Fast-growing international investment and corporate advisory group Mayfair 101 has added leading business figures from telecommunications, 

UKCloud, the multi-cloud experts dedicated to making transformation happen across UK public sector, today announced a significant £25m investment from Digital Alpha Advisors, LLC, that will enable accelerated digital transformation of UK public services through its unique multi-cloud platform.

By Caspar Bowes, Bowes Wine

Marketplace lending hit a record £6.1bn in 2018, according to Link Asset Services’ inaugural Marketplace Lending Index, powered by Brismo (formerly named AltFi Data).

The value of gross marketplace lending conducted by tech-enabled platforms (which includes crowdfunded or peer-to-peer loans) reached a quarterly record of £1.6bn in Q4, up 13.9% year on year.

The record end to 2018 marks an impressive rise for this form of lending.  In 2011, new gross lending amounted to just £92m. It now takes a shade under six days for marketplace platforms to originate this amount. 

Leading estate agency comparison business GetAgent has closed a £2.2m super-seed round from a consortium of investors led by Marchmont Ventures, backers of Motorway.co.uk and joins the Channel 4 Commercial Growth Fund, the investment arm of Channel 4 Television which invested in 2018.  GetAgent is the estate agency comparison website, comparing the performance of every UK estate agency via multiple, third party data points to reliably help potential home sellers choose the right agent based upon performance.

Private investor Rcapital has completed a Franchisee-led Buyout of Cash Generator, a successful and well established retail business, focused on being the first place customers come to sell and buy second hand items.

Luke Davis, CEO and Founder of IW Capital, and Small business expert, comments on the Spring Statement.

“The Chancellor rightly recognised the importance of the UK’s fantastic entrepreneurs, small businesses and investors, as they lead the way in our private sector economy. Brexit has dominated the political and economic landscape recently but despite this we have seen a huge amount of investor confidence and deal-flow at IW Capital in supporting small businesses.

Specialist property peer-to-peer lender CrowdProperty has secured the backing of a major financial institution to lend up to £100 million of loan capital to CrowdProperty’s expertly curated property projects over the coming 12-24 months.

Praetura Ventures is raising money for its first Enterprise Investment Scheme (EIS) fund, as part of its mission to bridge the estimated £300m venture capital funding gap for scaling businesses in the North West of England. The company plans to raise £15m of EIS capital to fund around eight to 10 early-stage companies in the region.

Belfast-based health tech company, Neurovalens, has secured one of the largest ever Series A investments generated by a Northern Irish technology company.

The company specialises in using neuroscience to solve everyday health issues.

The £4.6 million raise was led by London-based Wharton Asset Management along with Cambridge based IQ Capital. The round was also supported by Techstart Ventures, through its Invest NI-backed fund, The UU Fund, Co-Fund NI managed by Clarendon Fund Management, Beltrae Partners and the Angel CoFund.

Tim Mills, Management Director of the Angel CoFund has made the following comments on the Chancellor's Spring Statement and its focus on science and technology.

Tim Allan is joining the board of Archangels, the leading angel investor group specialising in early stage technology and life sciences companies in Scotland. He succeeds Alastair Salvesen CBE, who is retiring from the Archangels board after 10 years. 

Archangels’ members invest in, and mentor, promising start-up and early stage companies from Scotland’s vibrant technology and life sciences sectors. Established in 1992, Archangels has made a significant contribution to the Scottish economy, with its investments leveraging an estimated ?1.2bn of GVA and creating around 4,000 highly skilled jobs. The current portfolio of companies employs over 650 people.