BVA BDRC has published its latest quarterly SME Finance Monitor findings. The largest and most frequent study of its kind in the UK, research findings have been gathered across 40 waves of interviews since 2011 and are based on more than 170,000 interviews with SMEs.

The British Business Bank has announced a further £62.4m of financing to Shire Leasing under its ENABLE Funding programme, which aims to improve the supply of finance solutions to smaller UK businesses for business–critical assets.  The transaction follows on from a first round of funding of £37.4m in 2017 - bringing the overall amount of money under the ENABLE Funding programme awarded to £99.8m. 

When it comes to awards and entering them, a question we regularly get asked is – what makes a winning business, what do the judges look for?

The Enterprise Investment Scheme Association (EISA), in conjunction with Capital Pilot, has launched an investment platform for new growth businesses looking to attract fund investors. In its first year the platform, branded Curated Capital, is targeting £10m of investment to be made available to over 100 of the country’s brightest growth businesses.

Excellerant Inc., a technology focused investment holding, has appointed Mr. Marco von Pfetten as Chairman of the company, 

Liverpool FC has welcomed global online trading broker, ThinkMarkets, as its new Official Global Trading Partner.  

Ordnance Survey, Britain's national mapping service, has decided to exercise its stock options in UK InsurTech, Flock. This marks the first time Ordnance Survey has ever held equity in a startup.  Flock has recently raised $17M in funding to supercharge its expansion into new geographies and product lines. This round of funding marks a major milestone in building a global, fully digital insurance company for connected and autonomous vehicles.     

Mafic, a leading UK construction technology company, has secured a major investment in its innovative Safeguard Internet of Things (IoT) solution for the construction sector. The investment from Errigal Contracts, a market leading construction company, will enable Mafic to further develop the wearable Safeguard devices through implementation with workforces, on vehicles and in materials at key customer sites.

Trojan Energy, the clean energy company, has secured a late seed round investment of £2.2 million to roll out its unique, flat-and-flush on-street EV (electric vehicle) charging hubs and develop further commercial applications of its technology.  The round was led by Scottish angel investors Equity Gap, and includes investment from Scottish Enterprise, SIS Ventures and Aberdeen-based angel investors Alba Equity.

Matt Roberts, founder of the company alignment and growth software platform ZOKRI, looks at how to acheive useful growth.

After a very strong 2020 and a continuation of this high level of activity in 2021, Polaris has further expanded its team. 

Paul Reeves, managing director, Restructuring Advisory, at Kroll looks at pre-pack administration