Sunak at a G20 gathering, the contribution is the largest made by the UK towards the global fund.

The Green Climate Fund was established jointly by 194 countries following the Copenhagen Accord at COP15.

Read more:
Qatar set to make £4bn UK climate tech investment

Healthcare specialist, Primary Care Physio Limited (PCP), has announced a £8.25 million investment from one of the largest and most experienced growth capital investors in the UK and Ireland, BGF.

Founded in 2020 by Ryan Allen, Mohammed Nazir and Professor Gary Shuckford, PCP is a rapidly growing primary healthcare service which provides physiotherapists and podiatrists to Primary Care Networks (PCNs), freeing up GP capacity in the primary care sector. The company currently employs over 300 clinicians.

The significant investment from BGF will allow the business to execute its ambitious growth strategy, while helping to alleviate some of the challenges facing the primary healthcare market, including chronic GP shortages, growing musculoskeletal issues, and an increasing emphasis on community-focussed care.

Jon Lowe, the former CEO of Connect Health, will join the business as Non-Executive Chair.  Dean Barber will be joining as Chief Financial Officer.

Commenting on the deal, Ryan Allen, CEO at Primary Care Physio, said: “With a growing, ageing, and increasingly complex patient landscape, there is an unprecedented need for a flexible and fast musculoskeletal platform that enables GP practices to continue to deliver best practice care. At PCP, we enable PCNs to meet their objectives.

“To achieve our wider strategic aims, we wanted a minority investment partner that recognised the vast potential that exists – not only in our business, but in the wider marketplace. We also wanted to work alongside an investor that could adopt a patient and long-term outlook, but equally had a strong track record of helping businesses to capitalise on the opportunities ahead of them. BGF ticked all those boxes and we’re delighted to be working with the team who we can see will add value beyond the investment.”

The deal was led by Chris Boyes and James Baker, investors in BGF’s Yorkshire team.

BGF’s Chris Boyes said: “PCP is an exciting and rapidly expanding business in a sector with significant potential, led by a highly experienced management team, with strength and depth in the primary care market.

“We’re delighted to be supporting PCP’s ambitious growth plan, as it looks to continue to deliver best in class solutions and outcomes. As the primary care market continues to recover from the pandemic, PCP is well placed to maintain its rapid growth, supporting the delivery of patient outcomes. We look forward to partnering with Ryan and the wider PCP team as we continue to scale the business.”

Read more:
 BGF backs Leeds-headquartered Primary Care Physio in £8.25m investment

Twitter owner Elon Musk is among top business leaders expected to be invited to Rishi Sunak’s global investment summit this autumn.

Tesla boss Musk – who recently bought and renamed Twitter as X – is among figures including Amazon founder Jeff Bezos who officials are keen to see attend the summit, according to Sky News.

It comes amid a key period for the UK with the Prime Minister having outlined his ambition to see the nation become a science and technology superpower, despite car manufacturers including Vauxhall-owner Stellantis warning of potential post-Brexit factory closures.

The flagship Global Investment Summit (GIS) event is slated to take place on 29 November and is understood to be taking place at a “historic London location”.

Sky reported that while it was unconfirmed whether formal invitations had gone out to Musk and Bezos, other investors in the UK economy had told them they had been asked to attend.

Launched in autumn 2021, the GIS has secured £9.7bn of new foreign investment, the government says, as well as reportedly creating 30,000 new jobs and supporting growth.

The summit is no stranger to big-name attendees, with Microsoft founder Bill Gates and JP Morgan Chase CEO Jamie Dixon attending the summit in 2021.

An official said the government was keen for Musk to be there due to his meetings with French president Emmanuel Macron to discuss potential Tesla investments in the country.

A spokesman for the Department for Business and Trade told Sky they wouldn’t comment on invitees but said in a statement: “We look forward to welcoming around 200 CEOs and the world’s A-list investors to the second Global Investment Summit in November, to showcase why the UK is a top destination for international investment.

“Hosted by the PM and business and trade secretary Kemi Badenoch, attendees will hear first-hand how the government intends to build upon the competitive business environment that makes the UK one of the world’s most attractive investment destinations.

