Curve, the UK fintech startup that combines all your cards into one Mastercard®, connected to a mobile app, has closed a Series A funding round of $10m, bringing total funding to $13m. A group of global banks, leading VCs and industry veterans have joined the funding round. 

Foresight Group has completed a £3.45m investment into Mowgli Street Food Limited to fund the roll-out of restaurants around the UK. Mowgli Street Food is a chain of authentic Indian street food restaurants that offer food which is packed with flavour. The Company currently has restaurants in Liverpool and Manchester, with plans to expand to Birmingham and Leeds later this year. 

Octopus Ventures has announced that Priscila Bala, former Director of the Mentor Network at the Yale Entrepreneurial Institute, has joined its New York office. Priscila will work hand-in-hand with the firm’s London team and play a crucial role in supporting its existing portfolio scope, test and enter the US market as effectively as possible.

Pro Steel Engineering Ltd has won the contract to redevelop the iconic East Stand at Twickenham Rugby Stadium, to support the project they have received a six-figure working capital loan from Finance Wales.

European venture capital fundraising last year hit €6.4 billion — the highest level since 2007 — according to a report launched today by Invest Europe. Nearly 10% of this capital was from North American institutional investors, as Europe’s growing economies, thriving investment ecosystem and the unprecedented rise of its tech industry make it an attractive investment destination, reveals the association’s new publication, The Acceleration Point: Why Now is the Time for European Venture Capital. 

The angel industry's favourite banker is our hero of the month. 

Unicef: Building Young Futures 

Emma Sinclair, Unicef UK's first business mentor, gave a rousing speech to encourage us to support young entrepreneurs across the world at the UK Business Angel Awards last week.  

Support Building Young Futures here

Clever, quiet Beringea has achieved another exit.

Angels via Oxford Capital Partners, have been joined by serious venture capital in the latest funding round for Push Doctor.

Dr. Arthur Kebbers suggests that being a successful online networker is an important skill that entrepreneurs need to master.

“Smile, make eye contact and always have a business card at the ready!” Helpful tips for the traditional networker, but of no use to the #networker. The most successful entrepreneurs are rapidly becoming the latter, as business professor Smith and colleagues (2017) have found.

Foresight Group has made a £2.25 million growth capital investment into Cinelabs International on behalf of Foresight VCT.

Investment in the life sciences sector is the latest trend to emerge in the angel industry.

The importance of angel investment in the life sciences sector is becoming very apparent.  The opportunity is large which explains why everyone from respected names like Deepbridge Capital to newcomers like Capital Cell are now focussing on bringing life sciences opportunities to the angel market.  We are also seeing interesting companies emerging from other sources such as medical charities like RAFT.