A fast-growing clothing brand with a mission to become the ‘Levi’s of the women’s outdoorwear market’ has raised £350,000 in a funding round led by Dow Schofield Watts Angels (DSW Angels), the business angel network.

ACAI Activewear was started by husband and wife team Joe and Kasia Bromley with a sewing machine on their kitchen table. The funding will allow it to expand its product range and keep pace with rising demand.

ACAI’s skinny trousers have proved popular with audiences ranging from dog walkers, horse riders and outdoors enthusiasts to animal workers and other professionals. Kasia, who moved from Poland to study fashion at Edinburgh College of Art and worked at couture houses including Alexander McQueen, came up with the idea while designing for a cycling wear company.

Israeli startup GK8, which provides secure end-to-end management of digital assets, has completed the development of a patented technology for sending transactions to the blockchain without any direct or indirect internet connection. GK8 is now emerging out of stealth mode having completed a seed funding round of $4 million, led by Check Point co-founder Marius Nachtand Israel Discount Capital, Israel Discount Bank Investments Arm, with the participation of investors such as the blockchain VC firm EdenBlock, iAngels, IDEAL-HLS, StratX and Israel Innovation Authority.

British Business Investments, a commercial subsidiary of the British Business Bank, has made a new commitment to Dow Schofield Watts Angels (DSW Angels) as the first partner in its £100m Regional Angels Programme.

Eric Tveter, former Central Europe CEO of Liberty Global, has become a major investor and the first Chairman of London-based start up Veloce Esports.

Tveter’s investment is part of Veloce’s ‘Angel’ funding round, which has now closed with further announcements due shortly. His stake increases the valuation of the multi-million pound company as it now proceeds to Series A funding.

The rapidly growing esports organisation, which officially launched in June 2018, has already claimed a number of successes in its short history as the group has established itself as the number one racing esports viewership network in the world, with a monthly audience of over 35 million.

PrimaryBid, the award-winning FCA-regulated online platform connecting publicly listed companies with everyday investors for discounted share issuances, has closed a £7 million funding round, led by Pentech and Outward VC with participation from new and existing investors.  The investment enables the company to aggressively expand its sales and marketing efforts as well as accelerate IT product development.

The founders of a specialist price comparison website have secured £500,000 of seed-stage investment and are now ready to disrupt the UK car leasing market.  Moneyshake.com helps people find the best lease deals quickly by comparing prices from the UK’s leading providers.  The £500,000 equity investment has been provided by the Development Bank of Wales and serial entrepreneur Tim Scholes, a private investor and experienced strategy professional.

Wayland Additive Limited has raised a £3 million Series A funding round, led by Longwall Ventures with the Angel CoFund (ACF), as well as a number of high-calibre angel investors. Wayland Additive is a West Yorkshire based company pushing the boundaries of electron beam 3D printing with systems that can work faster and with greater precision than existing laser-based technologies. 

The startup’s goal is to bring to market, manufacture and sell metal Additive Manufacturing (“AM”, otherwise known as 3D printing) machines to end-users who require high precision and complex components (often made from advanced metal alloys) in areas such as the aerospace and medical industries.

By James Murdoch

I had not planned to write an article in the holiday month of August, but time for reflection has given me the impetus to highlight my key conclusions. These have perhaps been partially buried in detail of my first 4 articles; I have been so determined that my articles should be based on analysis of my wide portfolio that the description of portfolio, process and data may have have given the foundation but not sufficiently emphasised the messages emerging.

Technology sectors in the UK are thriving and have thus brought about an increased level of awareness to the public consciousness. 

Equiem, the global leader in tenant experience technology and services for commercial real estate, has announced the completion of its largest ever capital raise, securing more than £7 million from a number of different investors. The total is the biggest single funding round reported by any commercial tenant experience technology company to date and takes the amount invested in Equiem to over £17 million in total.

MGB Biopharma, a biopharmaceutical company developing a novel class of anti-infectives to address the major global problem of antibiotic resistance, has announced the completion of its latest funding round. The over-subscribed fund-raise was supported by new and existing investors, led by Archangel Investors and including Scottish Investment Bank (the investment arm of Scottish Enterprise, Scotland’s national economic development agency), Barwell and TriCapital Investors.

Residently, the UK startup that is building the global rental platform, has secured £7m in seed investment to help fund its growth in London and New York.