Maven Capital Partners, has led a £650,000 investment in Manchester-headquartered passenger transfers booking platform Ski-Lifts Limited.  A total of £500,000 has been invested by NPIF – Maven Equity Finance, part of the Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund and a £150,000 was provided by the Greater Manchester Loan Fund, also managed by Maven.

A British games and Jukebox entrepreneur, Alexander Walder-Smith, has acquired Rock-Ola, the last authentic American Jukebox manufacturing company and one of the world's most iconic Jukebox brands. Rock-Ola famously inspired the term 'Rock and Roll', and has been manufacturing games and Jukeboxes since 1927, starting out in Chicago and later moving to California's West coast, seen by many as the jukebox's spiritual home.

MEIF Debt Finance, managed by Maven Capital Partners has backed pop-up retail specialists, Rapid Retail Limited (“Rapid Retail”), with a £300,000 business loan. The loan will enable the Worcestershire company to accelerate its growth plans by expanding its portfolio of products, exploiting new growth opportunities overseas and support the creation of new jobs.

Stuffstr, the game-changing solution to consumer waste, has raised a total of $2.9 million in its seed funding round, led by Mustard Seed, with co-investors adidas Ventures and London Co-investment Fund.

adidas’ investment comes on the back of including Stuffstr in its sports accelerator program, Platform A, which launched in January at Station F in Paris.  It also aligns with adidas’ FUTURECRAFT.LOOP vision for sustainability, which aims to end the concept of “waste” entirely.

Maven Capital Partners has led a £3 million funding round in Manchester-based DigitalBridge, a Guided Design platform for kitchen and bathroom retailers. Today’s transaction comprises a £1.5 million package from Maven’s Venture Capital Trusts (VCTs) and £1.5 million from the NPIF Maven Equity Finance, a regional development fund managed by Maven which forms part of the Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund. The funding will support the roll-out of DigitalBridge’s platform and the creation of 15 new jobs. It will also enable the company to create additional products and penetrate new markets, particularly the US.  DigitalBridge has been working with Kingfisher Plc (owners of B&Q and Castorama) since 2017. 

Foresight Group has made a £5 million growth capital investment into Fourth Wall Creative Limited, a technology-led merchandising business servicing the football industry.

Based in Bromborough, Merseyside, FWC was founded in 2010 by CEO Anton Botes and Joe Moroney who identified the need for an improved service for design and sourcing of merchandise within the football market. Since then the business has established itself as a market leader in the design and fulfilment of branded merchandise for football clubs.

Palamon Capital Partners, a European growth buyout private equity firm, has signed an agreement to sell Il Bisonte to Tokyo Stock exchange-listed fashion distribution specialist, Look Holdings Inc.  The transaction will value Il Bisonte at an Enterprise Value of €100 million, 3 times the entry price paid by Palamon, producing a 26% Gross IRR for Palamon European Equity III.

Ocado has announced a £17 million investment into the vertical farming industry, including an investment into Jones Food, Europe’s largest vertical farm. The investment into Jones Food, represents one of the largest investments into a UK agritech company so far this year. Law firm, Ashfords, advised Guinness Asset Management, the majority shareholder of Jones Food, in the transaction.

The Riverside Company has acquired La Galvanina S.p.A, a fourth generation, family-owned, Italian producer of premium private label and branded mineral water and traditional and organic soft drinks. Galvanina sells its products to a global customer base comprised of leading retailers, department stores and wholesalers in more than 35 countries, with the U.S., Italy and Canada representing its largest markets in 2018.

Groovy UK Limited, a wholesale and giftware business, has received a £250,000 loan facility from the Midlands Engine Investment Fund (MEIF), managed by Maven Capital Partners.

The business is a developer, wholesaler and distributer of giftware products and will use the funding to accelerate the company’s growth plans and invest in its product portfolio and licensing agreements. 

Groovy sources and designs hard-to-get giftware products and supply them to major high street and online retailers. With experience in both designing and manufacturing a mix of original products, Groovy’s clients include the likes of Argos and Harrods. 

Product Guru, an online platform described as ‘Tinder for retail buyers and product suppliers’, has secured a £300,000 investment.

The Scottish company has received financial backing from Asia-based retail technology investor Belmond Capital, Scottish retailer Scotmid and Scottish Enterprise.

Buyers from high street retailers including John Lewis, Tesco and TK Maxx have already signed up to use the technology platform, which allows their buyers to find new products for their shelves.

Maven Capital Partners, has led a £500,000 investment in back & posture care product specialist, Handsome Limited. A total of £250,000 was invested by NPIF – Maven Equity Finance, managed by Maven and part of the Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund, and £250,000 provided by the GMC Fund, along with the company’s lead China manufacturing partner.. The funding will allow the company to execute its ambitious marketing strategy to expand overseas, invest in product development and will create five new jobs in the region.