Manchester venture capital investor Praetura Ventures has unveiled a £15m commitment from British Business Investments, 

Kroo Ltd has raised £17.7 million in a Series A funding round led by tech entrepreneur and founder of Karlani Capital, Rudy Karsan. The capital raised will be used to mobilise the bank ahead of its launch in early 2022.  Kroo’s goal as a social bank is to remove friction from financial interactions with friends and family. Currently it does so by offering customers a prepaid debit card and innovative ways to track their personal and social finances – enabling them to easily create groups with friends, track spending, and split and pay bills quickly and securely.

A company with a unique software pricing tool has secured a further £250,000 funding from NPIF – Mercia Equity Finance, which is managed by Mercia and is part of the Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund (NPIF), as it seeks to establish itself as a global leader in its field.

SEED Innovations Limited, the AIM quoted company investing in fast growing and industry leading businesses with a focus on investing within the medical cannabis, health and wellness space, has participated in the latest financing round of US$9.7 million by its portfolio company, Yooma Wellness Inc. as announced by Seed on 27 July 2021. Yooma is a vertically-integrated global leader in the manufacturing, marketing, distribution, and sale of wellness products including hemp seed oil and hemp-derived cannabinoid ingredients. 

Karshare, the community car-sharing app, has announced a £3million pre-series A round. In addition to existing strategic investors Fullbrook Thorpe, Adjuvo Syndicate and other angel investors Karshare is delighted to announce a significant investment by Saracens Football Rugby Club owner Nigel Wray.

Leading podcast publisher Auddy Limited, has announced the acquisition of Radio Wolfgang, producer of branded podcasts for clients such as Soho House, Greenpeace, Selfridges and Primark. Its personalities, presenters and stars have included Jonathan Ross, Rick Edwards and online sensation Estée Lalonde.

A Coventry-based trampoline park has received a £300,000 loan for the purchase of additional equipment and a new inflatable park section.

Walking on Earth is coming out of stealth to tackle the rising issue of workplace stress exacerbated by the COVID pandemic and remote working. The digital platform has closed a £3 million seed funding round led by Octopus Ventures, which supported success stories such as Cazoo, Depop and Graze. Walking on Earth benefits from further backing from renowned UK founders.

LawtechUK has published a feasibility study and proof of concept for a new technological approach to the late payment challenges facing British business  – an ‘SME online dispute resolution’ platform, produced in partnership with a consortium of legal, technology and alternative dispute resolution experts from the University of Oxford, Oxford Computing Consultants, Resolve Disputes Online and Jur. 

International web hosting business, Miss Group has acquired Spanish-based ADW Europe SL as part of its ambitious buy and build strategy.

Equality Check, the crowd-sourced employee review platform, has completed a €1.25m seed investment to fund product development and international expansion.  The Norwegian venture capital fund Alliance Venture lead the round, together with several angel investors and the global early-stage VC Antler, which chose to invest in the Oslo-based start-up for a third time.

Legislate Technologies has announced the grant of United States Patent No. 11,087,219.