Crowdcube’s Q2 2017 update reveals the world’s first and largest crowdfunding platform has hit several key milestones as well as delivering further returns for investors. The quarter has also seen us accelerate our European expansion to consolidate our position as Europe’s most active equity crowdfunding platform.

NorthInvest, the angel investor platform that supports and mentors businesses in the North of England, has been recognised as ‘one to watch’ at the UK Business Angel Investment Awards 2017.  Founded in 2015 by aql CEO, Dr Adam Beaumont, NorthInvest is a not-for-profit platform owned by its angel investor members.  It was formed to address a gap in the funding ecosystem to provide easier access to mentorship and seed funding for start-up companies.

App commerce company Poq (https://poqcommerce.com/) has secured £3.5 million in its latest funding round, led by growth capital investor Beringea with additional funding from Meyer Bergman and Barclays. This round brings the total amount raised by Poq so far to £7 million.

Lein Applied Diagnostics, a company developing high precision measuring technology at the Reading Enterprise Centre has just closed on the first tranch of its current equity funding round.  The close saw a member of the Henley Business Angels participcate along with other angels and existing investors, raising a total of £440,000.

NVM Private Equity has invested £3m in London based Knowledgemotion the creators of boclips – a video platform designed specifically for the education sector.

Cwmbran-based technology company Hudman has been acquired by Advanced, the UKs third largest software and services company. The deal sees investor Finance Wales sell its share in the company in the first exit from the Wales Technology Seed Fund.

The investment company sector has experienced a strong first half of 2017. Industry assets reached an all-time high of £167.9bn at the end of May 2017. Secondary issuance by AIC members reached £3.3bn, a record level over a half-year period and a significant increase compared to £1.8bn over the same period last year. 

Growth capital investor Beringea announced that APM Healthcare has been acquired by national pharmacy chain, Day Lewis Pharmacy. In the sale, Day Lewis will take over APM Healthcare’s 18 UK pharmacies, which it runs in Joint Venture Partnerships with GP Practices across the country. 

Quill, the global leader in Primary Content production, has closed its latest round of investment, taking the total funding raised to date to £10 million. The investment is being used to accelerate the company’s rapid growth into new markets throughout the US and Europe, as well as to further develop its proprietary cloud technology platform.

Foresight Group has launched Tranche A of its innovative Foresight Smart Bonds Fund, which offers investors the choice to invest over 1, 2 or 3 year fixed terms for between 4.07% and 4.83% rates of interest per annum.

Tech North launches its biggest and best ever Northern Stars competition to find 10 of the North’s most promising tech startups. Over the last two years, Northern Stars has had great success in helping fast-growing startups and digital businesses to receive wider recognition and growth for their business, both within the region and beyond.

Berlin-based startup Caroobi, a platform that allows users to book car repair services online, has concluded its Series A financing round led by BMW i Ventures (BMW’s venture capital arm), DN Capital and Cherry Ventures.