Livingbridge is re-investing as a minority shareholder in Sykes Holiday Cottages, the UK’s leading independent holiday home provider with over 25 years’ experience in the market.

Livingbridge first invested in Sykes in January 2015, when the business managed 5,000 properties in the UK and Ireland.  Livingbridge successfully sold Sykes to private equity firm Vitruvian Partners in October 2019, at which time it managed over 17,500 properties, having successfully delivered market leading organic growth and completed 12 acquisitions underpinned by a highly effective digital transformation strategy. 

Coffi heads are enjoying a new experience in Cardiff Bay following a refurbishment and extension of Coffi Co’s Mermaid Quay store.

Foresight Group has made a £7.5 million investment into Roxy Leisure Limited, a social entertainment bar group operating sites under the Roxy Ball Room, Roxy Lanes and Roxy Arcade banners across the North and Midlands. The investment was made by the Foresight Regional Investment LP and the Foresight VCTs.

Matt and Ben Jones launched the first Roxy site in 2013, becoming pioneers of in-bar entertainment, utilising their extensive experience in the industry to create a fast-growing and unique entertainment and leisure concept.

Silicon Valley Bank (SVB), the bank for innovative businesses, enterprises and their investors, has provided Icelolly, the UK’s leading holiday comparison platform and award-winning travel brand with £2m in finance to support its future growth plans. 

A popular hotel in a Pembrokeshire beauty spot has secured a bright new future after being bought by new owner Robert Jones and hotel manager Matthew Pugsley and securing a £50,000 loan from the Development Bank of Wales.

My Bespoke Room, the tech-enabled interior design service, has closed £700K angel investment as it reports 104% annual revenue growth. This brings total investment in the female-founded business to £2 million since 2014, as it continues to build innovative new products that benefit customers and designers.  

This investment round, which included high-net worth individuals from Angelgroups and Connectd, will help My Bespoke Room deliver on its mission to support more meaningful businesses and careers in interior design.  

Whirli, the toy sharing subscription service, has raised a £4m Seed funding round led by Octopus Ventures, with participation from MMC Ventures.

Snowdrop Independent Living has opened a new mobility aid showroom in Cardiff. Taking over Hearing and Mobility’s Cardiff branch, located on Merthyr Road in Whitchurch, the shop will retain its existing staff and knowledge while benefitting from Snowdrop's twenty years of customer and industry expertise and manufacturer relationships.

CurrentBody, the online retail specialist for home-use beauty devices, has now reached £10m in funding with BGF this week joining NVM Private Equity in backing the Manchester-based business. The investment announcement comes as the company completed its strongest year to date, going live with its 11th international site and launching on Tmall in China.

Crowdcube is announcing a record-breaking year for overseas businesses raising funds on Europe’s leading equity crowdfunding platform. Despite Brexit uncertainty, investment into businesses based outside the UK has doubled since 2018. 

In 2019, Crowdcube’s overseas raises drew in €26.6m, which marked a massive 100% hike from 2018. ID Finance, a Spanish based fintech, scoops the No. 1 place in terms of investment raised, pulling in €5.2m in November. More than 4,500 people also backed Bnext, the Spanish challenger-bank, which stands in second place. European entrepreneurs are matching their British counterparts in terms of investment raised and number of investors they attract, as they realise the benefits of building loyal communities alongside raising growth finance.

Kindred, a new platform that digitises word-of-mouth recommendations on social media, has raised £2.25 million in seed capital investment and has a £35 million valuation pre-revenue. 

The Management team of Professional Music Technology has completed a Management Buyout of the business, with financing provided by YFM Equity Partners and the founders of the business.