Against the backdrop of a challenging market environment, Amati AIM VCT latest fundraising has reached its targeted £25 million capacity.  The Company’s Directors will review the option to trigger a £20m over-allotment facility later in 2020, dependent upon an appropriate number of investment opportunities arising. 

Albion Capital has refinanced Albion Community Power, the £105 million renewable energy portfolio by raising £57 million of debt across the portfolio of onshore wind, hydro, solar and battery projects.

YFM Equity Partners has appointed David Wrench as an investment director as it continues to expand its investment team. 

David is joining the team to invest in growth capital and buyout opportunities, and his appointment follows the recent raising of a new £80m YFM buyout fund, the investment to support the buyout of Worcestershire-based Innovative Safety Systems (ISS) and the recent trade sale of Business Collaborator in Reading.

Maven Capital Partners has led an investment in Nano Interactive, an advertising technology business which specialises in intent targeting based on multiple signals including online search. Alongside the equity investment from Maven, the transaction has been supported by existing shareholders including Foresight Group.

The investment by Maven and Foresight will go towards supporting growth in sales and marketing operations, continued product development, as well as the establishment of an operation in the US.

Blackfinch Group's Blackfinch Spring VCT has raised over £3.3 million to invest in a portfolio of technology and technology-enabled companies, since its launch in December. The Spring VCT has been a natural follow-on funder for the Blackfinch Ventures EIS Portfolios, which invests in technology-focused companies at the start of their growth journey.

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.

YFM has completed a significant investment in West Midlands-based Innovative Safety Systems (ISS), a commercial vehicle safety specialist. This represents the final new investment from YFM’s Buyout Fund I, with the second fund having already announced a first close.  

ISS was founded in 2009 by CEO Gavin Thoday and the business has grown rapidly in recent years through its commitment to product innovation, exceptional customer service and expertise in the waste management sector where it is a market leader.

John Glencross said: “There is a lot in this budget that is positive for entrepreneurs and small business owners. The big change is in entrepreneurs’ relief, which enables business owners to pay just 10% capital gains tax on disposal of all or part of their business. This lifetime limit has been reduced from £10m to £1m.”

Octopus Ventures, part of Octopus Group and one of the largest VCs in Europe, has exited its investment in FilmTech start-up We Got POP.   FilmTech startup We Got POP has been acquired by Entertainment Partners, the end-to-end provider of production and workforce management solutions to the entertainment industry. Entertainment Partners is headquartered in LA and operates across the US and Canada. It is owned by TPG Capital, the private equity platform of global alternative asset firm TPG. 

Foresight has made a £500,000 growth capital investment into Novel Technologies Holding Limited, developers of antimicrobial technology SILVERbac.  This is the third investment made by the £20 million Foresight Scottish Growth Fund which is financed by the Scottish Growth Scheme through a combination of Scottish Government funds and the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), and is part of a wider £2.1 million funding round for NTH.

Foresight Group has made a further £1.1 million growth capital investment into portfolio company Tudor Group Limited to fund the acquisition of Wales-based cleaning contractor, A Quality Service Limited.

Based in Manchester, Tudor is an established facilities management provider which offers window cleaning, general cleaning and ancillary maintenance services to more than 100 customers nationwide including Transport for Greater Manchester, Hilton, Radisson and Marriott.

Oak Intranet has raised £2.1 million additional seed funding round led by existing investors Maven Capital Partners. The funding follows a restructure of the company’s leadership team led by the new CEO, Will Murray and the appointment of a new non-executive chairman, Mark Quartermaine which will enable the business to expand adoption across the UK.

Created in 2016 Oak Intranet is aimed at enterprise and medium sized businesses, it organises departments, news, teams, projects and internal communication through its mobile app and SaaS platform.