KPMG UK Tech Monitor Index

Political uncertainty and global trade frictions have dented client confidence, but buoyant staff hiring and capital spending plans are still in place for 2019, according to a new quarterly survey of UK technology sector companies by KPMG.

The British Business Bank has appointed Steve Aslett to a new position as Senior Manager, UK Network for the South East.

Following the heavy Government defeat on the Brexit withdrawal motion, PIMFA, the trade association for the personal investment management and financial advice sector, re-emphasises the requirement for legislators and Government executives to keep uppermost the interests of individuals and families as they develop alternative proposals for parliamentarians to consider in the days ahead.  The private clients of PIMFA member firms, who come from all parts of society and not just the wealthy sector, have around £1.5 trillion of personal investment and savings, including pensions, under advice or management by these firms and preservation of the value of their personal assets, so they benefit rather than suffer from decisions about the UK’s relationship with its EU partners, is a paramount concern.

BGF has made its fourth life sciences investment in the last few months, providing Nottingham-based business incubator BioCity with development capital, alongside Blue Skies Investments (BSI).  Founded in 2002 and a pioneer in the field, BioCity is the UK’s largest life science incubation business, providing specialist workspace for growing life science companies, including access to high-end equipment, shared services and training, as well as business advice through its expert network.

SimplyCook has announce that it has secured a £4.5m Series A funding from Octopus Investments, allowing it to continue its strong growth trajectory. SimplyCook is a direct-to-consumer subscription-based flavourings and recipe company, supplying customers on a weekly, fortnightly and monthly basis, helping them to cook tastier meals at home. Its meal kits contain recipes, seasonings, stocks and rubs prepared from up to 18 source ingredients.

This series of funding will enable SimplyCook to invest in sales & marketing, continuing to drive its strong growth across the UK, as well as investing further in its technology. SimplyCook chose to partner with Octopus Investments based on its ability to provide flexible capital and experience in successfully supporting high-growth firms.

Bowmark Capital, the mid-market private equity firm, has appointed Simon Adcock as a partner and head of portfolio management. 

Simon brings over 20 years’ experience in corporate advisory and management roles and was previously senior portfolio director at Lloyds Development Capital.  Prior to that, he was a partner and regional head of corporate advisory at Deloitte.

QuadSAT, the drone-enabled antenna testing company, today announced it has closed its £700,000 seed round, led by the Danish Growth Fund, VF with participation from Seraphim Capital and existing investors.

The British Business Bank has appointed Paul Sullivan to a new position as Senior Manager, UK Network for the East of England.

the government-owned economic development bank dedicated to making finance markets work better for smaller businesses – is establishing a UK Network, with team members based within each of the English regions and the three Devolved Nations. The UK Network was originally announced as part of the Government’s modern Industrial Strategy in November 2017, with a remit to identify and help to reduce imbalances in access to finance for smaller businesses across the UK.

Intertrust, a global leader in providing expert administrative services to clients operating and investing in the international business environment, interviewed private equity professionals across Europe, North America, the Middle East and Asia to identify the value-add delivered by new technologies now and in the future.

• Over half (53%) of respondents to the survey believe financial services creates the most potential for value creation through technological innovation, ahead of healthcare (18%), consumer (8%), energy (8%), industrials (8%) and TMT (5%).
• More than half (51%) identified the biggest technology risk when assessing target companies as cybersecurity or data breaches

Fuel Ventures, a leading London-based VC investment fund has launched a scheme to improve diversity and remove all unconscious bias from the investment process. The company will be anonymising pitch decks in a three-month trial period after discovering that just 4% of over 4,000 pitch decks submitted over the last four years have been from companies with female founders.

The firm is trialling the initiative after recognising the lack of diversity in founders and entrepreneurs pitching for investment over the last four years, and will report the results of the trial after those three months.

BGF provided a record investment of almost £50m into AIM-listed companies in 2018, bringing total funding in AIM-listed firms to £150m across 43 companies.

A fast-growing online retailer, TheVeganKind.com, has moved into a bigger warehouse in Glasgow after receiving financial backing from more than 700 vegans across Britain.