Invest Europe, the association representing Europe’s private equity, venture capital and infrastructure sectors, as well as their investors, has published ‘The Performance of European Private Equity Benchmark Report 2020’, a transparent study of private equity returns.

OpenBlend, the SaaS platform transforming the way companies and their employees think about performance management has taken additional funding and appointed David Grundy as Chair to support rapidly growing demand for its products and services. OpenBlend performance management software helps companies, and their employees stay engaged and productive as they respond to the new challenges and opportunities presented by the pandemic and the new world of work. 

Greenbackers Investment Capital has revealed the identity of 26 climate technology start-ups 

24Haymarket, a private capital firm focused on growth equity and venture capital investments in the UK, and Forward Partners, an early-stage investor focused on applied AI, marketplaces and e-commerce, has made an investment in Clustermarket, the SAAS-enabled marketplace for laboratories and equipment. Existing investors such as industry heavyweights Jonathan Milner and Bruce Barclay also participated in the $3.5m round.

MediSieve Ltd, a biotech company which has developed an innovative blood filtration device, has completed a £1.8m investment, led by 24Haymarket.

Cornerstone Partners has led a seed round into boxing inspired fitness studio and digital content platform, Boxx.

Boxx was founded in 2016 by Anna Samuels, after discovering a personal passion for boxing and a desire to create a world class online workout that was compatible with the busy and ever changing schedules of ordinary people.

E-commerce start-up Haru has secured just under half a million pounds of investment from the COVID-19 Equity Investment Fund (CEIF), Co Fund NI, part of Invest Northern Ireland’s Access to Finance portfolio, and private investors through the Halo & Business Angel Network (HBAN) Ulster Network.

MSDUK, an organisation that champions the inclusion of ethnic minority businesses (EMBs) and founders in corporate supply chains, has partnered with Unilever, WPP, Google and Dow to launch the UK’s first accelerator programme focused on helping 300 EMBs to become supply chain ready.

Deep technology company VividQ, a leading software and IP developer for holography, has announced a seed extension round of £11M. The Cambridge head-quartered business is powering the display revolution with Computer-Generated Holography. Its technology is used in the development of next-generation digital displays and devices, by manufacturers in the US, China and Japan.

Specialist M&A advisory firm Ciesco has confirmed that Chip[s] Board, which develops bioplastics from food waste, has completed fundraising to support the next stage of its development.

Private equity house WestBridge has promoted Peter Barkley to director. Barkley joined WestBridge in August 2019 to head the firm’s newly opened Manchester office and establish the firm in the north west, north east and Yorkshire markets.

Pembroke VCT, the venture capital trust focused on building the brands of tomorrow, has invested £1.75m into OnePlan, the collaborative, real-time platform providing a single source of truth for event planners worldwide. Pembroke is the lead investor in a total fundraise of £2.75m.