Following initial investment in 2022, Clothes Doctor, leader in premium eco-friendly laundry care products, has secured a £500,000 follow-on equity from the Cornwall & Isles of Scilly Investment Fund (CIOSIF). The funding comes via appointed Fund Manager, The FSE Group, as part of a £1 million round that includes funding from private investors.

The investment aims to fuel the company's global expansion and further its commitment to sustainable innovation, creating several new jobs across the business.

Simpli, an insurtech startup building AI agents for the insurance industry, has closed a pre-seed funding round. The round was led by SFC Capital, with participation from a select group of strategic angel investors.

Cloud Retail, the e-commerce software platform founded by Marat Bolatov and Artur Shamalov and formerly known as Jiffy, which provides full-stack software solutions for any vertical to transform sales to online and build a robust ecommerce system, has successfully raised $2.2 million led by I2BF Global Ventures and Somersault Ventures with many existing investors, including business angels, participating.

British oral care brand Waken (www.wakencare.com) is shaking up the industry with a major new signing: much loved TV and radio broadcaster, podcaster and number one bestselling author, Rylan.

UK-based startup Matoha, manufacturers of AI-powered material identification scanners, have completed a first phase of Seed funding which will enable them to solve the problem of textiles sorting for recycling. The round was led by Archipelago Ventures and the Circular Plastics Accelerator with additional investment from Conduit Connect, British Design Fund, Fashion for Good and others.

Returnal Ltd, a tech-driven platform enabling retailers to take ownership of their secondary markets through seamless trade-in solutions, has successfully closed a £300,000 funding round. The round was led by SFC Capital with additional backing from British Business Investments and three angel investors.

CRESS, a pioneering pre-loved school uniform platform, has successfully raised £234,000 in a pre-seed funding round led by GC Angels, alongside One Planet Capital and a group of angel investors.

Cult Mia, the London-based online fashion marketplace that is redefining luxury retail, has announced a significant milestone following its latest Seed Funding investment round, led by Fuel Ventures, H&M Group Ventures, and other backers. This commitment comes off the back of a year of exceptional growth, with the company's topline tripling as Net Revenue rose by 191% year-over-year, exceeding annual forecasts by 4%.

Waken Mouthcare, a next generation oral care brand creating innovative, award-winning mouthcare products, has closed its latest funding on Republic (formerly Seedrs), raising more than £950,500 from 215 investors in 36 days.

Seneca Partners, the North West-based private equity and investment manager, has successfully exited its investment in 23.5 Degrees, the UK’s largest Starbucks franchise, generating a 7.5x return for their investors from the transaction.

Black & Beech, a Cardiff-based online sustainable fashion retailer is expanding with new ranges of ethically sourced clothing and eco-friendly accessories following an investment by the Development Bank of Wales.

Aura Life, a provider of funeral services and funeral plan sales, has secured a £350,000 equity investment from the Coast to Capital Growth Fund via appointed fund manager, The FSE Group. The £2+million funding round, which also includes investments from the Oxford Innovation Fund and the FSE Investor Network, will support business growth including the creation of 16 new jobs.