“It will drive investment into all corners of the UK, creating real benefits for local businesses and communities including economic growth and jobs.”

Read more:
X owner Elon Musk to be invited to government investment summit

Everest Assets Group (EAG) launches today with a £5m growth fund to empower a new generation of cybersecurity and IT scale-ups.

The new investment fund, founded by serial entrepreneur Steven M Windmill, begins trading immediately and will target high growth tech companies. Windmill, a decorated veteran who has previously commanded troops in Iraq and elsewhere has led several global business ventures, will serve as Chairman and CEO. He oversaw a total of 54 simultaneous M&A and relocations as part of a major change programme, involving 21,000 staff.

He will be working alongside Mike Russell, who serves as CFO. Russell has a distinguished track record encompassing UK GAAP, AIM, NASDAQ, and NOMAD reporting, as well as several years in Silicon Valley. He has orchestrated numerous highly successful IPOs as a CFO, including a groundbreaking venture that raised an impressive $300 million for an asset acquisition deal with a major international bank.

EAG, which has offices in central London, has also hired cyber veteran Graham Mann as business development director and AI expert Robert F. Coles as chief technology officer.

Steven M Windmill, Chairman and CEO of Everest Assets Group said: “Britain is home to some of the world’s finest tech companies, yet far too many of these entrepreneurs cannot get access to the funding they need to thrive. EAG is here to change all that, unlocking high quality funding to turbocharge ambitious businesses so they can reach their full potential.”

Mike Russell, CFO, Everest Assets Group added: “We’re very excited to announce the launch of EAG, which brings together a board of industry experts and investment veterans who can identify, equip and empower a new generation of ambitious scale-ups.”

Read more:
Everest Assets Group launches with £5m growth fund to turbocharge cyber scaleups

UK FinTech Growth Partners LLP has unveiled the FinTech Growth Fund, backed by Barclays, NatWest, Mastercard, London Stock Exchange Group and Peel Hunt.

It promises to invest in UK FinTechs, predominantly between Series B and pre-IPO, to enable them to scale into world-class global organisations.

The idea for the fund grew out of the landmark Kalifa Review which outlined a five-point plan to help the UK retain its status as a global leader in financial services through securing the success of UK FinTech.

It identified an annual funding gap for growth stage FinTech estimated at £2bn and recommended a £1bn growth fund which would sufficiently fill this gap in order to sustain our world leading ecosystem.

Currently these FinTechs struggle to find domestic capital to help them scale, resulting in a loss of IP and a growing divergence between the UK and the US at post-seed funding levels.

The first deployment of capital into businesses is scheduled for Q4 2023 with a strong pipeline of opportunities already identified. The fund will look to undertake, on average, four to eight investments per year, with investments between £10 million and £100m.

The fund will make minority investments and all investments will be for equity and equity-linked securities.

Alongside the investment capital, the FinTech Growth Fund will provide strategic support to its portfolio companies to help them achieve their corporate ambitions, giving them access to an ecosystem of deep, relevant experience across FinTech, venture capital, and the wider financial services ecosystem.

The UK FinTech Growth Partners executive team includes Angel Issa, former global head of corporate development & strategic investments at Nomura, having previously held similar roles at BNP Paribas and Morgan Stanley; Joe Parkin, former managing director – head of banks, digital channels and UK inorganic at BlackRock; Kaushalya Somasundaram, former executive director and UK head of payments, partnerships & industry relations at Square, and former managing director and global head of FinTech partnerships & strategic innovation investments director at HSBC; and Phil Vidler, CEO of FinTech Alliance, formerly group strategy director at Pollinate and head of global markets for HM Treasury.

Its non-executive advisory board will be chaired by former Chancellor of the Exchequer Lord Philip Hammond, and will also feature notable UK financial services and FinTech figures, including Clare Bousfield, Sir Charles Bowman, Dame Jayne-Anne Gadhia (pictured), Lord Gerry Grimstone, Alastair Lukies CBE, Dame Helena Morrissey, Romi Savova and Philip Smith.

