Excellerant Inc., a technology-focused investment holding company, has announced the appointment of Mr. Mirsad Devic as CEO 

PALATINE-backed Construction Testing Solutions (CTS), a leading provider of construction consulting and testing services, has completed the acquisition of Silkstone Environmental Limited (SEL), a multi-disciplined consultancy specialising in minerals and waste management planning & permitting, site investigation, environmental monitoring and surveying.

BGF-backed Evoke Creative Ltd – the leading specialist in kiosk, digital signage and interactive solutions for the retail, hospitality and public sectors – has acquired Liverpool-based app design and development agency, Apposing Ltd, as part of their wider expansion strategy. 

BGF – the UK and Ireland’s most active investor – is reporting a strong outlook for 2021. Throughout the last six months, the investment team for Scotland has invested close to £33 million across 10 Scottish growth businesses, including a cornerstone investment which marked BGF’s second investment in a Scottish IPO in 12 months.

Livingbridge, one of the UK’s leading mid-market private equity investors, has announced  investment into North SP Group (North) and follow on acquisition of Data Techniques. North is a highly technical integrated technology specialist delivering end-to-end networking and IoT application design, implementation, support, and managed services throughout the UK. North prides itself on driving innovation and leading the industry in adoption of emerging technologies. Led by CEO, Glen Williams, North has over 270 staff, of which around 160 provide technical services.

One of the UK’s leading apprenticeship and adult education providers which secured private equity funding to become an independent business last year has significantly improved its performance over the last two years – despite the coronavirus pandemic.

Hannah Waters is an investor at BGF, with her role seeing her working across all areas of the investment process, meeting entrepreneurs and management teams, seeking new investment opportunities and working with BGF’s extensive portfolio.

Mayfair Equity Partners, the leading tech and consumer growth investor, has completed an investment in Tangle Teezer, the category-defining British haircare brand. Mayfair will hold a majority stake in the business. Additional deal terms have not been disclosed.

Venari Security, the defender of encrypted networks, has raised a Series A funding of £4.2m with a post money valuation of £14.2m. With some of the best known and most influential figures in the cybersecurity industry onboard including Paddy McGuinness, the UK’s former Deputy National Security Adviser for Intelligence, Security and Resilience; Lane Bess, former President and Chief Executive Officer of Palo Alto Networks; and Cris Conde, former Chief Executive Officer of Sungard, the company is primed for success by fundamentally transforming organisations’ ability to accurately and quickly spot threats concealed in encrypted traffic.

Global early-stage VC, Antler has announced that it is launching in Canada. 

eFront has released its Fourth Annual Global Private Equity Performance Series showing the top-performing regions globally for private equity in 2020. The new report uses deal-level benchmarks for the first time, providing a detailed analysis of performance and deal activity across all regions and sectors at portfolio company level.

Diginex, the disruptive impact technology company helping to solve the world’s most pressing ESG and sustainability challenges, has closed a $6m Series A round led by Fitch Ventures, the equity investment arm of Fitch Group, bringing the total amount raised to over $8m. The funding round will enable Diginex to continue development of its blockchain-enabled SaaS products as well as deepen its global digital distribution channels.