Allocations
YFM Equity Partners-backed (YFM) passive fire protection specialist Checkmate Fire has joined forces with Rosse Systems, enabling the enlarged group to offer a more extensive portfolio of solutions for the active and passive fire protection industry and increasing its access to the market across the UK.
Checkmate Fire, which was supported by YFM in a management buyout in 2018, supplies a comprehensive range of third-party accredited survey, installation and compliance services to public and private sector customers throughout the UK. Headquartered near Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, it maintains passive fire safety in around 1,500 buildings, and completes more than 12,000 fire
Ryde, formerly Ryders, a SaaS platform for last-mile delivery, has raised GBP2.5 million to continue to expand its vision as ‘the world’s first fully-integrated delivery management system’.
Ryde’s mission is to unlock hyperlocal last-mile delivery for every business in every industry through their all-in-one solution.
Ryde (formerly Ryders), the SaaS (Software as a Service) platform for last-mile delivery, has announced today that it has raised GBP2.5 million to continue to expand its vision to become the world’s first fully integrated delivery management system.
“We want to unlock last-mile delivery for every business in the UK as we strongly believe hyper-localisation
Foresight Group (Foresight), a listed infrastructure and SME investment manager, has made a GBP4.75 million investment into Callen-Lenz Associates Limited (Callen-Lenz).
Callen-Lenz was founded in 2007 by Jonathan Webber, CEO, initially focused on technical consultancy for aviation research and development. The Company has developed novel hardware and software products which are sold globally, along with wider design and operational services.
Based near Salisbury, Wiltshire, the company develops, designs and manufactures air vehicles, vehicle components and navigation and communication software for high performance UAVs globally. Callen-Lenz provides a comprehensive range of UAV products, operating within extremely tight tolerances outside pilot
SnapDragon Monitoring, an online brand protection business, has raised GBP1.2 million in its latest funding round – bringing the total raised to just over GBP3 million – from ACF Investors, Mercia, and Scottish Enterprise, to help brand owners identify and remove fakes, copycats and online threats, using intellectual property to do so.
The funding will be used to develop the technology and AI/ML to further extend capabilities, to scale the infrastructure, and to continue to build the team to help an expanding base of global clients fight fakes and online threats.
The funding is also a positive for female-led technology
HumanForest, a truly sustainable micro-mobility platform, has raised GBP2.3 million at the close of its pre-series A funding round.
The company, founded by former-Cabify lead Agustin Guilisasti and backed by Cabify founders Juan de Antonio and Vicente Pascual, has announced the funding ahead of its launch in London this September.
HumanForest e-bikes operate a unique advertising-led revenue model, whereby consumers receive an advert from partners before and after using a HumanForest e-bike. This allows customers to ride for free for 10 minutes each day and costs GBP0.15 per minute thereafter. It is the first micro-mobility company to develop this innovative
Lovehoney, an e-commerce retailer, manufacturer and distributor of pleasure products and accessories, and WOW Tech Group, a provider of premium sexual wellness products, today announced a EUR1 billion merger and the creation of Lovehoney Group.
The newly formed Group will also include Amorana, a Swiss sexual well-being retailer acquired by Lovehoney in September 2020. Additional financial terms have not been disclosed.
The Lovehoney Group combines excellence in B2C sales and marketing, a leading multi-channel distribution network and R&D capabilities, with a strong portfolio of brands and patented technologies. This transaction will bring together some of the industry’s best known
GovExec, an information services company for government leaders and contractors, has acquired GovTribe, a market intelligence company for government contractors.
The terms of the acquisition, which was completed with financial support from mid-market private-equity firm Growth Catalyst Partners (GCP), have not been disclosed. Peter Goldstone, chairman of GovExec, served as adviser.
The acquisition continues GovExec’s rapid business expansion to build the leading suite of decision-support services for government leaders and contractors. GovTribe is the largest business development collaboration and market intelligence tool serving the public sector to be added to GovExec’s portfolio.
GovTribe was built by former government contractors turned
Forward Partners, a London-based venture capital firm specialising in supporting high growth, early-stage technology businesses, has announced its first portfolio company exits since its admission to AIM in July.
Forward Partners has exited its investments in Wonderbly, a publishing platform for personalised children’s books, and Heights, a brain health and cognition supplements company for a total of GBP5 million. The proceeds from the divestments will be reinvested in Forward Ventures and Forward Advances, in line with the IPO strategy. The Company, which invests in start-ups across eCommerce, digital marketplaces, and applied AI, exited from Wonderbly following private equity firm Graphite
Citizens M&A Advisory has served as the exclusive financial advisor to ID Images (IDI) on its sale to Sole Source Capital.
Headquartered in Brunswick, Ohio, IDI is a leading provider of durable and graphic intensive labels, along with an assortment of complementary products and value-added services. Established in 1995, IDI has grown both organically and through eleven strategic acquisitions to provide a comprehensive labelling solution to customers in the transportation and logistics, food and beverage, consumer durables, health and beauty, automotive and retail markets.
Brian Gale, president of IDI, says: “We are pleased with Citizens and their commitment throughout this
Appital has secured a GBP2.5 million investment from Frontline Ventures and a number of seasoned capital markets angel investors to bring technological innovation and automation to today’s equity capital markets.
The investment will accelerate the development of Appital’s technology infrastructure, integration with financial institutions as well as technology vendors and enable the expansion of their engineering team to support the delivery of their go-to-market strategy.
Appital’s mission is to bring innovation to Equity Capital Markets, an area largely untouched by automation, plagued by opaque legacy processes. A new trading platform that enables the discovery of latent liquidity, Appital offers the
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12 November, 2026 – 8:00 am
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