Over the last few years Ukraine has seen its digital markets and innovation scene grow very fast. Ukrainian startups (or startups founded by Ukrainian entrepreneurs), raised $265 million in 2017, up 231% from the previous year. This is one of the key findings of “The Dealbook of Ukraine,” an annual industry report published by AVentures Capital in partnership with local industry associations UVCA (Ukrainian Venture Capital & Private Equity Association) and UAngel, as well as Ukraine Digital News.

The region’s newest investment arm, NorthInvest, reports significant growth of across the North following a 25% increase in membership.

AngelNews is delighted to announce that Iain Martin, founder and editor of Rection, a political and news commentary website, will be a keynote speaker at the Great British Private Investor Summit on the 24th May in London.

Mobeus Equity Partners and Beringea have co-invested in a £5 million funding round for mpb.com, a specialist online marketplace for second-hand photographic and filmmaking equipment.

Launched in 2011, the Brighton-based company currently facilitates more than 6,000 transactions per month, and is on track to generate £22 million in turnover this year at a year-on-year growth rate of more than 60 per cent. Since its Series A funding round, completed in June 2016, mpb.com has grown from 28 people to a team of 90, with offices in Brighton and New York. 

As part of its ongoing expansion, Blackfinch has hired two new investment managers Jolyon Ridgwell and Stuart Tyler Lloyd.

One of Europe’s leading mid-market private equity investors, Equistone, has agreed to acquire a majority stake in MMC’s portfolio company Small World. Equistone is an independent investment firm wholly-owned and managed by it’s executives aiming to invest between €25m and €125m of equity in businesses. The financial terms of the deal are undisclosed and, as Small World is regulated in multiple countries, completion of the transaction remains subject to regulatory approvals.

Finnish digital health company Kaiku Health Oy, which provides intelligent patient monitoring software for healthcare providers across Europe, has closed a €4.4 million funding round. The investment was led by Debiopharm Innovation Fund SA and Tesi with participation from Prodeko Ventures Oy and existing investors Reaktor Ventures Oy, Metsola Ventures Oy, and Athensmed Oy.

Invoice finance and asset-based lending in the UK stood at £22.2 billion at the end of 2017, up five per cent on the funds advanced at the end of 2016, figures published by UK Finance reveal. The number of clients remained stable at around 42,000.

Liverpool ChiroChem (LCC), the specialist Liverpool-based chemical intermediates company, has raised £1.5m in equity finance to support the Company’s growth plans and increase production capacity overseas. The new fundraise round was led by Praetura Capital and the Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund (NPIF), and supported by long standing investor Deepbridge Capital.

The Company, originally a spin-out from Liverpool University, has the capability to produce exceptionally pure chemical forms using its own patented technology and has already established itself firmly within the pharmaceutical and drug discovery supply chain. Founded just three years ago, it counts over 70 pharma, biotech and agrochemicals customers including Merck, Novartis, Domainex, Syngenta and Bayer.

Zilingo has raised $54 million in a Series C, to grow further and expand internationally. This takes total funding raised by the company to USD 82 million. 

Newsvoice.com, a news app that aims to change the way we read the news, raises 2 million SEK from private business angels and Almi Invest for further expansion of their service.

Tikehau Capital, the alternative asset management and investment group, has acquired a stake in Filiassur to support the company’s expansion and growth in Europe. Tikehau Capital is investing EUR 30 million in Filiassur, France’s leading direct distributor of personal insurance.