Deals
A Newcastle tech start-up whose software helps sales staff to find and close new leads has raised GBP400,000 to further develop its product and expand its team.Allegrow has secured funding from the North East Venture Fund (NEVF), which is supported by the European Regional Development Fund and managed by Mercia, along with investment from Mercia’s EIS funds and a number of private investors.
Allegrow is a sales automation platform for business to business companies – where generating new opportunities is a top priority. The platform puts sales representatives in touch with key decision-makers in their target industries through data-driven outreach,
A Liverpool-based chemical technology company helping in the fight against dementia, cancer and respiratory illnesses, has secured GBP2.25 million in a funding round led by the VC firms Deepbridge Capital and Praetura Ventures.Liverpool ChiroChem (LCC), the developer and manufacturer of chemical components that are critical to the research and development of new drugs, also saw investment from NPIF – Maven Equity Finance, managed by Maven and part of the Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund.
LCC is a chemistry-based contract research organisation (CRO) that produces and supplies chiral small molecules to the global pharmaceutical and biotech research and development sector. Its goal
A Coventry-based manufacturer responsible for producing all-electric, black taxis – ‘Hackney Carriages’ – approved by Transport for London (TfL) has secured a GBP1.25 million loan.The funding, which was provided by the Midlands Engine Investment Fund and Maven Capital Partners, will enable Dynamo to recruit and train 50 new employees. The firm is also set to scale up its production capacity.
Dynamo produces an electric taxi known as the ‘Dynamo taxi’. A fully electric version of London’s iconic black cab, the zero-emission vehicle is based on the Nissan e-NV200 and is manufactured in association with Nissan.
Dynamo taxis were
Clayton, Dubilier & Rice has completed the acquisition of Huntsworth, a provider of specialty services that help pharmaceutical and biotech companies commercialise new therapies and support the life cycle of drug innovation for multiple years, from Phase II and Phase III trials to loss of exclusivity. The transaction was valued at GBP577 million.
Huntsworth’s broad range of value-added service include Medical Affairs, Market Access, and Marketing services to a large and diverse portfolio of clients consisting primarily of pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies in the US and Europe. Over the last 10 years, the business has transformed from a traditional communications agency
Levine Leichtman Capital Partners Europe (LLCP) has acquired SiPM in partnership with management and its founding partners. Terms of the transaction have not been disclosed.Founded in Belgium, SiPM is a pioneer in high-impact e-learning solutions for blue-chip corporations worldwide. The Company has changed the way their clients train their procurement, supply chain and sales professionals by providing role-specific curriculum and the latest e-learning methods, resulting in maximum impact for employees and organisations. Since its founding, SiPM has rapidly expanded its platform to over 50,000 individuals employed by over 200 blue-chip corporations in over 100 countries worldwide.
David Rajakovich, Managing Director
Oxwash, a laundry and dry-cleaning startup aiming to disrupt the traditional laundry service sector, has secured a GBP1.4 million investment from TrueSight Ventures, Biz Stone (co-founder of Twitter), Paul Forster (founder of Indeed.com), Founders Factory and other angel investors. Oxwash’s service is taking medical-grade laundry technology typically used in spaceship and hospital sterilisation and making it accessible to all. The new investment will be used to expand Oxwash’s reach across South East England and scale the team
Oxwash, founded by former NASA engineer Kyle Grant, uses ozone generation technology and delivery to provide coronavirus (Covid-19) disinfection for customers. Oxwash combines ozone disinfection
KPS Capital Partners (KPS) has signed a definitive agreement to acquire the Lufkin rod lift solutions business (Lufkin) from Baker Hughes (NYSE: BKR). Lufkin was founded in 1902 and acquired in 2013 by General Electric’s (NYSE: GE) Oil & Gas division. The division subsequently merged with Baker Hughes, Inc in 2017.
Lufkin, headquartered in Missouri City, Texas, is a leading global provider of rod lift products, technologies, services and solutions, including automated control and optimisation equipment and software for rod lift equipment to the oil and gas industry. With over 100 years of industry leadership, Lufkin manufactures a complete line
A majority (83 per cent) of private equity GPs do not expect to make a portfolio exit within the next 12 months in the Covid-19 environment, a new report by Investec reveals.
The number of private equity (PE) backed deals for AIM companies has trebled in the last 12 months and the Covid-19 driven stock market fall could see this trend continue if AIM’s valuation gap with the main market grows, says accountancy and business advisory firm, BDO LLP.12 companies from AIM were acquired and taken private by PE funds in 2019/20, up from just four deals in 2018/19 (year end March 31).
BDO says that if the Covid-19 crisis impacts on share prices, AIM companies could see a repeat of previous cycles, when low AIM company valuations saw PE funds
Appentra, a spin-off of La Coruña University, has raised EUR1.8 million in a new investment round led by Armilar Venture Partners and K Fund, also joined by Caixa Capital Risc, Xesgalicia and Unirisco, the investors that had already trusted the company since its very early stages. The new investors will bring a strong expertise as international VCs specialised in B2B software companies, and will help to fully realise Appentra’s vision.
Since its foundation, Appentra has become a reliable partner and software supplier among its customers in the United States, Saudi Arabia and Europe. Closing this round of investment successfully contributes to
Events
12 November, 2026 – 8:00 am
12 November, 2026 – 5:00 pm
