New research from investment holding company MBH Corporation shows SME bosses are worried that access to finance will become harder over the next three years as they continue to grapple with the late payment of invoices.

Maven Capital Partners, one of the UK’s most active investors in growth businesses, has invested £2 million in London-based Guru Systems. Guru is a trusted supplier of B2B IoT hardware, software, and analytics solutions to energy companies, house builders, developers and housing associations looking to reduce their carbon footprint and operating costs, meet their regulatory obligations, and deliver the most efficient and cost-effective service to their own customers.

Episode 1 backed car buying comparison leader, carwow has acquired used car buying platform,Wizzle.

A Midlands software company which uses the power of video games to help businesses manage and motivate their sales teams has raised a further £600,000 for expansion.  Stormburst Studios secured funding from the MEIF Proof of Concept & Early Stage Fund, which is managed by Mercia and part of the Midlands Engine Investment Fund (MEIF), and Mercia’s EIS funds. The latest investment follows an earlier funding round of £150,000 in 2017 from Mercia’s EIS funds.

YFM Equity Partners-advised funds have sold their shareholding in Deep Secure Limited to Forcepoint Federal LLC, a global cyber security solutions business specialising in serving government and critical infrastructure clients for an undisclosed sum. The transaction is subject to regulatory review and customary closing conditions and is expected to close in or before August 2021.

Polaris has intensified its sustainability work and published its first annual sustainability report, outlining the efforts in 2020 across the investment process, its portfolio companies and Polaris Management. The work will continue in the coming years based on dialogue with investors, portfolio companies, employees and other stakeholders.

The North East Development Capital Fund (NEDCF), supported by the European Regional Development Fund and managed by Maven Capital Partners,

Keensight Capital, one of the leading private equity managers dedicated to pan-European Growth Buyout1 investments, has announced the signing of an agreement to acquire a majority stake in Adista, the leading alternative B2B hosted services provider. Upon completion of the transaction, Keensight will take over from Equistone Partners Europe as Adista’s majority shareholder alongside FEF, the co-investment partnership between Mubadala and Bpifrance and the management team led by Patrice Bélie.

Hertility Health, the new women’s health start-up revolutionising the world of hormone and reproductive health, has announced the closing of a £4.2 million Seed funding round led by LocalGlobe - one of the UK's most prolific seed investors, Venrex, and some key angel investors including former CEO of Bupa, Evelyn Bourke, CEO of Nested and the unicorn company GoCardless, Matt Robinson.

NorthEdge has sold a majority stake in Orbis Protect, a leading provider of critical security services to the UK vacant property sector, to growth investor Synova to support its next phase of growth.

GP Bullhound has announced a new investment into Lingokids, a leading educational platform for children, as part of a Series C funding round of USD40m led by an undisclosed investor, with participation from existing investors HV Capital, and Ravensburger among others.

Pembroke VCT, the venture capital trust focused on building the brands of tomorrow, has made an initial investment into COAT, the high-grade, sustainable paint company. COAT, which has been carbon-neutral since launch, is revolutionising the home decorating experience by redefining the customer experience of purchasing paint.