UKBAA's Jenny Tooth has been interviewed by the HSBC Knowledge Centre about Angel Investment for start-up businesses.

The deVere Group's UK subsidiary, UK Workplace Solutions Limited, has received the required Approval Notice from the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), allowing it to finalise the acquisition of WPS Advisory Limited (WPSA), formerly trading as Priscum Direct.  

Crowdcube, the world’s first and largest equity crowdfunding platform, is celebrating more than £500 million in pledged investment on the platform.

The half billion in funds pledged to businesses has resulted in more than 700 successful raises, for startups to sizeable scale-ups including fintech unicorn Revolut, digital, mobile-only bank Monzo and BrewDog, the British multinational brewery.

One common trait among the growing number of scale-up raises is increased participation by venture capital firms. Six VCs including Balderton and Index Ventures took part in the Revolut raise, Passion Capital contributed to Monzo’s raise, and Draper Esprit participated in a raise for POD Point, the UK leaders in electric vehicle charging.

The majority of pledged investment via Crowdcube’s platform – 60% – comes from high net worth and sophisticated investors, who typically invest larger sums. The platform has also opened up opportunities to everyday investors that have been able to invest in startup, early and growth-stage businesses more easily than ever before. Crowdcube also appeals to investors of all ages; since Crowdcube was founded in 2011, there have been over 40,000 investments worth £21m from the under-30s, and over 25,000 investments worth nearly £60m from those over 60.

Following a significant loan from the Development Bank of Wales, a north Wales company will save salmon farmers millions of pounds a year while simultaneously supporting efforts of superior sustainability practices. 

Ocean Matters, based at Penmon, Anglesey, is using a natural solution to fight the continuing biosecurity challenges associated with the parasites. It breeds lumpfish, a type of cleaner fish that feeds off sea lice and in doing so provides a cleaner growing environment for farmed salmon.  

An interview with business angel and mentor to start ups Sukhendu Pal.

The enjoyment of wine is a purely subjective thing. But what are the things that affect one’s levels of pleasure when one has a glass of wine to hand? 

The developers of a technology that helps clinicians and healthcare professionals to treat people suffering from sleeping problems more effectively has received two high-profile accolades.

Roomex, an ambitious global travel software business headquartered in Dublin, today announces it has raised €8 million series A funding, led by Draper Esprit.

Co-founded by Jack Donaghy (CEO) and Karl Glennon (CTO), Roomex allows businesses to book hotel rooms globally through its platform, enabling its clients to save time and money by centralising all bookings and invoices in one account. Focused initially on Ireland, Roomex has now grown to cover global travel markets and customers now include Musgraves, Dairygold, Kepak, Mitsubishi and Muller.

Rinicare Limited, a leading intelligent healthcare company has announced the completion of its financing round by welcoming new investors Catapult Ventures and NPIF - Mercia Equity Finance, which is managed by Mercia Fund Managers and is part of the Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund.

The funding will be used to support the commercialisation of Rinicare’s digital healthcare portfolio, which is designed to provide solutions that improve outcomes and reduce costs in a number of settings such as emergency, primary and community care as well as progress its AI-powered predictive algorithm for intensive care.

On the dot, the machine learning-driven last mile delivery start-up, and part of CitySprint Group, has announced today it has received an additional investment of £8 million from its parent company, which is itself PE-funded. This new round will help fund On the dot’s further growth: product development, senior hires and international expansion, and builds on the £17.7 million invested in On the dot since its establishment in 2015. Globally, more than $11 billion (£8.5 billion) has been invested in start-ups disrupting the last mile delivery market since 2007.

Ziylo and Novo Nordisk A/S have announced that Novo Nordisk has acquired all of the shares of Ziylo, a University of Bristol spin-out company based at Unit DX science incubator in Bristol, UK. Ziylo has been pioneering the use of its platform technology – synthetic glucose binding molecules – for therapeutic and diagnostic applications. 

The acquisition gives Novo Nordisk full rights to Ziylo’s glucose binding molecule platform to develop glucose responsive insulins. The development of glucose responsive insulins is a key strategic area for Novo Nordisk in its effort to develop this next generation of insulin which would lead to a safer and more effective insulin therapy. A glucose responsive insulin would help eliminate the risk of hypoglycaemia, which is the main risk associated with insulin therapy and one of the main barriers for achieving optimal glucose control. Thus, a glucose responsive insulin could also lead to better metabolic control and thus overall reduce the burden of diabetes for people living with the disease.

In its latest analysis of global Mergers & Acquisitions activity in Enterprise Software, Hampleton Partners reports that the sector delivered its best half year on record with 522 transactions in total. Deal volume was up 11 percent year-over-year and up 15 percent from the previous half-year period. With above $1 billion valuations also rising fast - 14 during the first half of 2018, compared with just five in 2H2017 and three during 1H2017 - records for the sector are already breaking. 

The top three acquirers over the past 30 months were: Wisetech Global, the Australian logistics software company (14 deals, including: Pierbridge Inc and SaaS Transportation); Vista Equity Partners (13 deals, including Allocate Software Plc and Gather Technologies) and Thoma Bravo (12 deals, including MeridianLink Inc and ABC Financial).