“The UK has always been at the forefront of innovation in FinTech but there is a very clear and well evidenced growth funding gap,” said Phil Vidler, managing partner.

“The FinTech Growth Fund will address the lack of available growth capital by providing a first of its kind domestic, growth-stage, FinTech focused venture capital fund backed by strategic investors.

“Our aim is to not only provide the capital needed for founders to scale their businesses, but to also engage with stakeholders across the nation to support the wider ecosystem. In doing so, we believe we can ensure the UK remains a global leader in FinTech.”

Sir Ron Kalifa, author of the Kalifa Review, added: “I am delighted to welcome the launch of the UK FinTech Growth Fund as a private sector initiative, backed by institutional capital, responding to one of the key recommendations of the Review.

“The fund represents another key building block in the support ecosystem for growth stage UK FinTech businesses. This is an important step forward towards ensuring the UK retains its leadership role in FinTech.”

Outside its core remit, UK FinTech Growth Partners will commit to providing wider holistic support for the UK FinTech ecosystem. This extensive commitment will be realised through the ‘Beyond Investing’ programme which will consist of initiatives focused on national connectivity, support for early-stage founders, and talent, diversity, equity and inclusion.

Read more:
£1 billion growth fund to help scale UK FinTechs prior to IPO launched

Scottish fintech Know-it have announced the expansion of their cloud-based credit management platform in Australia for 2024.

This strategic move aims to deliver Know-it’s credit management solution to the Australian market, ensuring that Australian SMEs have access to the platform to effectively manage their credit control process. With its impressive track record of helping businesses minimise late payments and boost cashflow, Know-it is well-positioned to significantly impact the Australian fintech industry.

CEO and Founder of Know-it, Lynne Darcey Quigley, comments on the expansion: “Australian businesses face the same issues as UK businesses regarding late payments and manual credit control. Automation is crucial to ensure a steady cash flow and efficient financial processes. This is an opportune moment to implement such solutions”.

“Our platform, is the first of its kind, enables companies to perform credit checks, automate payment chasing, collect overdue invoices, and more in one place. Doing so mitigates credit risk, reduce debtor days, and enhances company cash flow. At Know-it, our ultimate objective is to expand our services globally and assist SMEs worldwide in realising the importance of automating the credit control process. This automation is crucial not only for business survival but also for achieving success. The Australian market will be the first step for us internationally and we are all excited to see where the journey takes us afterwards.

“We aim to demonstrate to Australian business owners, especially SMEs, how fintech can safeguard business continuity during the turbulent economic conditions currently affecting SMEs on a global scale. Our team is thrilled to begin collaborating with local businesses, assisting them in securing cash flow by addressing late payments, decreasing debtor days, and automating their entire credit control process”.

Lynne concluded: “As the financial climate continues to put immense pressure on the economy, businesses in Australia need all the help they can get. It’s a critical juncture where technology can step in and offer a helping hand through an affordable and innovative credit management platform. In the past, smaller businesses lacked the necessary resources to automate this process, leaving many vulnerable to late payments and financial fraud. But with the introduction of Know-it’s platform in the Australian market, businesses of all sizes can now easily Check-it, Chase-it, and Collect-it in real-time without the hassle of manual processing”.

Read more:
Scottish fintech, Know-it sets its sights on Australia expansion

As is the case with most industries, acquisitions of online casinos seems to be a regular occurrence. One of the latest has seen Moneta Communications acquire Catena Media’s UK and Australian businesses for £5.2 million.

Established as a leading sports betting affiliate in the UK, Catena Media is a well renowned company. They have a great reputation in the industry for delivering players that are of extremely high quality. Not just that, they do so at a cost effective rate and that’s always to be appreciated.

Although some of their business comes from the sports betting section of the gambling industry, they also focus on the online casinos in the UK. Catena Media provides companies with “attractive and informed content.” They also give “attractive and informed consent” as well as “insight and offers” that perform an important task. Namely, to connect those who are interested in casino games such as poker and blackjack with platform operators.

The CEO of Catena Media is Michael Daly. He’s “delighted” that the company has signed the deal with Moneta. He believes that they are “well placed to build on the success” that their UK and Australian sports and casino brands have achieved. With this deal in place, they will have “the scope and support they need to develop and grow.”

