On the first birthday of the Great Point Ventures (EIS) Fund, we spoke to Dan Perkins, Managing Director at Great Point about the fund, its investments and where the exciting investment opportunities lie in the media sector in the next 12 months.

Inflexion Private Equity has agreed to acquire Pharmaspectra, a leading global provider of medical affairs data to the pharmaceutical and biotech industry. The investment is being made by Inflexion Enterprise Fund IV, Inflexion’s dedicated lower mid?market fund.

Founded in 2005, Pharmaspectra is the leader in providing scientific dissemination data and analytics to the pharmaceutical industry. Pharmaspectra’s data is utilised by 7 of the world’s top 10 pharmaceutical companies. The firm has offices in the UK, US, Switzerland, and India.

The winners of the 17^th annual Investor Allstars Awards were revealed last Thursday, at an awards ceremony at the Hilton Park Lane, London.

The Awards brought together those instrumental in shaping Europe’s tech landscape – the entrepreneurs, investors, and advisers that have driven the exceptional growth of the European digital economy in the past year.

Vertical Future, a London-based food technology company, announced the completion of its Seed Round, raising £4m of equity finance, with further investment expected in the coming months. 

Grown in the capital and delivered by bicycle and electric van, the company uses technology to produce high-quality, ethical food (primarily baby leaf vegetables and herbs), in controlled environments. They also develop efficient and sustainable methods of food production and supply systems, with a long-term commitment to improving health and reducing CO2 emissions in cities.

Tutorful, a platform that connects students with tutors across the UK has secured a £3.2 million investment from NVM Private Equity. The investment will be used to grow the rapidly expanding online tutoring business, by building out a suite of tools and curriculum-aligned content that helps tutors deliver exceptional quality lessons. 

Growing East Yorkshire based alternative funding specialist for SMEs, One Stop Business Finance, has strengthened its operations and finance brokering team with the appointment of Collette Munson.

Foresight Group LLP has announced a further £749k equity investment into Footfalls and Heartbeats Limited through the Midlands Engine Investment Fund (MEIF), leading a £1.5m round with additional backing from the University of Nottingham and several new and existing High Net Worth Investors.

The independent Iberian alternative assets manager GED Capital has taken a further step in the development of its multi-product strategy with the launch of its maiden venture capital fund Conexo Ventures. This new activity of GED Capital in the venture capital segment adds to the already existing strategies of the GP in private equity and infrastructure. With a target size of 40 million euros, Conexo Ventures will make around 20 investments, of which around 50% will be follow-up investments.

There are many reasons why investors might want to avoid Europe. Slowing growth, political crises and the ongoing Brexit uncertainty present several challenges and could make investors think twice before investing in the region. 

An entrepreneur who set out to help save struggling high streets has raised £325,000 to deliver his idea.  Chris Reed has secured investment from the North East Venture Fund (NEVF), which is supported by the European Regional Development Fund and managed by Mercia, and former TV ‘dragon’ Jenny Campbell.

Launching the #MeTooPay campaign, more than 100 of the UK’s most successful women seek to end pay discrimination. Fronted by Moya Greene, the former boss of the Royal Mail, it is to be seen whether companies will take notice and level the playing field for female business leaders. 

Augusta & Co., a specialist financial adviser to the renewable energy industry, has successfully overseen the sale of the 211.4MW Piiparinmäki onshore wind farm project in central Finland. Augusta acted on behalf of Ilmatar Energy, a joint venture between Finnish developer Ilmatar Windpower and Capenergie 3, a fund managed by Omnes, the Paris-based infrastructure fund.  The ground-breaking project, set to become Finland’s largest wind farm, and one of the largest unsubsidised wind farms in Europe, has been acquired by Glennmont Partners, one of Europe’s largest clean-energy fund managers.