Ivan Hoo, Co-founder of Inverse, shares his golden rules for entrepreneurs thinking about launching into a fund raising campaign.

John Deane, Partner in charge of the commercial contracts team at Gannons, looks at the importance of understanding the difference between the Equity and Entreprise value of a business.

SETsquared has released data which shows that a record level of investment was raised by its member companies in 2020, despite the pandemic. Investment from private and public sources across the year, totalled £616m, which represents a 40% increase on 2019.

A boom in the construction industry created unprecedented demand for the Target Group which specialises in digger, dumper and access platform hire across Colchester and Ipswich, London and Kent. 

To fund new dumpers, tippers and excavators, Target Group turned to the Metro Bank at Colchester to help finance the equipment their customers urgently needed.  Each of Metro Bank’s 77 stores has a local director who specialises in supporting their local businesses and SME communities.

The Robot Exchange has secured a significant £500k investment from leading private equity investment firm, Foresight Group, through the Midlands Engine Investment Fund (MEIF).  The Nottingham-based business supplies Robotic Process Automation (RPA) software and services to deliver efficiencies to businesses, helping them streamline and automate their processes via robotic infrastructure.

As we begin to open up the UK, it’s a time look forward, but perhaps you will allow me a few words on the past year and what it has taught the angel and other related private company investment markets.  Reflection is useful because it would be surprising if we did not see a tidal wave of  entrepreneurship coated in angel and VC investment money as the economy recovers. What has gone wrong, but perhaps more about what has gone right, will give clues to creating a better investment environment for investors and entrepreneurs alike in the future. And of course, how we can make better returns, faster.

IW Capital has announced the completion of a successful investment in LAT Water Ltd. Led by IW Capital, £4.7 million has been raised in the round to accelerate LAT Water’s commercial growth in developing sustainable wastewater treatment solutions globally, following early success both in the UK and China.

The vast majority (81%) of businesses that carry out research and innovation work in the UK reproted delays or stoppages 

Handshake, the largest early career network, has raised $80 million of venture financing and is set to invest a tranche of the funding in the UK, supporting early careers recovery post-Covid.  The new funding round increases Handshake’s investment total to $235.5 million and the company’s valuation to more than $1.5 billion. This new investment reflects Handshake’s unprecedented growth, unparalleled student adoption, and a rapidly expanding market opportunity to help employers and universities embrace the virtual future of graduate recruitment.

Revolutionary synthetic diamond production business, Dyman Advanced Materials, based at the North East Technology Park (NETPark) in County Durham, is set to disrupt the $12bn market in 2021 after raising £571,466 in equity investment. 

Hypervolt is a leading UK provider of smart electric vehicle (EV) charging, is seeking £1.5 million growth capital to scale existing products, develop new ones and open US distribution.

AberInnovation’s BioAccelerate has been incubating some of the most promising bioscience companies in Wales for three years now. Previous successes have included sugar industry disrupters ARCITEKBio and high-end mead producers Shire Meadery, both now resident at the AberInnovation Incubator building on the outskirts of Aberystwyth.