Equally delighted with the deal is the CEO of Moneta, Christopher Russel. His company is “very happy” to acquire what they feel are “established and successful brands.” The hope is that they will be able to carry on the success that has been achieved in the past.

Why sell the UK and Australian assets to Moneta? As well as looking to make acquisitions to grow a business, there is also the important decision on which markets to focus attention on. The decision to sell their UK assets isn’t because the online casino industry in the UK is struggling, far from it said an expert of Casino Gambler, UK casinos guide.

Catena Media  is the latest company looking to spend more attention on the North American market. There are several owners of UK gambling companies who are also looking across the Atlantic and seeing increased business opportunities. The online casino industry in the US is continually expanding so there are plenty of chances to open up businesses there.

Leading companies such as bet365, Flutter Entertainment and Entain have done just that but continue to pay great attention to maintaining success in the UK gambling industry. Others such as Catena Media take a different approach. They decide that to focus on America, selling their UK interests is the way forward as that will provide valuable revenue.

Another of their sites that has been sold is AskGamblers. That gives plenty of information and reviews about digital casinos and has been sold to Gaming Innovation Group..

Now it’s time for Moneta to take the assets that have been acquired from Catena Media and develop them further. The gambling industry is a highly competitive one but there are many options available to create a business that makes increasing amounts of revenue.

There is increased regulation of the casino industry on the horizon though. The current gambling laws in the UK came into force before the internet changed the way in which we gamble.

Late April saw the publication of the UK Government’s White Paper on gambling reform. Companies such as Moneta will need to pay close attention to what the document contains. Proposals include setting a reduced stake limit for games played at online casinos. A compulsory levy is also being proposed and stricter affordability checks.

While some of these proposals could well affect profits, they aren’t expected to become law in the short term. With a General Election on the horizon, that may also delay implementation of the proposals. Some of the proposals are not being entirely welcomed by gamblers and would the Tory government wish to upset voters ahead of a General Election they are likely to struggle to win.

The fact remains though that the casino industry is one that has a rosy future. The advances made in mobile technology have transformed the way we gamble as much as the arrival of the internet. Players can now download apps from online casinos so they can try their luck on their favourite slot games, try to win at blackjack and hopefully see their lucky numbers win at roulette.

It is still therefore an industry that is worth making investments into. The hope for Moneta is that their acquisition, which also covers sports betting, will be one that can be successful for them. They have certainly acquired a business that has had a great deal of success in the past and is strongly respected. That’s always a good sign for a good and profitable future.

Read more:
Moneta Communications Acquire Catena Media For £5.2 million

Cytomos, an Edinburgh-based life science company that has developed a proprietary new approach to analysing cells, has secured £4 million to scale up market-testing of its technology platform Cytomos Dielectric Spectroscopy (CDS).

The investment round was led by existing investors Archangels with participation from Old College Capital, Scottish Enterprise and new investor British Business Bank.

Cytomos has developed CDS to address the unmet needs of the biopharma industry, providing a groundbreaking high-speed, scalable and low-cost revolution beyond current cell analysis systems. Scientists are under pressure to bring novel therapies to market, faster and more affordably. However, securing access to the right information at the right time is a major challenge, frequently resulting in crucial information being compromised at critical stages. Advanced therapy production processes are highly expensive and dynamic. Therefore, the ability to ‘fail fast’ minimises sunk costs in terms of time and operating expenditures. Through its CDS platform, Cytomos empowers biopharma to bring novel therapies to market faster and radically reduce costs by enabling critical decision making much earlier.

New investment will enable Cytomos to significantly advance the development of its technology and substantially expand the team. The company is targeting commercialisation of its platforms in 2024.

Over the past year, Cytomos has grown its operational management and strategic team with the appointments of David Rigterink (CEO) and Lindsay Fraser (CSO) who have driven the company’s industry engagement with well-known force multipliers in the bioprocessing and cell and gene therapy space including global Contract Development and Manufacturing (C(D)MO) leaders, bioprocessing solution market leaders, as well as cutting-edge TechBio partners set to dominate the Advanced Therapy and Medical Products (ATMP) space.

