UK business borrowing contracted slightly by 1.7 per cent in the last 12 months.  However within industry sectors there was a mixed picture with manufacturing maintaining strong growth at 8 per cent while construction contracted by 6.3 per cent in the year.

TxCell SA, a developer of cellular immunotherapies based on regulatory T cells (Tregs) for inflammation, autoimmunity and transplantation, today announces it will present its latest manufacturing developments at the 3rd Annual Bioprocessing of Advanced Cellular Therapies Congress to be held in Frankfurt, Germany, on May 29-30, 2018. 

Halma, a global group of life-saving technology companies, and OurCrowd, a leading equity crowdfunding platform, today announced a new business partnership, which will help to catalyze life protection technologies focused on hazard detection and digital health. 

Patron Capital, the pan-European institutional investor focused on property backed investments, has acquired ‘Le Magnum’, an office building located in one of the most sought-after locations of Greater Paris in Levallois-Perret. 

Apex Housing Group, an innovative airspace property developer, has received a £6.25m investment from BGF to accelerate its growth ambitions in London’s growing rooftop development market, estimated to be worth up to £54bn. Apex purchases unused ‘airspace’ above residential, commercial and public building rooftops, and converts the space into new, modern homes – generating potential high returns for property owners and helping to alleviate the housing squeeze in London.

Matthew Toms, Investment Associate at Heartwood

It has been a tough start to 2018 for bond investors, with government and corporate bonds across the globe delivering capital losses (yields rising). The US has led the way, with the short-medium section of the US yield curve moving up the most. This has been driven by fears of rising inflation and the prospect of interest rate increases beyond those previously forecast. This yield curve move has infected corporate bonds and emerging bonds, culminating in negative returns for both asset classes. Notably, though, credit spreads have barely moved this year, suggesting investors remain sanguine about default risk.

We have had a cautious view on global equities for longer than has been comfortable. With Fed policy clearly remaining on a tightening track, we stick with our cautious view.

InMotion Ventures, Jaguar Land Rover’s venture capital arm, today announces its investment in FATMAP, the leading platform for outdoor adventure lovers and mountain professionals with cutting-edge global 3D mapping technology.

Idinvest Partners, a leading investor in SMEs across Europe, today announces the appointment of Guillaume Santamaria as Investment Director for Idinvest’s Growth Capital team, which held its first closing at €250 million in November 2016.

Triple Point, which provides innovative and compelling investment solutions for private and institutional investors, has announced the launch of its Impact EIS service. 

Origami Energy, a technology company building a real-time marketplace for the evolving distributed energy world, was crowned the overall winner of the second annual Future Planet Awards (“The Awards”), hosted by Future Planet Capital (“FPC”), on Tuesday 22 May at the Global Corporate Venturing Symposium.  The Future Planet Awards, in partnership with Global University Venturing, aim to raise the profile of new and growing firms that will profitably impact global challenges.

One of the UK’s fastest-growing parenting hubs, Channel Mum, has successfully secured £3.5 million funding led by venture capital firm Downing Ventures alongside NVM.