The YFM Equity Partners-backed passive fire protection specialist Checkmate Fire has joined forces with Rosse Systems, 

Reactive Technologies, the UK and Finland based grid technology company, has announced a new group of investors as part of a $15M fundraise – the business’ largest ever. The funding round was led by the UK & Ireland’s most active investor, BGF, alongside Breakthrough Energy Ventures, and Eaton.  Reactive will use the proceeds to expand its international activities and export its technology to countries around the world that are experiencing rapid renewable energy growth and already beginning to manage the challenges of decreased grid stability caused by a loss of inertia. 

NPIF – Maven Equity Finance, managed by Maven Capital Partners and part of the Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund (NPIF) has invested in XR Games Limited, a game development studio in Leeds specialising in immersive AR and VR content. Existing investor ACT Capital Partners also followed on from their previous investment. The funding will allow the business to invest in product development and create 20 new roles in the Leeds based studio.

The corporate team at leading UK law firm Shoosmiths have made a record-breaking start to the year, 

Palamon Capital Partners has announced that its portfolio company, connected insurance service provider FairConnect, has signed an agreement to acquire G-Evolution from Groupama Assicurazioni Italia. 

Lovehoney, a leading e-commerce retailer, manufacturer and distributor of pleasure products and accessories, and WOW Tech Group, a pioneering provider of premium sexual wellness products, has announced a €1 billion merger and the creation of Lovehoney Group. The newly formed Group will also include Amorana, a fast-growing Swiss sexual well-being retailer acquired by Lovehoney in September 2020. Additional financial terms have not been disclosed.

Commenting on quarter on quarter GDP rising 4.8%, Ian Warwick, Managing Partner at Deepbridge Capital, said:

Ryde (formerly Ryders), the SaaS (Software as a Service) platform for last-mile delivery, has raised £2.5m to continue to expand its vision to become the world's first fully integrated delivery management system.

NPIF – Maven Equity Finance, managed by Maven Capital Partners and part of the Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund has supported water filter treatment technology business, G2O Water Technologies Limited with a £250,000 follow-on investment.  Since the original investment  in 2018, NPIF has invested a total of £970,000 to support the business following a period of growth which has included creating a further facility at Sci-Tech Daresbury, expanding its team and customer reach and developing its product portfolio.

The EQT Mid Market Europe fund has agreed to sell Utimaco Verwaltungs GmbH to SGT Capital, a global alternative asset manager with offices in Germany and Singapore.

Forefront RF, a Cambridge-based fabless semiconductor company, is set to change the way global smartphones, wearables and IoT Devices are designed. The Forefront RF chip enables connected devices to operate across the increasingly wide range of 3G to 6G mobile telephony frequency bands.

Ultrafast laser manufacturer Chromacity has completed a growth funding round of £1.2 million. Contributors to the round include existing investors, Kelvin Capital, EOS and the Scottish Enterprise, as well as new investor ESM Investments.  Chromacity, which develops ultrafast fibre lasers for a wide range of scientific and industrial applications, will use the funding to expand the company’s workforce, particularly within its manufacturing and R&D divisions.