BGF, the UK’s most active growth capital investor, has invested in secure lock and hardware supplier, Brisant Secure, which is based in the East Midlands and West Yorkshire. The investment will support Brisant’s ambitious long-term growth plans and enable the company to develop further innovations and opportunities.

The British Business Bank has published its Small Business Finance Markets 2020/21 report which highlights a surge in applications for external financial support, including government and local grants, among small and medium sized businesses (SMEs), with almost half (45%) of all SMEs surveyed saying they applied for external financial support in 2020, compared to 13% in 2019. At the same time, gross bank lending (excluding overdrafts) to smaller businesses rose to £104bn in 2020, 82% higher than in 2019, driven by use of the government loan schemes.

Livingbridge has sold disguise, the global leader in Extended Reality (xR1) technology, to The Carlyle Group. Livingbridge are re-investing alongside management. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

BGF has successfully exited its investment in Setfords, a leading tech-enabled legal services provider, following its acquisition by private equity firm, Phoenix Equity Partners.

Setfords, an award-winning top 200 law firm based in Guildford, Surrey, was set up to disrupt the legal services sector with its consultancy network model, which brings together independent lawyers under a unified brand. The company was founded by Chris Setford and Guy Setford in 2006 and has since expanded rapidly, delivering 50 per cent compound annual revenue growth over the past 11 years.

Ian Sosso, winner of EBAN’s "best European early-stage investor award" in 2019, is the founder of Monte Carlo Capital (MCC), a group of business angels, UHNWI and family office principals investing in Europe and the US in early-stage deep tech and highly disruptive businesses.

Despite the global growth of women-led businesses, funding continues to be a significant challenge. 

Maven has now provided over £43 million to the region’s businesses as part of its work delivering finance through the Midlands Engine Investment Fund (MEIF).

Maven manages two debt funds on behalf of the MEIF across the West, East and South East Midlands. Working with the region’s Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEPs) and Growth Hubs, Maven has now completed 100 transactions ranging from £100,000 to £1.5 million.

TiG, one of the UK’s leading Cloud, Data Analytics and Managed Services providers to the financial services sector, announced the acquisition of ThirdSpace, the UK’s leading provider of Microsoft Identity and Cyber Security solutions. The combined proposition delivers a fully comprehensive suite of services based on Microsoft technology, for organisations that demand secure modern working and digital transformation. 

BGF has invested £7.5 million in Lancashire ecommerce logistics and tech company, Fulfilmentcrowd. 

The deal will enable the Chorley-based business to further expand services to multichannel and ecommerce retailers, while strengthening its international network of fulfilment centres and responding to the accelerated shift towards online shopping.  

Cofinitive’s #21toWatch is a successful campaign and awards that celebrates the outstanding talent within the disruptive science and tech industries from Cambridgeshire and across East Anglia.  The 21 winners represent the region’s globally recognised excellence in biotechnology and life sciences but also includes other incredibly innovative People, Companies and ‘Things’ in industries as diverse as artificial intelligence-enabled solutions, agri-tech, and water and energy sustainability.

Cutover, the first enterprise-wide work orchestration and observability platform that enables seamless human and machine collaboration, has announced a $35 million Series B financing round led by Eldridge, alongside existing investors Index Ventures, Sussex Place Ventures and Contour Ventures.

All-in-one HR, payroll and benefits platform, Employment Hero, has announced it has raised £25 million in a Series D funding round to accelerate growth in Australia, and double-down on its international expansion strategy. The latest funding was led by return investor SEEK, with participation from previous backers, OneVentures and AirTree Ventures, as well as the company’s newest investor, Salesforce Ventures.