Iceni Diagnostics, a specialist carbohydrate chemistry company based in Norwich, which raised funds in November 2020 from RAB Capital and Angel investors, has agreed an exclusive global licence, to integrate key virus detection intellectual property (IP) developed by the University of Warwick, into its commercial diagnostics programmes.

In a year dominated by Covid-19 and Brexit, the Development Bank of Wales has worked with and supported a broad range of businesses across the Welsh economy to help them survive, recover and grow during extremely difficult times.

In total, the Development Bank invested £197.6 million in the 2020/21 financial year.  Whilst £92 million in loans came from the Covid-19 Wales Business Loan Scheme (CWBLS) to support companies through the pandemic, investments from all our BAU funds also remained stable.  £105.6 million provided a range of support for businesses across all areas of the economy and all stages of growth.

The North East Development Capital Fund, supported by the European Regional Development Fund (“ERDF”) has invested £750,000 in Newcastle-based CRL Foods Ltd, a specialist food & beverage canning, sterilisation and pasteurisation business. The funding will allow the business to scale, increasing its production capacity and streamline efficiencies in order to service its growing list of international customers. The investment will also enable CRL Foods to expand its team, creating 7 new jobs in Newcastle.

TreasurySpring, the London-based financial technology company that operates the world’s first Fixed-Term Fund platform has secured more than $10m of new investment in a round that was co-led by MMC Ventures and Anthemis Group, with participation from existing investors, including ETFS Capital. The company has now raised more than $15m since its first external capital injection in November 2017. 

Fuel Ventures, the early-stage VC focusing on tech-enabled businesses, has launched a new £45 million investment fund. The funds will be deployed to more than 60 of the UK’s most exciting tech-enabled startups over the next 12 months, making it one of the most prolific early stage investors in the UK. Fuel Ventures is also extending support to pre-seed, innovative businesses through its new fund. This move aims to help stem the decline in first-time investment as the rest of the VC market looks upstream towards the latter stage, big-money rounds.  

Fertility Focus, the manufacturers of the OvuCore and OvuSense Pro family of leading fertility monitoring solutions, with class II medical device classification and 510k FDA clearance – has launched OvuFirst, a completely unique patented sensor designed to measure skin temperature, providing women with an understanding of when to try and conceive naturally, and enabling them to determine what issues they may have trying to conceive. Foresight Group has been a strategic partner with Fertility Focus since their £1.25 million investment in 2019.

A leading North East provider of business support is encouraging those aged 50 and over to consider self-employment, after it saw enquiries for start-up support increase throughout the pandemic.

Proving that entrepreneurship isn't just a young person's game, the North East Business and Innovation Centre (BIC) reported that 21% of all their enquiries for start-up support came from people over the age of 50 during the Covid-19 crisis.

The businesses founded during the period spanned a wide range of sectors, from consultancy to cleaning and legal to tutoring services. The research also showed that, due to lockdowns and restrictions, more people also explored the possibilities of starting up businesses they can run from home.

YFM Equity Partners (YFM) has sold its stake in FourNet, the award-winning digital transformation and customer experience specialists whose clients include 10 Downing Street, the Cabinet Office, HM Treasury and the Bank of England.  The secondary buyout deal backed by Palatine Private Equity generates a 6x return for YFM’s investors in less than four years.

NPIF – Maven Equity Finance, managed by Maven Capital Partners and part of the Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund has invested £750,000 in Blueberry Therapeutics Limited, a drug discovery and development company focused on developing innovative nanomedicines for difficult to treat skin and nail infections. The funding will support the business as it embarks on the next set of clinical trials for a new topical antifungal spray for the treatment of onychomycosis using its unique nanodelivery platform technology, as well as progressing other product development lines.

A Birmingham-based machining company has secured a £400,000 loan to help safeguard its 65 employees as well as creating 10 full time new jobs and apprentices over the next two to three years. AE Aerospace secured the finance from the Midlands Engine Investment Fund (MEIF) - provided by The FSE Group, Debt Finance Fund and backed by the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CBILS).

Foresight Group has announced the conditional sale of Ixaris Group Holdings Limited, a leader in travel payment technology, to Nium Pte. Limited, a leading global B2B payments platform based in Singapore.

Alantra has reached a first close with more than €80 million of commitments in their Klima Energy Transition Fund. The fund, which results from the partnership between Alantra and Enagás, aims to raise €150 million.