General Data Protection Regulation is a ‘game changer’ for the financial services industry and many small firms are unlikely to be fully compliant with the new rules, affirms the boss of deVere Group.

The Greater Manchester Loan Fund, managed by Maven Capital Partners, has completed a £750,000 investment in Manchester-based Shield Safety Group, one of the UK’s leading providers of Food Safety, Fire Safety and Health & Safety software and services. The investment will allow Shield Safety to strengthen its current offering to existing clients, target new customers by broadening its market reach and create over 70 jobs in the Greater Manchester area.

Manchester-based software-as-a-service (SaaS) company, Pimberly has completed a Series A funding round after securing an investment from NPIF - Mercia Equity Finance, which is part of the Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund (NPIF).

The £2.0million funding announcement follows 16 months of rapid growth for Pimberly, whose SaaS Product Information Management (PIM) platform helps retailers, distributors and manufacturers to increase sales through accurate and engaging product information.

Agorai, an integrated marketplace for Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools and the data assets that fuel them, is announcing it has committed to invest £20 million in the UK AI market. The investment will help accelerate the economic benefits that can be generated by leveraging the power of AI and its ability to transform society and positively impact the UK economy. The multi-year investment announced today will be distributed over the next five years. It will span the AI ecosystem by focusing on three key areas: education, empowerment, and entrepreneurship.

When considering tax-efficient investments, advisers and clients should be fully aware that investments are in unquoted stocks which are therefore likely to be high risk and illiquid. Therefore, there is only so much control the adviser and client may have over the investment and timings. However, there are simple steps advisers can take to at least in part attempt to take control of the potential timings, such as when the client may be able to claim any potential tax reliefs and when they ultimately may be able to exit.

Ascension Ventures and Unicorn India Ventures partner to launch the UK’s first cross border UK-India EIS fund Businesses to benefit from industry leading mentorship and support for scaling into the high growth Indian market.

Ascension Ventures (AV), a London based early stage VC managing SEIS & EIS funds since 2012, has launched a joint venture with Unicorn India Ventures (UIV), an India based equity and debt VC, to launch the first UK-India EIS Fund.

CW (Cambridge Wireless) has announced the launch of a new Special Interest Group (SIG) that will deliver business growth by providing a forum for discussion. 

Eight Advisory, a leading financial and operational consultancy firm specialising in transactions, restructuring and transformation, has hired former EY senior partner, Steve Taylor to expand its valuation practice in the UK.

Middle market companies across the globe are significantly more optimistic about business conditions and opportunities than last year, according to the findings of the annual EY Growth Barometer.

Furnished apartment search engine, Nestpick, has released a study revealing the first month living costs involved with relocating to 80 cities around the globe.

The International Business Festivals is underway in Liverpool, with UKBAA as Investment Partner.

Downing Ventures has recently welcomed Cambridge Touch Technologies and Masters of Pie to its portfolio