Slingshot Simulations, a spinout from the University of Leeds which is a global pioneer in the field of ‘digital twin’ technology, has raised a further £1.5m of investment as it prepares to roll out its system to its first commercial customers.

The funding comes from existing investor NPIF – Mercia Equity Finance, which is managed by Mercia and is part of the Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund (NPIF), as well as the government’s Future Fund, and will help the business to scale its operations.

Tech Nation, the scaleup network for entrepreneurs, has launched its inaugural Scale Ratio, which compares the number of seed stage, early growth and late growth companies in the UK’s tech ecosystems. 

eFront, the leading financial software and solutions provider dedicated to Alternative Investments, has published its latest Quarterly Private Equity Performance report, showing that venture capital funds globally delivered exceptional performance in 2020, despite the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic, with the second and third quarters marking the highest returns on record.

BGF backed 61 new companies in 2020 whilst continuing to actively support its portfolio. During this period, total investment stands at £384 million, which includes £262 million into new portfolio companies and £122 million into existing portfolio companies.

Ingenious' Real Estate Finance LLP has agreed a £19m loan facility with property developer Citu, to fund the next 120 units at the Climate Innovation District (CID) in Leeds.

The loan will fund the development of 120 new apartments and houses at what will become the largest sustainable residential development in the UK. Over 800 family homes are to be built in total over 4 phases, using Citu’s own off-site manufacturing facility, which uses an innovative timber framed system designed in collaboration with Leeds Beckett University to reduce carbon emissions at every stage.

LoveCrafts, a leading online crafts community, with millions of users across 140 countries worldwide, has secured an additional $22m funding and has acquired WEBS, America’s Yarn Store.  

The funding comes from existing investors including Scottish Equity Partners (SEP), Highland Europe and Balderton Capital, alongside Silicon Valley-based debt providers TriplePoint Capital, to facilitate the deal and further invest in LoveCrafts’ next chapter.

The investment and acquisition follow exceptional growth by LoveCrafts as interest in crafting surges globally. The company saw an increase in orders from new customers of  166% from March to November last year, compared with the same period the year before.

British Business Investments, a commercial subsidiary of the British Business Bank, has announced a £10m commitment to Cambridge-based venture capitalist Syndicate Room.  The £10m commitment from British Business Investments’ Regional Angels Programme will be invested by Syndicate Room, which is one of the most active early stage investors in the UK. Over the five-year investment period, Syndicate Room plans to target a minimum of 250 investments, supporting the Regional Angels Programme’s objective to address regional imbalances and diversify the availability of angel finance.

Investors have taken some blows during the pandemic and financial turmoil of 2020, a new UK report reveals.

Foresight Group has sold FFX Group Limited, one of the UK's largest independent suppliers of high quality power tools, fixings and building supplies. 

FFX was sold to H2 Equity Partners, a leading hands-on investment firm focusing on mid-sized companies in the United Kingdom, Ireland and Benelux. H2 will be a strong strategic partner for FFX, allowing the business to continue its growth potential through further investment.

Since Foresight made its original investment in October 2015, Foresight has taken a proactive approach to supporting the senior management team, for example introducing Chairperson George Adams who has extensive experience in the sector, including sixteen years at Kingfisher, three of which as Chair of Screwfix.

NatWest has announced an additional £1 billion in funding to help support female-led businesses in the UK recover from the coronavirus. The aim is to ultimately help female entrepreneurs scale and grow, and builds on the £1bn announced last January, which was the largest intervention by a UK lender focused specifically on female-led businesses.

Westbridge has completed its fourth transaction in seven months with an investment of £10m to support the MBO of London-based Channel 3 Consulting Limited, which designs, implements and optimises digital transformation programmes for the health and care sector.

BondAval has secured $1.64 million (£1.2 million) in seed financing led by Insurtech Gateway alongside True Sight Partners and prominent angel investors such as Carlos Gonzalez-Cadenas (formerly COO of GoCardless, now Partner at Index Ventures), Yi Luo (Greensill), Chris Adelsbach, Will Neale and Charlie Songhurst.