IW Capital - the debt, equity and EIS investment specialist based in the heart of Mayfair - has announced its latest milestone of growth with the closure of its first secured debt fund. 

Streamline Press, a leading commercial printer specialising in lithographic, digital and large format print services, has secured £250,000 funding from MEIF Maven East & South East Midlands Debt Finance, managed by Maven Capital Partners.  This funding will support the implementation of Streamline Press’ profit improvement and growth strategy.

Streamline Press is a leading commercial printing company with a diverse range of services split across two sites in Leicester. The company produces lithographic, digital and large format print, with extensive in-house print finishing and mailing capabilities, enabling it to help its customers get the most from their print budgets. 

Parkwalk and the UCL Technology Fund are leading a £750k investment into Phasecraft, a pioneering quantum computing company, along with the London Co-Investment Fund.

The FitTech company, Revoola, has confirmed that its application to join the leading business incubator SETSquared’s Scale-Up programme has been successful. Revoola is the developer of a highly sophisticated and interactive Mind & Body fitness app, plus a wide range of totally interactive multi-disciplined fitness classes – streamed live or on demand – via any smartphone or tablet.

Minerva, the University of Warwick Science Park’s Business Angel Network, has played a vital role in helping Lincoln-based tech start-up Tended access the funds and know-how needed to take its intelligent safety solutions to the next level.

Syncona Ltd has founded Quell Therapeutics, a new cell therapy company, with a £35 million commitment in a Series A financing of which Syncona has committed £34.0 million with a further £1.0 million being contributed by UCL Technology Fund. Syncona will have a 69.3 per cent stake (1) in the business, with the first tranche of the Series A commitment of £8.3m paid in May 2019.

YFM Equity Partners has invested £3.5 million in in Elucidat Limited, an elearning software business.  The investment from YFM’s advised funds will be used to accelerate product development so that Elucidat’s customers can produce learning content faster and at a higher quality. The funds will also be used to invest in their team and drive growth in North America, which currently accounts for 35% of Elucidat’s revenue.

The Development Bank of Wales’ first full year has helped even more Welsh businesses to grow.  In the financial year ending 31 March 2019 the Development Bank of Wales invested a total of £80m, an increase of nearly 18% on the year before.  420 investments were completed across the whole of Wales during the year – 30% more than the previous 12 months.

Angel backed novel diagnostic developer PBD Biotech has appointed new CEO Mark Hammond to drive the company’s expansion. 

A new initiative to support Business Angels looking to invest in the North East was launched yesterday at FinanceCamp, the region’s annual investment conference.

The Newcastle Angel Hub will form part of the UK Business Angels Association (UKBAA) wider Hub network across the country, and will be delivered by the Innovation SuperNetwork, in partnership with Invest Newcastle.

In this month’s Start-up Spotlight, Invested Investor spoke to experienced, dynamic and philosophical serial investor, David Gammon. Through his work as an Invested Investor and as the CEO of Rockspring, he has supported entrepreneurs through some extraordinary successes. In his podcast with the Invested Investor, he talks about how crucial collaboration is for investors, and how he works with his family to make investment decisions.

Great Point, the UK’s leading independent media and investment firm, has invested in Seven Seas Films, an independent TV production company whose team has a track record of producing high-quality scripted drama and comedy that has led to a number of hit TV shows.

Great Point’s backing will combine financial investment with its unrivalled media industry expertise and contacts to help Seven Seas take advantage of the buoyant market for high-end scripted series and build a valuable slate of IP and a production hub for returning series and new formats.