UK-leading meal-kit company, Gousto, has raised a further £28.5m additional equity funding from new and existing investors: Hargreave Hale, Angel CoFund, MMC Ventures, and BGF Ventures - bringing the total amount raised to £56.5m.

The investment shows enormous progress for the company, a first-mover in the highly competitive and fast-growing meal-kit industry, which is predicted to generate $10bn globally by 2020 and is already worth an estimated $3.5bn in the US.

Bruntwood is set to acquire Innovation Birmingham, heralding a new era of major expansion at the region’s leading digital and technology campus.

WiseAlphahas been named Best Investment Provider award in the British Bank Awards 2018.  In addition, 

GTR Ventures has made its debut deals with five trade FinTech companies – Tradeteq, Trade Finance Market, Culum Capital, eFundSME and Incomlend. These deals are the first in a strong pipeline of transactions. GTR Ventures has taken equity positions in the five companies, collectively valuing them at around US$50 million.

The companies – four digital trade lenders and a platform for institutional investors to access global trade instruments – have facilitated over US$160 million of trade loan deals since their inception. 

An analysis by GlobalData, a leading data and analytics company of the investment activity of the top 10 global venture capital (VC) companies in 2017, reveals that collectively they are investing more money on fewer deals when compared to the average numbers for 2013 - 2016.

Private equity is well-placed to support the European Commission’s sustainable finance plan, but any further measures need to take into account the diversity of the industry, says Invest Europe.

Leading venture capital firm Midven has been appointed to manage the £35 million equity finance portion of the Midlands Engine Investment Fund (MEIF). Midven will invest all of the funds into high-growth businesses across the West Midlands over the next five years.

As early stage investors, in predominantly B2B startups, the team here at Episode 1 sees our portfolio companies wrestling with the many attempts to achieve Product Market Fit. We love backing very smart entrepreneurs, often first timers, who are trying to solve big problems or deliver mission critical services in a variety of different industries.

Jimmy Leong has been appointed Managing Director of specialist global private equity and real estate fund administrator, Augentius, to drive business growth in line with increasing opportunities in the far east.

The Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund (NPIF) has invested £31 million in 207 Northern-based SMEs during the first 12 months of operation, as the Fund continues to provide a boost to the Northern economy. 

The £400m Fund, which is supported by the European Regional Development Fund, HR Government and the European Investment Bank, was launched by the British Business Bank as a key part of the government’s ‘Northern Powerhouse’ vision to back innovative, fast growing small businesses.

Labrador Ltd has announced its latest high-profile investor as Daily Mail and General Trust plc (DMGT) who are backing the company with a hybrid package of £500,000 in cash and media investment, in exchange for a subscription of ordinary shares as part of Labrador’s current funding round.

Industry leader in Robotic Process Automation (RPA) eclipses $1.1 billion valuation; validates RPA as a strategic imperative for digital transformation and path to AI