Sproud, the Swedish maker of a range of plant-based milks has raised £4.8M from growth capital investor, VGC Partners. 

The investment will be used to grow Sproud’s team, accelerate the brand’’s distribution and brand building activities in the company’s core markets - including the UK, US and Canada  - and for further development of its plant-based and 100% vegan product offering. 

Digital marketing veteran Chris Underhill has been appointed as chair of Leeds-based Force24 following a £4.8m investment backed by private equity firm YFM Equity Partners.

BGF has made a further £4 million investment in fast-growth, lead generation technology business, ROI. 

This deal follows just seven months after BGF’s initial investment, taking the total invested to £7 million. In November 2020, ROI acquired the consumer finance assets of Raketech to accelerate the company’s growth in the financial services sector and establish a base in Norway.

Cleantech company Social Energy  has received funding that will allow the business to pursue rapid growth in the UK and Australia, while opening opportunities to scale outwards with its unique offering in new markets.  The green energy supplier uses its artificial intelligence platform and cutting-edge virtual power plant technology to optimise solar-connected battery storage. It learns about a customer’s energy usage and makes informed decisions about how to store, manage and distribute solar energy to minimise their energy bills.  

A Warwickshire-based manufacturer of fertility monitoring products, Fertility Focus, has secured further investment from MEIF through a £250,000 loan, enabling it to invest in its staff, continue research and development, while safeguarding against the impact of COVID-19.

ACF Investors (formerly the Angel CoFund) has launched the Delta Fund, a fast-track investment fund that provides equity or convertible loans to UK businesses that have been backed by a syndicate of angel investors with deep sector knowledge. The new funding model allows ACF Investors to provide high-potential businesses with access to larger sums of capital, faster.

Footwear wholesaler, D. Jacobson & Sons Limited, has secured a £7 million ABL facility from Independent Growth Finance (IGF). As a branded operation the company saw large opportunities for growth within their portfolio. The Lancashire based seller required additional working capital resource to expand into new international markets and invest in online technology to support progression during the pandemic and beyond.  

Quirk, a consumer fintech startup that uses unique personality testing to deliver tailored financial advice to young professionals, has raised £300,000 in pre-seed funding from SFC Capital and angel investors. Quirk will use the funding to grow its team, expand its product offering, and fuel its broader mission to build financial freedom for everyone. 

Foresight Group has invested into Titania Group Limited, a cybersecurity automation software business. The investment will be used to support the senior management team in taking Titania through its next stage of growth, assisted by Foresight’s expertise in the sector.

Grafton Capital, a growth investor in Europe’s leading technology companies, has appointed Tom Morrell as its Chief Financial Officer. 

Keysource, a specialist in data centres and critical environments, has successfully completed a management buyout (MBO), led by Stephen Whatling. 

Innovate Finance, the industry body representing UK FinTech, has released investment figures for the global FinTech sector in 2020 that reinforce the UK’s position as a global and European leader.