Kerv, a Cloud Centric Managed Service and Infrastructure Transformation Provider, has announced the acquisition of cloudThing, 

CyberHive, a UK cybersecurity company, has announced a £1.8m investment, co-led by 24Haymarket and Mercia Fund Management’s EIS funds.

Pembroke VCT, the venture capital trust focused on building the businesses of tomorrow, has exited its investment in Plenish, the award-winning plant-based milks and plant-powered juice brand. The innovative beverage brand, which was one of Pembroke VCT’s earliest investments, has been acquired by Britvic to boost its plant-based drinks portfolio and cater to the growing demand for healthy and nutritious juices.

Turquoise, the UK merchant bank specialising in energy, environment and efficiency, has announced its eighth deal for the Low Carbon Innovation Fund 2 (LCIF2). The investment in geo is part of a first close of a round co-led by LCIF2 and Schneider Electric Ventures (SEV), with the participation of Consensus Business Group, West Coast Capital and GWD Enterprises. 

670 initial public offerings have been recorded globally so far during 2021, more than double the number recorded during the same period in 2020 and the highest year-to-date tally in more than two decades according to Refinitiv Deals Intelligence.

Inflexion has sold its investment in Reed & Mackay, a premium corporate travel management and events business, to TripActions, a US headquartered business travel and spend management platform.

The world’s first live sports streaming and advertising platform built specifically for commercial venues, Screach, is rolling out its technology globally after securing $2m in investment.

On-demand and Elastic™ software talent startup Distributed has secured £5m in a Series A funding round led by Guinness Asset Management. The company also drew further investment from its Seed investor, Fuel Ventures, and other high-profile industry leaders, Filippo Sarti and Andreas Mihalovits, bringing its total funding to date to over £9m.

James Murdoch shares his assessment of a year in Equity Crowdfunding.

Par Equity is celebrating a record-breaking year despite the challenges inflicted by Covid-19 on much of the economy. Par deployed more than £17m of capital – 48% more than last year - into its portfolio companies, which in turn raised a further £26m from third party investors. Specialising in investing in young, high-growth businesses, Par was the “lead investor” for more than 75% of those transactions. 

US$1.77 trillion worth of M&A deals were announced globally during the first four months of 2021, more than double (+124%) the same period last year and the highest year-to-date total since their records began according to the latest snapshot from Refinitiv Deals Intelligence.

Nanotechnology business Figura Analytics has raised £180,000 seed funding from private investors and the UK’s leading early stage investor SFC Capital. 

The company was spun out of Loughborough University in January 2021, backed by an Innovate UK grant, to develop its rapid testing technology platform aimed at helping the drinks industry to improve quality and consistency of ingredients and finished product.  Figura’s nanopore technology uses microfluidics, sensors and software algorithms, which enables them to recognise and characterize any particle suspended in a solution.