Invenio Business Solutions and LSI Consulting – the market leading SAP solutions providers – are to merge, in a move which will deliver significant benefits to existing customers and drive growth globally.

Invenio is a global provider of SAP enterprise solutions and consultancy for the public sector focused on tax and revenue management and for the private sector focused on media and entertainment, manufacturing and pharmaceutical domains. US-based LSI Consulting is a leading provider of SAP enterprise solutions to government, utility, healthcare and educational institutions.

A new report by the British Business Bank reveals how private debt has become a valuable source of finance for smaller businesses across the UK 

Pembroke VCT, the venture capital trust focused on building the brands of tomorrow, has made an initial investment of £1 million into Credentially, the platform that automates healthcare hiring, onboarding and compliance. During the pandemic, the company has worked with the NHS to speed up the registration of healthcare professionals.

Credentially was launched in 2016 by founders Kit Latham, a former A&E doctor and Artem Stalpouski, a software engineer. They combined their experience and expertise to address the lengthy hiring processes, disjointed onboarding efforts and fragmented compliance reporting that healthcare providers currently experience.

Curve, the London-based fintech that combines multiple cards and accounts into one smart card and even smarter app, has named Anju Patwardhan as a non-executive director to its Board.

Hoxton Farms has raised £2.7 million seed funding to cultivate animal fat and solve an urgent issue for the rapidly growing meat alternatives market.

Its approach delivers the missing ingredient necessary to make meat alternatives delicious, realistic and versatile: fat.  For decades, the food industry has faced the challenge of finding effective, low-cost and sustainable replacements for traditional animal fat, the most important sensory ingredient in meat. Fat defines how meat looks, cooks, and tastes – and it does this in a way that cannot be replicated by plant oils currently used in meat alternatives. 

Additive Manufactured mountain bike company Atherton Bikes has raised £385,000 through Angel Investment Network. The Welsh business is the brainchild of world-famous mountain biker siblings Gee Atherton, Dan Atherton and Rachel Atherton who have partnered with a team of engineers from F1, aerospace and NASA to produce a world-beating mountain-bike.  The business is chaired by entrepreneur and Dragon’s Den investor Piers Linney.

A Stamford based chocolatier business has secured a £250,000 MEIF loan to help meet increasing demand for its products from the UK and overseas. This is alongside boosting its marketing campaigns to drive sales in 2021.

Two West Midlands businesses are set to pursue new growth following funding packages totalling over £1.7m.  The duo of deals includes Birmingham-based insurance services firm, Parker Norfolk & Partners Ltd which secured £1.6m, with Worcestershire company, AirTube Technologies Ltd, receiving £175,000.  The finance was secured through The Midlands Engine Investment Fund (MEIF) Debt Finance, managed by Maven Capital Partners and backed by the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CBILS).  

Turin-based e-mobility and advanced materials venture Tau has secured an investment of a consortium of two leading Middle Eastern sovereign wealth funds, the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) and a German investment manager to top up its ongoing series A equity investment round to a total of EUR 6.75m. This round’s initial investment was made by the corporate venturing arm of German specialty chemicals company Altana AG.

Funds advised by Hilltop Credit Partners, a specialist funding partner for SME residential developers, have completed a £15 million loan to the Propiteer Group for a development project within the Fletton Quay area of Peterborough, Cambridgeshire.

Astia, the Silicon Valley headquartered organization dedicated to leveling the investment playing field - and redefining  the traditional venture capital landscape - has launched a $100M early-stage venture fund  aimed at addressing the extraordinary disparity in funding for companies that include women  in founding or executive roles. 

Wombat, the UK’s first thematic & curated fractional investment platform, has closed a £2million seed round to help the fast-growth business serve consumers’ increasing appetite for shares investing. The seed round, led by Fuel Ventures, will help Wombat further develop the platform to provide easy access to the world of investment and further open up its ability to offer fractional shares in global, household brands. Wombat’s fractional investment platform is the first of its kind in the UK and is encouraging a new generation of investors to save for the future by helping them to invest in shares, without the complexity and cost that is so often associated with trading on the stock market.