London-based investment manager Downing LLP has appointed Tom Moore to lead its asset management capability.

With a huge shift in emphasis towards regional funding support, the Connected Investing event series, hosted by the UK Business Angels Association, will lift the lid on the latest initiatives open to both the investor and start-up communities. 

Pharrowtech, the designer of chip and antenna solutions for high-speed wireless applications, has raised more than €6 million for its Seed investment round. This ambitious investment round led by imec.xpand and Bloc Ventures with participation from imec and KBC, will allow Pharrowtech to further enhance the leading-edge capabilities of its products and prepare for high-volume production rampup aimed at Fixed Wireless Access, 5G, AR/VR and other bandwidth demanding wireless applications.  

Following a £6.3m equity investment in 2018, pioneering airspace developer Apex Airspace has secured a further £3million equity investment from BGF, the UK’s most active investor in growing businesses, to help roll out airspace developments across the UK and support business growth. The latest wave of funding, which brings Apex’s tally to £22m in 2019, will help fund the delivery of its growing pipeline of opportunities in London, Bristol and Birmingham as well as positioning the company for continued growth. This will include investment in new technology, market research to identify further airspace development potential across the UK and attracting best-in-class talent. 

The North East Development Capital Fund (“NEDCF”), supported by the European Regional Development Fund and managed by Maven Capital Partners, one of the UK’s most active SME finance providers, has, since its launch one year ago, invested £4.7 million in eight dynamic growth businesses across the North East, driving economic prosperity, safeguarding over 400 jobs.

A consortium of leading scientific research and academic institutions has teamed to identify innovative solutions to tackle climate change linked to the agri-food sector.

The SHAKE Climate Change programme is specifically designed to attract entrepreneurs or start-ups who have developed early stage science or tech-based ideas that can have a significant impact on climate change, as well as form the basis of a sustainable and socially responsible business within the sector.

Foresight Group has made a £5 million growth capital investment into Fourth Wall Creative Limited, a technology-led merchandising business servicing the football industry.

Based in Bromborough, Merseyside, FWC was founded in 2010 by CEO Anton Botes and Joe Moroney who identified the need for an improved service for design and sourcing of merchandise within the football market. Since then the business has established itself as a market leader in the design and fulfilment of branded merchandise for football clubs.

The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan and Funding London CEO, Maggie Rodriguez-Piza, have announced the appointment of three new additions to the Funding London Board. 

Symetrica, the global leader in radiation detection and identification, has secured a further £3m of growth funding from existing investors to support its continued global expansion - bringing the total amount raised to £10m. The round was co-led by Parkwalk, the UK’s most active investor in university spin-outs, and Nesta and included follow on investments from Albion Investments, Technology Venture Partners and Tennants Ventures. 

Token, the turnkey open banking platform, has completed a $16.5m strategic investment from a pool of investors, including Opera Tech Ventures, the venture arm of BNP Paribas - one of the world’s largest banks and two other visionary banks headquartered in the Middle East and Southeast Asia.  

Swoop, a FinTech solution that supports SMEs to access funding, has been awarded £5 million (€5.6 million) by the UK’s Banking Competition Remedies (BCR) – an independent body working on behalf of Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS). BCR aims to ensure RBS is continually promoting competition within banking, and fair access for SMEs to the banking services market, with funds becoming available when an alternative body can better deliver this goal.

Augnet, a London-based technology start-up set to revolutionise the SMS and messaging space, has announced it has been selected to receive much sought after funding from the European Innovation Council.