Goldman Sachs Asset Management’s Petershill programme has made a strategic minority investment in middle-market private equity firm Harvest Partners.  The passive investment, which represents 15 per cent of the firm, will allow Harvest Partners to expand the ownership of the firm and further develop its platform, building on the firm’s long history of investing in the middle-market in North America. As part of the transaction, Harvest Partners’ senior leadership has made long-term commitments to the business. Terms of the transaction have not been disclosed. Thomas Arenz, a Partner of Harvest Partners, says: “We are very pleased to be partnering with Goldman Sachs,

METRON, the France-based developer of an energy intelligence platform for industry, has completed a new EUR8 million fundraising. The fundraising includes commitments from BNP Paribas, Financière Fonds Privés, which enables private investors to invest directly in high potential companies, and existing shareholder, Breed Reply, a leading active operational investor in early-stage Internet of Things businesses.   The funds will enable METRON to accelerate its international growth, and the further development of its AI-based energy optimisation solutions. Since its creation in 2013, METRON has raised nearly EUR12 million, including this round.   Vincent Sciandra, CEO and Co-founder of METRON, says: “We

Talis Capital, a London-based VC family office focussed on early-stage technology companies and one of the largest investors, has announced a USD20 million seed funding round into Oh My Green, a concierge-style provider of healthy food and wellness services for corporations of all sizes. Other investors that participated in the round included Y Combinator, Initialized Capital, Powerplant Ventures, Backed VC, ZhenFund, and Stanford-StartX Fund. The new capital will be used to further advance Oh My Green’s innovative wellness platform, which incorporates artificial intelligence and IoT technology to enhance supply chain management and improve personalization of the company’s food services. Additionally,

London-based investment fund, Fuel Ventures, has invested GBP500,000 in an on-demand manufacturing platform Manufacturingsource.com, which connects design and production engineers with suitable and trusted manufacturers to create custom parts. The site, which has attracted a global network of engineers and manufacturers, allows customers to get instant quotes and place orders, from prototypes to full scale production, on a single platform.   Entrepreneurs Sam Al-Mukhtar and Will Hoyer Millar launched Manufacturingsource.com in 2017, after the pair realised there was a clear opportunity to address a known problem within the Manufacturing sector, which was last year estimated at GBP384.5 billion in the

Foresight Group (Foresight) has made a GBP1 million investment into Nottingham-based Alpkit Limited (Alpkit) on behalf of the Foresight Nottingham Fund, alongside bank funding provided by HSBC. Alpkit is a fast-growing designer and retailer of outdoor clothing and equipment. Targeting the outdoor adventure enthusiast, Alpkit provides high quality clothing and equipment at an affordable price and offers over 500 lines across clothing, equipment and bikes. All products are designed at the Company’s HQ in Newthorpe, Nottingham, with a focus on technical performance, providing their customers with “gear that costs less but works harder.”   Alpkit was founded in 2004 by

CuraSen Therapeutics, a privately held biotechnology company focussed on developing therapies to treat neurodegenerative diseases, has closed a USD54.5 million Series A financing Led by New Leaf Venture Partners. The investor syndicate also includes Longitude Capital, funds managed by Tekla Capital Management LLC, Alta Partners, Johnson & Johnson Innovation – JJDC, Inc. (JJDC), and Pappas Capital.   CuraSen is developing small molecule drugs targeting a novel mechanism in the brain to alleviate disabling symptoms and modify disease pathology in patients who suffer from less common (orphan) neurodegenerative disorders as well as Parkinson’s Disease and Alzheimer’s Disease. These symptoms include cognition,

Roquette, a specialist in plant-based ingredients for Food, Nutrition and Health markets and a pioneer in new vegetal proteins, and Equinom Ltd, an Israel-based breeding technology company, have signed a partnership agreement for the development and sourcing of new pea varieties with high-protein content. In addition to this new collaboration, Roquette and Equinom’s current shareholder Fortissimo Capital will jointly invest USD4 million in the company to support its further development. This is the first agreement and investment made by Roquette in Israel. Through this collaboration Roquette is able to be involved on the cutting edge of new non-GMO plant variety

The UK’s first fully-automated fashion manufacturing marketplace Sewport has secured GBP650,000, less than a year after it launched. Only launched at the end of 2017, and founded by Latvian entrepreneur Boris Hodakel, Sewport has attracted more than 500 manufacturers and suppliers, as well as more than 4,000 brands internationally.   The company connects small to medium sized fashion brands and budding designers with manufacturers at all stages of development, enabling them to bring their designs to life in an easy and cost-effective way. Boris started the company after working with luxury high fashion brands and realising there was a gap