Brandon Capital, an Australasian life science venture capital firm, has co-led a $68 million series A financing of Pheon Therapeutics (Pheon). Other leading life sciences investors Forbion and Atlas Venture co-led the round, with participation from seed investor Research Corporation Technologies (RCT). Jonathan Tobin, Partner and head of Brandon Capital’s London office, takes on the role of Chairman of Pheon’s board of directors.  This new investment, Brandon’s largest into a European based company to date, will enable Pheon to advance its lead Antibody-Drug Conjugate (ADC) programme to clinical proof-of-concept and establish a pipeline of novel ADCs.  

Private equity firm Trive Capital, along with strategic operating partner, SideKick Operators, has formed OWL Services (OWL), a sales, installation, programme management, and service provider to petroleum and clean energy companies across North America. The Company is the result of the recent acquisition of seven businesses including, WildcoPES, CBE, Crompco, e-Structure Solutions, Great Dane Petroleum, JBI Electrical Systems and Oscar W Larson Company (Oscar Larson). Oscar Larson’s management team, staff and technicians, and technology platform, combined with the service offering of the six other companies, are the foundation of the OWL Services platform. OWL Services will be headquartered in the

Pembroke VCT plc, a venture capital trust focused on backing early-stage businesses led by founders and management teams, has invested £2.5 million in ethical glasses company Bloobloom as part of a £3.7 million fundraise. Investing alongside Pembroke VCT are DMG Ventures and several angel investors.  Established in 2018 by brothers Abbas and Fares Manai, Bloobloom is disrupting the glasses market by selling premium spectacles and sunglasses at a fair price, via a seamless buying experience. Bloobloom sells direct to consumers both online and offline through a growing store network, removing the middlemen and costs associated with them. This latest round of

Babcock International has signed a legally binding agreement with UK-based investment firm, Inspirit Capital to divest part of its Civil Training business, a leading provider of apprenticeships and adult education in the UK.  The transaction is expected to complete later this calendar year once certain completion conditions have been satisfied, including approval from the industry regulator. Babcock’s Civil Training business provides apprenticeships and adult education services to a range of global, blue-chip clients, including FTSE 100 and 250 Companies. The business operates nationwide with a focus on the automotive, rail, nuclear, retail, hospitality and social care sectors and has around

Tech24, backed by HCI Equity Partners, has acquired Allied Service Group (Allied), a provider of repair services, preventative maintenance and installation for foodservice and HVAC equipment, servicing restaurants, grocery stores and institutions in Southwest Tennessee and Northern Mississippi. Tech24 is a provider of repair and maintenance services for foodservice and commercial HVAC equipment.  Allied is Tech24’s twelfth add-on acquisition in the highly fragmented foodservice repair and maintenance market. Financial terms of the deal have not been disclosed.   The acquisition provides Tech24 with an additional entry point into the Southeastern US as Allied’s headquarters in Jackson, Tennessee, are near growing

abrdn’s Core Infrastructure team has agreed to make a major equity investment in Wessex Internet. The investment will help to accelerate the deployment of Wessex Internet’s full fibre-to-the-home network across rural parts of the South West of England.  abrdn will work together with Wessex Internet’s founders to support their vision for the future growth of the business.   Wessex Internet is a full fibre operator in the South West of England, having built an impressive fibre footprint across Dorset, Hampshire, Wiltshire and Somerset. The business has a network footprint covering tens of thousands of homes across these counties and has

Blackstone’s growth fund has bought a majority stake in sunscreen brand Supergoop at a $600 million to $700 million valuation, according to a report by Private Equity Insights. The senior management of Supergoop, including founder Holly Thaggard and Chief Executive Officer Amanda Baldwin, will retain significant equity ownership after the transaction, according to the report. Existing investors  such as Encore Consumer Capital and SWAT Equity are rolling over their stakes, Baldwin said. The firm said Blackstone’s investment will boost the company’s product range into the athletes and babies markets, and also extending its geographical reach to China. Ann Chung, Global

Yorkshire-based Private Equity House, Traditum has made a £1.75 million investment in Halifax-based Sniffers Pet Care. The funding will allow Sniffers to build on its established relationships, support the rollout of new brands and product ranges and will enable them to invest in new manufacturing and distribution roles at its Halifax (Elland) site.   Sniffers is a family-owned business with over 40 years of experience in the pet industry across retail and distribution.  Specialising in natural pet treats and supplying the likes of Pets at Home, Jollyes and hundreds of independent retailers with its brands including Walter Smith, Buffalo Natural

One of Turkey’s leading tech-enabled fulfilment companies, Istanbul-based OPLOG, has raised €11 million in a pre-series A funding round led by Esas Private Equity, The funding will be used to fuel the company’s expansion plans including plans to open its first fulfilment centre in the UK by the end of the year, as well as drive product research and development, including in its robotics division, TARQAN. In Q1 2023, OPLOG will become the only company in Europe other than Amazon to operate using in-house robotics technology within its fulfilment centres. Esas Private Equity has made numerous high-profile technology investments, including

Thompson Street Capital Partners (TSCP), a growth-focused private equity firm based in St Louis, and Endicott Capital (Endicott), an investment fund focused exclusively on the information services sector, have made a strategic investment in MediaRadar. TSCP will serve as the control investor, while former majority investor Frontier Growth, will remain a minority shareholder in MediaRadar.  Terms of the transaction have not been disclosed. Founded in 2007, MediaRadar is an provider of cross-media advertising intelligence that is highly targeted to the needs of media sellers, agencies, and brands. The Company’s more than 20,000 users rely on MediaRadar’s extensive database that tracks