WatchMyCompetitor (WMC) has secured £2 million in an investment round through Blackfinch Ventures and Praetura Ventures. Blackfinch and Manchester-based Praetura Ventures have both committed £1m investment to the deal.

WMC’s platform enables organisations to automatically monitor competitors, clients, regulators and key partners. The innovative software uses the latest cutting-edge artificial intelligence technology, combined with data analysts’ input to track anything available online, including websites, social media, press and other sources. The service automatically identifies commercial changes such as new product launches, promotions, price changes and organisational changes.

On Thursday 24th November, 2021, Playfair Capital and 120 of the world’s leading venture capital funds, including Accel, Amadeus, Atomico, Balderton, Creandum, EQT, Notion, Partech, Project A and Seedcamp will be holding remote office hours for more than 300 female founders from across Europe.

Dispensing with the need for warm introductions and breaking down the barriers to investment, each founder will have the opportunity to meet four investors during one hour of remote office hours to discuss their tech business idea, ask for advice, pitch for investment or find a mentor. 

Circularity Capital, the specialist private equity firm supporting growth stage European SMEs in the circular economy, has announced the appointment of Maximillian Bork as a new member of the firm’s investment team.

Zouk Capital has committed an initial £30m investment to launch a new public EV charging company called Zest, supported by the Charging Infrastructure Investment Fund (CIIF). Zest intends to democratise EV ownership by rapidly filling the gaps in the UK’s maturing EV infrastructure.

Today’s EV infrastructure has evolved to serve early adopters, prioritising home driveway and rapid en-route charging. The Zest mission is to make the shift to EV a realistic option for everyone, by rapidly growing a network that makes fast charging available where people regularly park for more than 30 minutes, whether it is when shopping, at leisure or at work.

North west-based multi-family investment office Arete, has led a £1.6m investment into Travel Seen, an early stage business co-founded by award-winning entrepreneur and travel professional, Jen Atkinson.

Getsafe, the digital insurer targeting millennial buyers in Germany and the UK, has expanded its Series B funding round to $93M. The company is now serving a quarter of a million customers in Germany and the UK, consolidating its position as Europe's largest neo-insurer.

Imophoron, a developer of a novel, next generation rapid-response vaccine platform, ADDomer(TM), to combat present and future infectious diseases, has secured £4 million in an oversubscribed fundraising round. 

JPIN Venture Catalysts Ltd, a world-leading startup investment bank, has joined Cambridge Cleantech  as an ‘Investor in Residence’ with a lead focus on UK-India opportunities, alongside business leaders including fellow investors, corporates, entrepreneurs, academia and government.

GP Bullhound has announced that Fund V has closed oversubscribed at the hard cap of €300m.

Entia, a medical technology business, which recently announced a commercial partnership with Pfizer UK, raised $12 million earlier in the year in a funding round co-led by UK growth capital investor, BGF and growth fund manager, Parkwalk, with participation from existing seed investor Sussex Place Ventures.

EquiTrace, a unique app for horses that combines identity, GPS and medical records data using a scanner, a microchip and a mobile phone, has signed an investment agreement with a syndicate of HBAN angel investors led by Brendan Nevin, CEO of Code Institute for 1million euros.  Enterprise Ireland will also be investing in the company, providing 250,000 euros.  EquiTrace will use the investment to grow the company, building a sales and development team as well as investing in marketing, and focus on global expansion.

Maven Capital Partners has agreed a joint venture with Taggart Homes, the award winning housebuilder, to develop 150 new-build family homes in Mansfield, Nottinghamshire.