UK companies raised a record amount of venture capital in 2019 – the highest in Europe – according to research by Refinitiv. £8.1bn was raised – an 85% increase year on year – while deal volumes were also slightly up with 560 in this period compared to 554 in 2018.

The British Business Bank’s 2020 Small Business Finance Markets report highlights significant long-term growth in alternative finance volumes over the last five years.

Speedinvest, a European venture capital fund with offices in London, Berlin, Vienna, Munich and San Francisco, has raised €190 million for its third flagship fund, surpassing its original target ahead of schedule due to high investor demand. The oversubscribed round increases Speedinvest’s total AUM to more than €400M.

AND Digital has secured an £11m equity investment from BGF, the UK and Ireland’s most active investor in growing businesses, to support its continued growth and global expansion.

Established in 2014, AND Digital is one of Europe’s fastest growing tech companies, employing over 600 people and generating an annual turnover of £42m. In this year’s The Sunday Times Best Companies to Work For, AND was ranked at number 10, demonstrating its people first focus for tech talent.

Foresight Group has made the first investment from its East of England Fund, supporting the Buy-in Management Buyout of McIntyre Electrical Limited and the opening of its new office in Cambridge.

McIntyre Electrical is a leading provider of safety-critical fire and electrical inspection and maintenance services, primarily for housing associations. Based in Peterborough, McIntyre Electrical was established by Joe McIntyre and John Clifford in 2006 and today employs 158 people. 

The o2h Therapeutics and AI Fund, an early stage S/EIS fund investing in biotechnology therapeutics and related AI opportunities, has made an investment in Turbine, a simulation-based drug discovery company.

Based on a decade of research, Turbine’s biologists, bioinformaticians, data scientists, and AI engineers built the Simulated Cell. This platform is comprised of a dynamic computational model of the human cell and the underlying simulation technology to find the smartest route to novel targets, biomarkers, and combination therapies.

Capgemini and ISAI, through their joint investment fund ISAI Cap Venture, have made their first minority investment in Toucan Toco, a data storytelling solution; this forms part of Toucan Toco’s first-ever round of funding of €12 million, led by Balderton Capital.

Montis Biosciences announced its launch with €8.4 million in seed financing from an international investor syndicate.

BGF has successfully exited its investment in fast-growth web hosting company, Miss Group, as financial backing has been secured from private equity investor Perwyn.

Miss Group, which offers services including web hosting, domain registration and VPS to SMEs, received an initial £6.4m from BGF in August 2018. This was followed by a further £13m investment to accelerate its international expansion strategy in 2019. 

Inotec AMD, a fast-growing medtech business that has developed an innovative device to heal and treat complex chronic wounds, has secured £7m in a funding round led by Praetura Ventures.  The business has developed Natrox, a cutting-edge product that uses pure humidified oxygen to treat a range of chronic wounds, from diabetic and venous ulcers to non-healing surgical wounds. Following several successful clinical trials, Inotec AMD is looking to expand its foothold in the US, Asia, the Middle East and Europe. The business currently provides products to the NHS and health providers in key markets including the US, Italy, Southeast Asia and the Middle East.

It’s no secret that the world’s oceans are rapidly becoming unrecognizable as the impact from human activity strips them of marine life. Over 85% of the world's oceans are said to be dying, with plastic pollution and excess chemicals playing a significant role.

British Patient Capital, a subsidiary of the British Business Bank, has committed $50m to Atomico’s fifth fund, as Atomico announces its final close today at $820m.