Sarah Hardy, director and head of new investments at Archangels, said: “As a highly innovative, Scottish early-stage life science company with global horizons, Cytomos is an excellent fit for our investment portfolio. Its ambitious vision to improve real time cell analysis in formats to better suit the end users will revolutionise the development and commercialisation of products in the bioprocessing and cell and gene therapies spaces.  We’re looking forward to working with David and the team as they drive the business forward, making smarter, faster and more accurate cell analysis finally more accessible.”

David Rigterink, CEO at Cytomos, said: “We are uniquely positioned in harnessing the power of consumer electronics technology to meet the emerging, complex needs of the bioprocess industry. On the back of a very successful year for Cytomos, this new funding will now allow us to scale up our engagement with industry partners. We truly believe that, through our CDS technology, we offer a powerful platform which will help the scientific community bring novel therapies to market faster and radically reduce costs by making better informed, game-changing decisions a lot earlier.”

Kerry Sharp, Director of Entrepreneurship and Investment at Scottish Enterprise, said: “We’ve worked with Cytomos for many years so it’s great to see the team expanding and the company secure the investment needed to advance the ground-breaking CDS platform towards commercialisation next year.”

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Cytomos secures £4M to advance new approach to cell analysis

Resilience today announced a $100M equity financing round to accelerate its global expansion and scale the adoption of its holistic cyber risk platform, the Resilience Solution, which launched earlier this year.

The Series D round was led by Intact Ventures, an affiliate of Resilience’s primary capacity provider, Intact Insurance’s underwriting companies, with participation by Lightspeed Venture Partners, as well as General Catalyst and Founders Fund.

With global cybercrime set to eclipse $10.5 trillion by 2025, enterprises are finding that the status-quo siloed approach that governs security decision-making today isn’t keeping up. By connecting leaders in finance, risk, and security, the Resilience Solution provides clients with a new way to assess, measure, and manage their cyber risk. Built on the company’s financially-proven AI platform, the Resilience Solution enables policyholders to quantify their cyber risk and prioritize their security program based on a return-on-investment analysis of their controls.

“The increase in ransomware attacks proves that there are longstanding gaps in today’s cybersecurity and cyber insurance practices,” said Vishaal “V8” Hariprasad, CEO and Co-Founder of Resilience. “Instead, enterprises need a way to look at their cyber risk in an integrated, economically-efficient, and predictable manner. This funding will accelerate our mission to make this a reality for more companies around the world. I want to thank our team and our broker partners for helping us arrive at this milestone.”

“We’re thrilled to lead Resilience’s financing round and to work together to build the cyber risk platform of the future,” said Justin Smith-Lorenzetti, Intact Ventures. “We’re eager to continue pairing the innovative cybersecurity solutions and expertise of Resilience with the insurance expertise of Intact Insurance’s underwriting companies as Resilience’s primary capacity provider.”

“Having worked closely with Raj (Shah), V8, and the Resilience team, we are pleased to invest again in their cyber solutions. Partnering with Resilience brings deep security expertise to our customers in an everchanging cyber environment. We look forward to helping them grow their innovative approach to help clients become cyber resilient,” shared T. Michael Miller, CEO, Global Specialty Lines, Intact Financial Corporation.

“Securing a digital world at enterprise scale requires fundamental behavior change,” said Arif Janmohamed, Partner at Lightspeed Venture Partners, which first invested in Resilience during its Series A round. “We have been long-term believers in the Resilience team because they set out to fill this critical gap from day one. We are incredibly excited to see them executing on this vision over the past several years and we look forward to how they’ll help the market tackle cyber risk in the future.”

In 2022, 100% of clients of Resilience’s cyber risk management solution avoided a ransomware extortion with 67% incurring lower losses than the total insurance base. This success led to a loss ratio that was three times lower than the 2022 industry average. Resilience has raised over $225MM in prior funding and serves primary and excess clients in the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Ireland, Italy, Spain, and the Nordics.

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Resilience Raises $100M to accelerate expansion across Europe