Edtech marketplace, Preply, has secured an additional USD $35 million of funding, a sum that exceeds the platform’s cumulative fundraising efforts since 2013. The round was co-led by Owl Ventures and Full In Partners, with participation from previous investors Point Nine Capital, Hoxton Ventures, as well as EduCapital, All Iron, Diligent Capital and Evli Growth Partners. Angel investors Niklas Ostberg, co-founder and CEO of Delivery Hero, Arthur Kosten, co-founder of Booking.com, Przemyslaw Gacek, co-founder of Grupa Pracuj, and David Helgason, co-founder of Unity Technologies are also participants.

Sunway RE Capital and MBU Capital have forged a partnership to invest and manage Purpose Built Student Accommodation (PBSA) assets in the UK.

Haystack, a Newcastle-based tech startup, has raised £1 million in seed funding. The funding enables Haystack to expand their territory reach and with advanced matching technology, help more companies and “techies” to hire smartly and find their ideal roles respectively. Mike Davies, Co-founder and COO said: “This is a really exciting time for Haystack. This funding will allow us to continue the incredible growth we’ve seen since we officially launched in November 2020”.

Transreport, a socially-minded technology company set to transform the travel experiences of those with reduced mobility has secured £2.3m in a funding round led by Blackfinch and Praetura Ventures.

Transreport, which has offices in London and Glasgow, has designed an app that helps rail passengers with disabilities and mobility restrictions by better enabling rail operators and station staff to respond to booked assistance requests.

The number of private equity buy and build transactions in the UK soared by 35 per cent during 2020, as private equity houses looked to bolster their portfolio during the Covid-19 pandemic, according to research by Rickitt Mitchell.

Analysis by the corporate finance boutique, in partnership with Experian Market iQ, reveals that a total of 370 bolt-on transactions were completed in 2020 – up from the 276 seen over the course of the previous year.

Research commissioned by Parkwalk shows that while 2020 saw an increase in funding for academic spinouts, this was not the case for deeptech scaleups 

The past year has demonstrated how important deeptech innovation is to solving some of the greatest challenges faced today, from finding vaccine candidates for the Covid-19 pandemic through to solving climate change and transforming healthcare. The UK’s deeptech sector is a critical part of the Government’s post-Brexit ambition for the UK to become a global ‘Science Superpower’. 

Stamp Free Limited, the digital postage stamp company, has launched its Stamp Free Digital Postage Solution™. Initially targeted at postal and logistics sectors, the solution is the first in the world to be offered by a company that is independent of postal services.  Stamp Free has successfully raised £300,000 to ramp up commercial traction and further develop the Stamp Free Digital Postage Solution™. The funding was led by Dr. Ronjon Nag’s Silicon Valley-based R42 Group and high profile Cambridge Angels investors. 

NatWest has launched MentorDigital, a free new digital advice platform for SMEs, which offers employment law, HR and health and safety guidance, as the UK takes its next steps out of lockdown.

The past year has demonstrated how important deeptech innovation is to solving some of the greatest challenges faced today, from finding vaccine candidates for the Covid-19 pandemic through to solving climate change and transforming healthcare. The UK’s deeptech sector is a critical part of the Government’s post-Brexit ambition for the UK to become a global ‘Science Superpower’. 

The UK Tech sector is driving growth in youth employment with 1 in 6 openings in the digital tech sector suitable for entry-level jobseekers, according to job search engine Adzuna.

London-based venture capital and financial services firm Arie Capital has announced that two of the companies from its current portfolio of technology startups have confirmed their plans to hold an initial public offering within the next few weeks.

Ben Jones of AberInnovation (Aberystwyth Innovation and Enterprise Campus which provides world-leading facilities and expertise within the biotechnology, agri-tech, and food and drink sectors) shares his experience.