Emerging market private equity funds offer institutional investors diversification, differentiated return drivers and an exposure to sector and geographical areas not accessible through stock exchanges. However, their performance is still unclear.

Trailblazing action sports protection brand Ruroc has received a £3m investment from BGF, adding further firepower to its international growth plans.The Ruroc range – which includes its signature full-face helmet with detachable face mask and the world’s first fully ventilated magnetic lens goggles – is gaining rapid traction across the globe as the go-to brand for action sports protective gear. Over the past 8 years Ruroc’s high-quality, high-specification designs have had a constant presence in the pit lanes of the Formula 1, NASCAR, Aussie V8 and MotoGP competitions.

Foresight Group has announced an investment of £2 million supporting the management buy-out of the contract research business Epistem from genedrive plc. 

Workers that regularly endure the ‘Sunday Afternoon Blues’ and suffer nightmares about their jobs are being warned that it could be time to jump ship and find a new role says LondonOffices.com.

Livingstone’s Media & Technology sector team has advised the shareholders of PEI Media, including LDC, on its sale to Bridgepoint Development Capital.

British Business Bank has launched a new interactive website that offers independent information on finance options for scale-up, high growth and potential high growth businesses.

The Development Bank of Wales has launched a new £20 million Wales Technology Seed Fund with up to £250,000 available per round to support the growth of developing technology businesses across Wales.

The new bigger fund replaces the original, and now fully invested seed fund that has made 45 investments in 41 start-up and early stage technology businesses since 2014. The £7.5 million fund leveraged £3.6 million private investment and created or safeguarded up to 570 jobs. Over half of the businesses to benefit have been based in West Wales or the Valleys.

Idinvest Partners, a leading investor in SMEs across Europe, today announces the appointment of Nicolas Debock as Investment Director in the Venture Capital team.

Michael Stanes, Investment Director, Heartwood Investment Management, provides Heartwood’s outlook for UK equities.

The Invested Investor, a social enterprise aiming to increase the success rate of early-stage start-ups, recently interviewed two key figures in the investment world. Rajat Malhotra, Managing Partner of Wren Capital and former UKBAA Angel of the Year, and Modwenna Rees-Mogg, the dynamic CEO/Founder of Angel News.

deVere Group has announced it is expanding its deVere Italia brand by opening offices for the first time in the Italian capital.  The base is located in the heart of the city, near the Termini Station.  deVere also has hub offices in Milan from where it has been serving expats and international investors all over Italy.

By Arthur Krebbers

How can you make your mind your biggest entrepreneurial ally? Mindfulness-preneurs are crafting an answer.

They face all the usual startup frustrations.”That idea will never work!” “How can I ever make this profitable?” “Good luck trying to scale that…”

Like you and me, this could drive them to want to bang their heads on the table. But, they should practice what they preach. If they don’t live their zen philosophy, they will probably struggle to build a committed fan base.