VenueScanner, the UK’s largest online venue booking platform, has secured a $1.5 million funding round led by Rianta Capital and ACF Investors.

Launched to enable individuals, businesses and event organisers to find better and more affordable venues, it is helping undiscovered and independent venues reimagine how they use their space and fill their downtime.

Rebecca Kelly, founder and CEO of VenueScanner, comments: “While the last year has taught us that we don’t need to be sitting next to each other to get our work done, it has also taught us how important it is to be together to create, to collaborate and to celebrate.

A software platform that helps businesses to connect with staff is aiming to double in size after raising a £780,000 investment.

WorkBuzz has secured the funding from Mercia and Foresight, both investing through equity finance from the Midlands Engine Investment Fund (MEIF) alongside private investors. The Milton Keynes-based company, which currently employs 16 staff, is planning to create 15 new jobs this year - and to achieve 100% growth in each of the following two years.

Inverleith LLP, a Scottish-based consumer brands investor, is celebrating the listing on AIM of its portfolio company, The Artisanal Spirits Company which has the largest collection of single malt single cask whiskies in the world, as well as a complementary range of premium spirits.

Iksuda Therapeutics, the developer of a new generation of antibody drug conjugates (ADCs) with raised therapeutic index, has completed a US $47 million (circa GB £34 million) financing round, co-led by Mirae Asset Capital and its subsidiaries, Celltrion and Premier Partners, with the Company being advised by Ashfords LLP. The funding will support the advancement of Iksuda’s lead ADC assets and expansion of its payload and conjugation platform technologies.

Kavida.ai – a supply chain resiliency startup, founded in 2020, has secured £300,000 ($425,000) in pre seed capital from strategic investors. The company provides enterprises with decision intelligence tools to prevent and mitigate supply chain disruptions in a range of sectors including apparel, FMCG, food, retail and pharma.

Private equity house YFM Equity Partners (YFM), which has offices in London, Birmingham, Leeds and Manchester, is continuing to Invest in its team with the promotion of Adam Hart to investment director.

SENTZ, a new range of naturally fruitful British hard seltzers for people who want to live life guilt-free, has received investment from Henley Business Angels (HBA) members and guest investors.

Green Angel Syndicate, one of the largest active angel syndicates in the UK and the only one specialising in the fight against climate change, has made a new appointment to its Board of Directors. With immediate effect Christine Chisholm, who was previously Finance Manager, is promoted to Chief Financial Officer.

Christine will remain on the company’s executive committee responsible for the day to day operations of Green Angel Syndicate and has also joined the Investment Advisory Committee of the Green Angel Syndicate EIS Climate Change Fund. 

Clir Renewables (Clir), a company dedicated to maximizing project returns from renewable energy assets, has announced the closing of its CAD$27 million Series B funding round, which was co-led by Longbow Capital Inc. and ArcTern Ventures.

Seneca Partners, the specialist SME investment business based in the North West has announced that EIS portfolio company, Manchester-based Wejo Limited, a leader in connected vehicle data, is to go public through a reverse merger with Virtuoso Acquisition Corp (VOSO.O) at an estimated $1.1billion pro forma equity value. Seneca Partners first invested in Wejo via its EIS portfolio service in 2016 and with further funding rounds to assist in the company’s continued  growth .  

Commenting ahead of World Environment day, Alessa Berg, founder and CEO of Top Tier Impact, comments on why we must encourage worldwide awareness and action from businesses now to protect our environment for the future:

Teemyco, the Swedish online office provider, has raised $3.2m from German seed fund 42CAP, who led the round with participation from previous investors Antler, Luminar Ventures and numerous high profile angel investors; Mehdi Ghissassi (Head of Product, DeepMind) and Sameer Singh (Creator of Breadcrumb.vc), who are investing via the 2021 Atomico Angel Programme, and Keith Richman (Co-Founder of Voi & Partner at 31 Atlantic).