yulife, the life insurance company which puts wellbeing at the heart of its insurance offering, has announced that it has secured £10 million in Series A funding. The round was led by Creandum Funds, backers of Spotify, iZettle and depop. MMC Ventures and Notion Capital participated in the round alongside existing investors Anthemis Exponential Ventures, RGAX and Israel’s most active venture investor OurCrowd. This new round of funding follows a previous £3m seed-round led by LocalGlobe.

Albemarle Street Partners (ASP), the specialist advice and investment management consultancy for advisers, has announced the appointment of Charlie Parker as Managing Director. 

Bowmark Capital, the mid-market private equity firm, has agreed to sell Aston Lark, a leading independent insurance broker, to Goldman Sachs’ Merchant Banking Division.  Completion of the transaction is expected to occur following receipt of approvals from the Financial Conduct Authority and the Central Bank of Ireland, and antitrust approval.

Edison Group, the leading investment research, investor relations and consulting firm, headquartered in London, with offices in New York, Europe and Asia-Pacific, has established Edison Israel, a joint venture with GK Investor Relations (GK), Israel’s market leading international IR firm, based in Tel Aviv.

Hardman & Co has introduced a new panel service which will help advisers cope with what it calls the “…the greatest financial planning opportunity of our generation…”

Having reviewed the entire non-AIM Business Relief market, the firm is now creating panels of products which are tailored to the needs of an adviser’s business, and range of client profiles. It will also review and update panels on a regular basis, so that advisers are always up-to-date in their recommendations.

Leicester-based Furnley House Limited, a firm of independent financial advisers and mortgage brokers, has received a £200,000 investment from the Midlands Engine Investment Fund (MEIF).

Insurance startup, Urban Jungle has announced a £2.5 million seed funding round with participation from a range of new and existing high profile Angel investors, including Rob Devey, ex CEO of Prudential UK, and Simon Rogerson, CEO of Octopus Group.

Nivo, the Manchester-based instant messaging and identity verification platform, has announced the close of a £2m funding round from GP Bullhound, the Angel CoFund and a syndicate of angel investors. This funding will be used to accelerate growth and product innovation, cementing Nivo’s position as the fastest, safest way for financial services companies to sign up and service their customers.

Masthaven, the UK specialist bank, has completed a strategic £60 million investment by Värde Partners, a leading global alternative investment firm. The completion of the investment will enable the bank to deliver against its strategic ambition to become one of the leading specialist banks in UK residential and SME markets.

Astarte Capital Partners has established a £400m investment platform with a focus on transforming prime infill and edge-of-prime real estate into institutional-quality “future core” assets, predominantly across Greater London.

This new platform will initially create a closed-end structure of £400 million, deployed across 8-10 investment opportunities in the hospitality, entertainment, healthcare and education sectors that have the potential to be developed and/or re-positioned as core real estate assets. Astarte Special Opportunities Platform (ASOP), the firm’s discretionary co-investment vehicle, is leading the investment in the new platform and providing the model for its structure.

BEX Capital, the first investment firm focused exclusively on fund-of-funds (FoF) secondaries, has announced the close of BEX Fund III, with total commitments of $365 million. 

Silicon Valley Bank, the bank of the world’s most innovative businesses, enterprises and their investors, has appointed Erin Platts as Head of EMEA and President of Silicon Valley Bank’s UK Branch.

Platts’ appointment was approved by the FCA today. She replaces Phil Cox, who has taken the Chief Operating Officer role with the parent company, SVB Financial Group, at its headquarters in Santa Clara, California. Simon Bumfrey will take over Platt’s previous role, Head of Relationship Banking, Europe.