FORWARD FEATURES CALENDAR

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Xenikos, a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company currently developing a novel therapy for treating acute graft-versus-host disease (aGVHD), has secured USD30 million in a Series B financing round. Two new investors in the company – Medicxi Ventures and RA Capital Management – participated in the financing round. The funds will be used to advance the development of Xenikos’ lead compound, T-Guard, including conducting clinical Phase 3 registration trials in the US and EU, arranging commercial-scale production, and submitting the relevant applications for market approval. In connection with this financing, Dr Jon Edwards of Medicxi and Dr Jake Simson of RA Capital will
Law firm CMS is acting for main market listed ITE Group (ITE) on its proposed GBP300 million acquisition of Ascential’s Exhibitions Business.   The consideration for the acquisition (including estimated costs) is intended to be funded through a GBP315 million rights issue, which has been fully underwritten on a standby basis by Investec Bank plc. ITE is also seeking to increase its debt facilities by GBP50 million with a view to reducing the amount required to be raised by the rights issue to GBP265 million. It is expected that the rights issue will also be underwritten by Numis Securities Limited in due course. 
Investec Emerging Companies, part of Investec Corporate and Institutional Bank, is launching a fund, INVC, to invest in UK scale-up companies in the fintech and enterprise software sectors. The fund has a target size of up to USD100 million, and will fill a gap that currently exists between seed and Series A funding rounds. Investec will be the cornerstone investor, accounting for approximately 15 per cent of the fund, with the majority provided by institutional investors and remainder by a small number of private investors.   Three investments already held by Investec Emerging Companies – fintech companies Monese, Curve and
TECHNEDs has made a strategic investment in Measure My Energy that will utilise the investment firm’s expertise and planning in the field of emerging technologies. Together, TECHNEDs and Measure My Energy will explore new commercial strategies to disrupt the manner in which businesses can understand their utilities expenditure.   “We are very excited to have Measure My Energy as part of the TECHNEDs family. The field of energy monitoring presents significant opportunities for companies like Measure My Energy to enhance their focus on innovation and bring emerging technologies to market.” says Simon Mewett, CEO, TECHNEDs. “We also believe that by
Investcorp has established a platform to enter the highly fragmented German dental sector. As its initial investment, Investcorp has acquired Privatzahnarztklinik Schloss Schellenstein GmbH (PSS), one of the leading centres for implantology and dental surgery, which attracts both domestic and international patients and is based in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. PSS employs around 40 people including dentists, dental nurses and technicians and is led by Professor Dr. Fouad Khoury. The deal follows Investcorp’s recent acquisition of Acura Kliniken, a licensed hospital in Albstadt, Germany.   Following the acquisition of PSS, the platform intends to make further investments in the highly-fragmented German
Inverness Graham, a private investment firm based in suburban Philadelphia, has sold Spirion LLC, a provider of enterprise data management security software, to the Riverside Company.  Spirion helps customers reduce their sensitive data footprint and minimise risks of cyber-attacks.  Spirion’s customers include leading firms in the financial services, retail, healthcare, education, and public sectors. Inverness Graham acquired Spirion in December 2014.   “We are very pleased with the team’s accomplishments at Spirion during our three-year hold,” says Trey Sykes, Managing Principal of Inverness Graham. “The company was able to accelerate growth by both expanding their product capabilities and successfully penetrating strategically targeted,
Edison Partners has completed the sale of its stake in Billtrust, a payment cycle management specialist, to New York-based private equity firm W Capital Partners. The sale generated more than an 10x return for Edison, the first institutional investor in Billtrust. Additional financial terms of the sale were not disclosed.   Founded in 2001, New Jersey-based Billtrust helps companies automate and accelerate their accounts receivable (AR) processes to increase cash flow, improve operational efficiency and drive customer satisfaction. Since Edison’s investment, Billtrust has grown revenue 30x, built its workforce to more than 500 employees and acquired seven companies, including its most recent
Swarm, the blockchain for private equity, has listed SparkLabs, the largest accelerator network in Asia. Founded in 2013, SparkLabs supports innovation sectors including IoT, smart cities, sustainability, and healthcare. Through its listing of the SPRK Token, Swarm Fund will support SparkLabs’ effort to raise up to USD30 million through a security token offering. This will fund two of SparkLabs’ accelerators, one focused on smart city development in South Korea and another supporting sustainability efforts in Australia.   “We’re excited to bring this unique opportunity to support innovation to Swarm Fund’s members,” says Philipp Pieper, CEO and co-founder of Swarm Fund.
A team of Hogan Lovells’ lawyers has advised The Craftory, a newly incorporated UK company, on its incorporation and capitalisation by management and investors. The Craftory’s stated investment objective is to invest in the world’s boldest challenger brands across the Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) space (with a particular focus on the UK, USA and Mainland Europe). The aggregate capital commitment of the investors is approximately USD300 million.   The HL team was led by partner Robert Darwin. The corporate team included senior associates, Simon Grimshaw and Tarsis Goncalves alongside associate Sid Sethi. Partner Karen Hughes and Counsel Fiona Bantock led
Horizon Capital has exited its full stake in Ergopack, a Ukrainian manufacturer of household goods, to Sarantis, a European strategic investor and publicly-listed consumer goods company. Since Horizon Capital’s investment, Ergopack’s revenue has grown more than 15 times in local currency terms, the Company has launched an additional production facility in Ukraine and modernized its recycling processing capabilities. Together with Ergopack’s dedicated operating founders, Andrii Osypov and Andrii Fayura, Horizon Capital has played a vital role in the Company’s development, expanding and strengthening the management team and pivoting exports to Western markets. Horizon Capital also led efforts to instil best-in-class

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