DSW Debt Advisory – which advises businesses on raising a wide variety of debt funding and is part of the Dow Schofield Watts group - has appointed Lynn Li as Manager.

Angel Investment Network (AIN), the UK’s largest online angel investment platform, has revealed its latest ‘State of the Angel Investment Nation’ findings. It is based on the data of more than 125,000 UK registered businesses looking for funding and 35,000 UK investors.

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.

CybSafe, the behavioural security platform that’s transforming the way organisations manage human cyber risk, has raised £5.6m ($7.9m) Series A1 funding. It was led by deep tech investors, IQ Capital with participation from Hannover Digital Investments GmbH (HDI Group) and B8 Ventures. The investment comes as a result of the company’s continued momentum, its pioneering use of data and behavioural science and growth of the market opportunity.

SujiBFR, a health and fitness startup based in Edinburgh, has received a six-figure investment to support the development of a smart fitness device that can dramatically reduce pain and increase muscle strength during exercise. The technology, named Suji Device, improves muscular performance and offers a solution to fitness enthusiasts and elite athletes who experience pain when exercising or playing sport.

Based on blood flow restriction (BFR) training principles, the AI-powered device utilises low-intensity and bodyweight exercise to offer the same training benefits achieved with high-intensity weight training.

Squire Patton Boggs has further expanded its Global Corporate Practice in London with the appointment of partner Julian Thatcher. 

Research by regional mid-market private equity firm YFM Equity Partners has revealed a growing focus on culture and working practices, rather than simply valuation, after almost a year of interrupted working and repeated lockdowns.

A Bristol-based technology business which manages household bills for students has received vital early-stage investment from Bristol Private Equity Club (BPEC).  Easy Student Living was set up by Elliott Herrod-Taylor in 2017, during his second year at the University of Leeds.

The British Business Bank has published Future Fund data that gives a detailed picture of the 1,055 companies that have been approved for £1,066.6m worth worth of Convertible Loan Agreements since the scheme was launched on 20 May. There have been 1,616 applications in total since the scheme launched. The Future Fund closed for applications on 31 January 2021.

ETIQ, a startup that helps financial companies identify and eliminate bias within their algorithms, has raised £585,000 in pre-seed funding. The funding includes equity investment from SFC Capital and grants from Innovate UK, and will be used for R&D to improve the platform as well as to expand the company’s marketing and sales functions.

Antler has appointed Karl-Christian Agerup as a Partner, focusing on the company’s investment operations and strategy globally. 

Rockley Photonics, a leading integrated optics solutions provider, has closed an additional $65m round of growth capital from both new private funds and follow-on existing investor Morningside Ventures. To date, Rockley has raised over $290m of financing to develop its unique silicon photonics platform from recent investors such as Credit Suisse backed SIG-I Capital and Applied Ventures, LLC, the venture capital arm of Applied Materials, Inc.