Browne Jacobson’s corporate finance team has advised Impala on its successful $11 million investment round.

Codacy, the Lisbon-based startup whose platform automates and standardizes software quality to increase the efficiency of developers and enterprise development teams, announces raising $7.7M in funding. This round is led by Join Capital, with participation from EQT Ventures, Armilar Venture Partners, Faber Ventures, and Caixa Capital.

A report from the Female Founders Forum – with a foreword from Rt Hon Liz Truss MP – reveals that while the percentage of deals to female-led teams slightly dipped in 2018, female-led businesses represent a growing share of investment activity and receive similar rates of follow-on funding.

• Female-founded startups are receiving a growing share of investment. In 2011, 11% of startups that raised equity investment were female founded. By 2018, this figure had nearly doubled to 21%. 
• Of the 6,147 investment deals made in 2018, 17.9% went to companies with at least one female founder, down from 18.2% in 2017.
• Nonetheless the total amount invested in businesses with at least one female founder in 2018, as a percentage, was 11.4%, up from 9.9% in 2017.

IW Capital has launched their innovative new EIS Portfolio Service, allowing access to investment into the UK’s wealth of high-growth SMEs through the EIS. The service will cater to both advisers and private investors with a simple transparent fee structure providing investors the ability to claim tax relief on the full investment amount.

Launched after considerable demand from IFAs, the service will allow easier routes to investment in a fast-growing sector of the UK economy for clients looking to diversify their portfolios with high-growth private companies.

MJ Hudson has signed for a multi-year sponsorship of Harlequins. The firm is the first official partner of Harlequins Women, which currently competes in the Tyrrells Premier 15s.

Wales Council for Voluntary Action (WCVA) and Landsker Business Solutions have been appointed by the Development Bank of Wales to deliver £2 million of ring-fenced funding for social enterprises in Wales. 

Angel Investment Network (AIN), the world’s largest online angel investment platform, has announced strong growth, with annual revenues up 9.4% year on year and a record number of deals for the broking business. AIN connects startups with angel investors and now has more than a million users in total on the platform.

AIN received over 100,000 pitches in the past year from entrepreneurs across the globe, with the figure doubling over the last two years. Alongside existing markets there has been a rapid growth of startups coming from emerging markets. Meanwhile investors registering on the site have surged nearly 40% year on year, now standing at more than 200,000 registered business angels.

BGF, the UK and Ireland’s most active investor in growing businesses, has appointed Hannah Waters as an investor in its Cardiff office.

When George Jones' son developed terrible eczema as a child, she was unable to find any products that didn't aggravate his condition so she set out to create her own by launching Bathing Beauty from her kitchen table in 2010.  Now, thanks to a £45,000 loan from Development Bank of Wales, the ethical skincare company is expanding to meet the ever-increasing demand for its products.

Moorgate Benchmarks, the index company driving change, has closed its Series A funding round, securing a significant investment from ETFS Capital.  The investment will enable Moorgate Benchmarks to accelerate growth by building out its full-service offering to capitalise on a range of near-term opportunities. 

Blend Network, a leading property investment platform specialising in funding low-cost, accessible housing developments outside of London has announced its largest deal so far with a £2,335,000 loan to finance the acquisition and redevelopment of a key Stafford office building into residential departments. This milestone highlights BLEND Network’s commitment to the Midlands, with loans extended by the company to fund low-cost and accessible housing projects in the region now totaling over £3million over the past four months.

Par Equity has concluded an £800k investment in Kibosh Ltd, designer of the world’s fastest leaking-pipe repair kit. 

The innovative Kibosh equipment enables DIY enthusiasts, professional plumbers and trades people to mend leaking pipes simply and quickly without having to turn off the water supply to water and central heating systems.