Botanical Holdings, the investment holding company focusing on the legal medicinal cannabis industry, comfirms that its Portuguese subsidiary, CECO Wellness (part of the EuroCan division) will receive grant funding of up to €4.3 million ($5.2 million) from the Portugal 2020 Fund. This fund is a partnership between the Portuguese government and the European Commission.

Sesamy, the startup allowing people to purchase audio and ebooks online for any kind of device, has announced that it has raised €4 million in a major seed funding round from investors.

Innovative Scottish start-up, QuickBlock, has received more than £250,000 in seed funding that will create four skilled jobs and accelerate growth of the company’s unique rapid-assembly building blocks made from 100% recycled plastic into new markets.

The investment from Equity Gap and Scottish Enterprise comes as the company sets its sights on global market opportunities within agriculture, humanitarian aid and disaster relief. It will help create a variety of permanent new roles, including securing the long-term appointment of it's interim CEO, Andrew Vincent (pictured). Other new positions include head of sales, sales executive and graduate-level marketing and product designer.

David Holden-White, Co-Founder & Managing Director of techspert.io, looks at the expertise potential of AI for investors.

Alton based In-Space Missions, is the latest company to secure funding from the Enterprise M3 Expansion Loan Scheme. The £300,000 loan will help the business grow its innovative “Space as a Service” model.

Following musicMagpie’s successful admission to AIM, NVM Private Equity has generated proceeds and retained value at the IPO price of £72.5 million, a 12.1x return against the cost of the original investment.

NorthEdge portfolio business Altia has been named a Queen’s Award for Enterprise winner for International Trade.

GP Bullhound has published its latest quarterly market reports. Read all about the CEOs and the key trends they see in the Software, Digital Services, Fintech, Digital Media and Marketplaces sectors, as well as an update on Asian tech investments.

Jenson Funding Partners have completed an investment in The Neighbourhood Kitchen who are responsible for launching and operating profitable, delivery-only kitchens across the UK.

Poke House, a leading fast casual poke brand in Europe, has announced the acquisition of London-based restaurant chain Ahi Poké from BVC Group, marking its expansion in the United Kingdom.

Pure Pet Food, a Yorkshire company which manufactures personalised pet food using only natural ingredients, has secured a multi-million pound investment to accelerate its growth.  

The company has raised the funds from Mercia's Northern Venture Capital Trust (VCT) Funds and NPIF – Mercia Equity Finance, which is managed by Mercia and part of the Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund. The latest funding round follows a £2m investment by the Northern VCTs in 2019 and will allow the Cleckheaton-based company to continue to support its ambitious growth plans and development of its software as a service (SaaS) platform and data capabilities.

Following being named among the twelve 2021 BNEF Pioneers last week1, identifying it as one of the most impactful and original technology innovations for advancing the low-carbon economy, QLM has closed of its Seed funding round, securing a total of £3.1 million of investment.