Leading Sports and Media, a Cardiff based sports promotion and digital marketing company that provides commercial development for professional cycling races and teams, has secured substantial investment towards the Lead Cycle Tour (LCT) Euro Cup series of races it has planned to start in 2019.

Over 300 professional road cycling races take place in Europe annually attracting millions of spectators. Historically, there is an under capitalization on the advertising, sponsorship and merchandising opportunities created from this spectator interest. Founder of LSM, Eifion Weinzweig, a former professional racer previously based in France but from South Wales, realised the opportunity, and secured the business rights to 20 of the top races. An innovative commercialisation model, which will be known as the Lead Cycle Tour (LCT) Euro Cup, was developed and quickly attracted the attention of professional cycling’s governing bodies. However, the company required investment to exploit the opportunity.

HBAN plans to recruit 50 new female business angel investors over the next three years.  HBAN will run a series of events to encourage more female investors to invest in ambitious start-ups based on the island of Ireland seeking to expand internationally. The new female investors will bring a combined €10 million of new business angel funds.

EBAN has published the latest edition of its Compendium of Co-investment Funds with Business Angels which is now available online. The Compendium is intended to assist business angels, entrepreneurs and other readers interested in the early stage investment market and learning about different forms of collaboration between business angels and public authorities.

This year, EBAN has enriched the publication with two new chapters on the importance of co-investment funds to support angel investing as well as on best practices and FAQs for setting up co-investment funds.

PopTopUK Limited, the UK’s leading online events marketplace, has secured a £615,000 equity investment from a syndicate led by Dow Schofield Watts Angels, the Northern angel network, and Northstar Ventures.

Angels Invest Wales has closed its second Wales Angel Co-investment Fund deal with a £400,000 seed investment round in Digital Asset Services (DAS).

Completed by lead investor Ashley Cooper, the angel syndicate includes Paul Teather of Pragmatica and Phil Buck of SunnyBarn Investments. The round also includes VC firm Hambro Perks Insurtech Gateway (HPIG)

Launched in 2018, DAS is led by CEO David Janczewski, who spent several years leading The Royal Mint’s blockchain-enabled digital gold initiative and providing advice to other blockchain projects. Working with co-founders Adam Smith and Ben Davis, the team are well advanced in developing a security and insurance product, built on blockchain infrastructure, that reduces the risks of holding and using cryptocurrencies.

techspert.io has secured £1M in second round funding for its pioneering expert-finding and evaluating technology.

In its latest interview Invested Investor talks to Bridget Connell, an Invested Investor who started investing four years ago and has completed five deals since. Bridget previously worked in technology, so she supports tech startups and mentors female investors and entrepreneurs through the syndicate Angel Academe. Bridget is a strong believer in the importance of  due diligence when working on a project; she stays close to each company she works with and supports them by drawing other investors close as well. She talks here about her desire to see more diversity in the investment world and is a strong champion for ‘Women in Investments’.   

Four of Wales’ top entrepreneurs have been named as the first four lead investors for the Development Bank of Wales’ £8 million Wales Angel Co-investment Fund.  Using their knowledge, networks and expertise, the lead investors will form syndicates to support start-ups and growth businesses in strategically important sectors in Wales. Unlike the development bank’s other funds, the Wales Angel Co-investment Fund is investor led with the bank providing match funding up to a maximum of £250,000 per project.

Maven Capital Partners, one of the UK’s most active private equity firms, has led a £1m series B investment in Sedgefield, County Durham based water treatment technology business, G2O Water Technologies Limited. A total of £600,000 has been provided by Maven funds, which includes a £200,000 investment from the Finance Durham Fund, established by Durham County Council, overseen by Business Durham, the economic development organisation for County Durham, and managed by Maven.

Neotas, a ‘digital intelligence’ business which provides enhanced due diligence and HR screening, has closed a funding round of over £1m backed by Symvan Capital, Force Over Mass and a number of private investors.

The Development Bank of Wales’ latest fund, the Wales Angel Co-investment Fund, will provide its first £90,000 of match funding to a syndicate of five business angels investing in Drone Evolution.

Lead investor, Andrew Diplock is former MD of UES Energy, a company formed in Caerphilly which he grew to a successful exit in late 2015. Andrew invests solely in Welsh rooted businesses and is also a member of the Welsh Government’s Valleys Taskforce in addition to being a Governor at Coleg y Cymoedd.

Angel Investor and Real World Group Chair Rachel Hannan has made the list of 100 progressive business leaders.