Mia & Ben, the innovative kids' food brand sold nationwide in Sainsbury's, Ocado and Abel & Cole in the UK, as well as Dunnes Stores in the Republic of Ireland, has secured £2.5 million funding from impact food investor Blue Horizon Ventures to help grow its UK business.

Mia & Ben aim to revolutionise the kids' food category by using scientific research and the latest technology to offer fresher and more nutritious products. Their first range of pouches can be found chilled in the fridge, not in the ambient aisle, and are preserved with high-pressure processing (HPP) instead of heat to retain natural vitamins, colour and taste.

A venture backed Cambridge startup, Better Origin, has launched the X1, the world’s first ever insect mini-farm to convert local waste into high-quality animal feed in the form of insect larvae, which can then be fed to livestock, improving welfare, productivity and yield. They are solving both the global food waste crisis and producing better quality food for consumers.

Kaelo Limited has secured a £350,000 growth loan from the Greater London Investment Fund (GLIF) which is managed by The FSE Group.  Kaelo Ltd are the pioneers behind the Kaelo, a unique new way to serve and enjoy perfectly chilled wine in the home, and the hospitality and marine markets.

Prism Corporate Broking has advised the shareholders of Orion Future Technology Ltd (Orion FT) on its sale to the Milbank Group Ltd.

Blackfinch has invested c.£550k in Poole-based company Spotless Water, founded in 2016. The company offers the UK's first and only network of self-service, pure-water filling stations, available 24/7. It has nearly 40 stations situated across the UK. A key target is to increase this to 450 stations over the next three years as well as expanding into the US.  

The UK’s leading provider of Start Up Loans for business is toasting it 6,000^th customer.

A London based, food brand, has secured a £600,000 expansion loan from The Greater London Investment Fund. Adonis, an exciting, young brand in the health foods sector, aims to create a new generation of snacks that are: keto, plant based and low sugar.

Acceleris Capital portfolio company Reacta Biotech has completed its largest funding round to date, involving £1.25m of equity finance, with further investment expected in the coming months.  Reacta is a Deeside-based biotechnology company producing diagnostic kits for food allergy.  Cases of food allergy and allergy-related hospitalisations continue to rise globally at an alarming rate.  Reacta’s core focus is to improve the diagnosis and management of allergies through the provision of a pharmaceutical grade Oral Food Challenge (OFC), the gold standard for the clinical testing of food allergy.

Prime Advantage Capital Partners has completed a successful fundraise for Tonic Nutrition, a vitamin drink that’s making headlines.

Acceleris client, Vertical Future has completed  an additional £1.1 million of equity investment from Earthworm Group.

Rooted MilQ, a Reading based food and beverage company that is developing plant protein-based milk from quinoa and tarwi, has received investment from a member of Henley Business Angels.

The company, which started out as Kai Pacha Foods, started selling milk made with quinoa at organic retailers in Peru and is now launching in the UK. The company focuses on quinoa varieties that are in danger of extinction; by working with smallholder farmers who practice regenerative agriculture in mountain communities in Peru, they are able to harvest quinoa that protects agrobiodiversity, is resistant to climate change and is a source of planet friendly natural protein.

Oddbox, the London company behind the UK's first sustainable fruit and vegetable box delivery service, is planning to expand nationwide after securing a £3m investment from the Northern Venture Capital Trust Funds (VCTs), which are managed by Mercia. The London company behind the UK's first sustainable fruit and vegetable box delivery service is planning to expand nationwide after securing a £3m investment from the Northern Venture Capital Trust Funds (VCTs), which are managed by Mercia.