Coinpanion, an Austrian start-up for easy entry into the world of crypto investments, has increased its €1.8 million seed investment from last autumn to a total of €5.5 million making it one of the largest seed investments in Austrian start-up history. Founded in Vienna, the FinTech platform Coinpanion enables anyone to profit from the cryptocurrency market without requiring in-depth knowledge.  No less than three other internationally renowned investors are joining Coinpanion as part of the follow-up financing round, and want to support the Vienna-based FinTech in its further expansion. They include US investor Wicklow Capital, early-stage investor in crypto-custodians Ledger,

Applied Monitoring, the Durham-based developer of sensor technology that can detect alcohol and drugs in a person’s blood by scanning their skin, has raised a £600,000 investment to enable it to commercialise its product. The funding round was co-led by the North East Venture Fund (NEVF), supported by the European Regional Development Fund and managed by Mercia, and the Finance Durham Fund, managed by Maven Capital Partners, established by Durham County Council and overseen by Business Durham.   The deal also includes a £100,000 investment from the Centre of Processing Innovation to support further research and development of its technology.

Align Capital Partners (ACP) has closed two strategic add-ons for Protegis Fire & Safety – Florida-based Metro Fire Protection Services, and Ohio-based PDS Systems, LLC (“PDS”) in April 2022. Founded in 1983, Metro provides installation, inspection and repair services to commercial customers in a variety of end markets. Co-owner Doug Crawford will continue to lead Metro as a member of the Protegis team.  Since its founding in 1994 by Phil Sisia, PDS has been dedicated to being a one-stop-shop for its customers’ fire alarm and access control systems. PDS specialises in the design of fire and smoke detection alarm systems,

Data and technology company mnAI has acquired the assets of connected data specialist Regulation Technologies Limited to further enhance mnAI’s data driven insight offering. mnAI is a data, insight and analytics platform that uses proprietary technology to provide enhanced research, analytics and due diligence on all UK companies. Utilising cutting-edge algorithms, it specialises in building hard-to-obtain datasets, including ESG and Relational Networks, on private companies. Regulation Technologies Limited is a provider of “connected data” solutions. It helps financial and professional service organisations to mitigate risk and enhance KYC and KYB practices with a connected dataset of all UK companies and

Perforce Software (Perforce), a provider of solutions to enterprise teams requiring productivity, visibility, and scale along the development lifecycle, backed by Francisco Partners and Clearlake Capital Group, is to acquire Puppet, an infrastructure automation software platform which enables users to deliver, update, monitor, and secure software across physical and virtual machines.  Financial terms of the transaction have not been disclosed. By increasing productivity, eliminating mistakes, enhancing security, and accelerating software delivery for DevOps teams, Puppet’s solutions support customers on their digital transformation journeys.  Puppet was an early developer of what is now referred to as “infrastructure-as-code.” More than 40,000 organisations

Family-owned business Triangle Fire Systems, one of the UK’s industry leaders in the installation of fire sprinkler systems, has secured a £9 million investment from BGF. Founded in 2006 by three brothers (Colin, Nigel and Steve Chantler), Triangle Fire Systems specialises in the design, installation, and maintenance of sprinkler systems in domestic, commercial and retail buildings across the UK. With a particular focus on residential developments and high-rise apartments, the business has achieved consistent year-on-year growth, emerging as an industry leader in an otherwise fragmented market.    The investment from BGF will enable Triangle Fire Systems to expand its team

Global private equity investor Advent International (Advent) is to acquire IRCA, an Italian producer of specialty ingredients for artisanal pastries, cakes and gelatos, from global investment firm Carlyle.  Terms of the transaction have not been disclosed. Headquartered in Gallarate, Italy, IRCA currently supports artisan chefs in over 100 countries. It employs over 1,000 people and has seven production plants and four innovation and demonstration kitchens in Europe, North America and Asia. Carlyle invested in IRCA in June 2017 through Carlyle Europe Partners IV (CEP IV), a European-focused, upper mid-market buyout fund.  Advent will work with the current IRCA management team

Pan-European private equity firm Silverfleet Capital has entered into a binding agreement to sell Prefere Resins (Prefere), a specialist in phenolic and melamine resins, to One Rock Capital Partners (One Rock). Completion of the transaction is subject to customary anti-trust and FDI approvals and is expected to occur in the second or third quarter of 2022.  The terms of the transaction have not been disclosed.    Silverfleet invested in Prefere Resins in 2018 having identified the potential to help the Company expand further, both organically and through acquisition. Since then, Prefere has developed well; investing in new capacity, growing its

Netomnia, a provider of full fibre broadband infrastructure, and internet service provider YouFibre (collectively, the “Group”) have secured £295 million in new funding in a round led by DigitalBridge Investment Management (DigitalBridge), the investment management platform of DigitalBridge Group, Inc.  DigitalBridge’s equity investment will come alongside follow-on commitments from existing shareholders Soho Square Capital LLP and Advencap Limited.   Founded by CEO Jeremy Chelot, who has a strong track record in the full fibre network sector, Netomnia is committed to delivering a multi-gigabit broadband network across the UK. The Group has achieved more than 130,000 premises passed since rollout commenced

Investec Bank (Investec) has advised LRG Online (trading as Secret Sales) on an equity fundraising round to accelerate its international expansion.  Investec acted as sole adviser to Secret Sales, which saw existing investors increase their backing at a higher valuation. Secret Sales closed its Series A funding round in June 2021, with the investment used for technological development to scale its e-commerce platform and prepare for international expansion.  The funding announced coincides with the first phase of its European rollout through the launch of two new international websites in the Netherlands and Belgium.  The latest round of investment will further