Business is booming across north Wales, with the latest figures from the Development Bank of Wales showing an increase in investment appetite across our region. £15 million was invested into 65 north Wales businesses in 2017. The figure is three times the amount invested in 2016. 

A tiny group of UK companies are punching well above their weight showing they can be a significant force in driving the country’s economic growth, increasing UK productivity, skills and employment, according to The Octopus High Growth Small Business Report 2018.

One in every five new jobs in the UK and more than 20% of economic growth was created by high growth small businesses between 2015 and 2016. Representing less than 1% of UK business, these 22,074 companies created on average more than 3,000 new jobs each week.

The Development Bank of Wales has invested in Coursematch, a social network designed to help young people research, compare and discuss their university and career options. Coursematch also secured investment from seven angel investors.  The funding round was led by the Development Bank of Wales, following an introduction to the company through Colin Batten of Innovation Point, the digital innovation company behind accelerators like the Digital Dozen and IoTA (Internet of Things Accelerator) Wales.

Beechbrook Capital is supporting further expansion at Leathwaite, the global human capital specialist. The new investment by Beechbrook’s UK SME Credit fund will enable Leathwaite to accelerate its worldwide expansion, launch new business streams and invest in proprietary technology, while also providing equity to develop and attract talent.

Ruffena Capital has completed the management buyout of SGS Gases, a west country based business that has grown to become the UK’s leading independent gas supplier to the motor industry.

Matillion, the makers of cloud data integration tools Matillion ETL for Amazon Redshift, Matillion ETL for Snowflake and Matillion ETL for Google BigQuery, today announced it has closed a $20 million Series B round of funding led by Sapphire Ventures, existing investor Funds advised and managed by YFM Equity Partners, the specialist UK-based private equity fund manager and new investor Scale Venture Partners. The funding will accelerate the Company’s leadership in the cloud data integration category.

The Duncan & Todd Group, the leading optical provider in Scotland, has secured a £15m investment from the Scottish office of LDC, the UK’s leading mid-market private equity investor, to accelerate its growth strategy. As part of the deal, Duncan & Todd’s existing backer, BGF, will exit its minority stake.

Founded in 1972, the business operates through three divisions – retail, manufacturing and corporate – and employs more than 250 people across its national branch network and at its state-of-the-art ophthalmic lens laboratory, Caledonian Optical in Aberdeen. It also provides outsourced corporate eye care services to more than 200 public and private sector customers, through its Smart Employee Eyecare brand.

IW Capital has completed its latest deal with Elevation Financial Group, an independent financial advisory firm.

Sheffield-headquartered Independent Forgings & Alloys, one of Britain’s leading independent aerospace and industrial forgers, has received an £8.5m capital investment from BGF to support its growth plans. The funding will help fuel a number of investment initiatives designed to enhance IFA’s manufacturing and testing capabilities, delivering new commercial opportunities.

Cardiff-based Simply Do Ideas, the education technology firm that helps people build and test their ideas, has raised £550,000 in its latest funding round. The money was secured from angel investors led by the company’s Chairman, Ashley Cooper, alongside the Development Bank of Wales. 

Streetbees, a global research platform that is being used by the world’s biggest consumer companies, has raised $5.1 million in Seed funding to date. BGF Ventures led the round and early investors including UKBAA Member Octopus Ventures and LocalGlobe also participated.

Gorilla in the room, a developer of virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) products for the market research industry has secured a seed investment from Mercia Fund Managers to scale the company’s product pipeline and support its international growth.

Founded in 2016, Gorilla in the room provide researchers with the tools they need to acquire more robust data to predict why and how consumers buy products. The company won the Market Research Society’s “Best Data Solution 2017” for its approach and it currently works with a number of high-profile clients including Ipsos, one of the largest market research organisations in the world, and agencies within multinational advertising group WPP.