Allocations
Venture capital firm Par Equity has closed five investments worth GBP4.85 million in just two days. The firm was lead investor and partnered with the Scottish Investment Bank on all five deals.
The trades included one new investment and four follow-ons. New to Par Equity’s portfolio is Amiqus, a software company based in Edinburgh that offers an encrypted online tool to automate anti-money laundering and compliance checks. Clients include HR and recruitment agencies alongside a host of professional services firms.
Paul Munn, Partner at Par Equity, says: “Our interest in Amiqus started as clients rather than investors. But there’s
VCT funding so far in January 2019 totals GBP91.3 million, up 245 per cent compared with the same time last January (GBP26.4 million), according to data released by Wealth Club.
Over GBP313 million has been raised so far this tax year. A total of GBP745 million was invested for the whole of the previous tax year, which was second highest year on record.
Northern VCTs, which closed last Thursday, is the latest to sell out, having raised GBP19.8 million in 11 days. Octopus AIM and Hazel Renewable Energy are the other two VCTs to have sold out so far
BGF has completed a further investment in The Prezola Group to deploy new technology platforms and prepare for targeted international expansion.
Through the brands Prezola and GettingMarried, The Prezola Group is focussed on digitising the experience of wedding guests, from invitations and RSVP to registry purchases, accommodation booking and memory sharing. Over one million wedding guests used the group’s market-leading services last year.
Prezola generated revenue growth of 57 per cent in 2018 and is now the UK’s leading provider of wedding websites and registries. BGF, the UK’s most active investor, first invested in Prezola in 2017 from its
Sphera, a provider of integrated risk management software and information services with a focus on operational risk, environmental health & safety and product stewardship, has acquired Petrotechnics, a provider of operational risk software for hazardous industries.
Petrotechnics is based in Aberdeen, Scotland. Established in 1989, Petrotechnics has helped keep people safe in hazardous industries, such as oil & gas, chemical and rail, among others.
Petrotechnics’ solutions help companies visualise and connect their operations, maintenance and planning processes with frontline risk mitigation software that provides Safe System to Work and Electronic Permit to Work functionality. The company’s software solutions are
Chaucer has merged with Virtrium Consulting in a transaction that creates one of the largest independent end-to-end digital transformation consultancies in the UK.
The deal was structured and executed with support from private equity firm GCP.
Virtrium was established in 2006 and specialises in IT strategy, architecture and transformation services across financial services, consumer and public sectors. The founding partners of Virtrium will move across as part of the deal, joining the Chaucer senior leadership team.
The combined Chaucer Group will have circa GBP35 million of revenue and more than 250 consultants across the UK, Europe and
heidelpay Group (heidelpay), a German FinTech payment services provider backed by private equity firm AnaCap Financial Partners (AnaCap), has acquired UNIVERSUM Group (UNIVERSUM).
UNIVERSUM is a Frankfurt-based payment service and debt collection provider that specialises in “PayLater” solutions – the largest and fastest growing payment method in DACH for e-commerce merchants. UNIVERSUM’s platform covers the entire receivables lifecycle, from credit-checking to recovery once debt collection is required, both in Germany and globally.
UNIVERSUM represents the fifth bolt-on acquisition for heidelpay since AnaCap’s initial investment in September 2017 and continues the core strategy to build out the Group’s payments omni- channel,
Broadhaven has made an investment in Wealth Technologies (WealthTech), a provider of algorithmic financial planning and advice.
“WealthTech has made conceptual breakthroughs in providing financial advice to large, diverse segments of the population,” says Greg Phillips, Co-Founder of Broadhaven and WealthTech investor. “Their highly experienced and accomplished team has developed intelligent, algorithmic solutions that address both the scalability and economics of the business model that could profoundly impact how personal financial services will be delivered in the future.”
Since its founding in 2016, WealthTech has developed the technology to generate professional financial planning and advice for individuals regardless of
21 Invest France has acquired ProductLife Group with the company’s management team also investing significantly in the operation.
ProductLife Group is a specialist in regulatory affairs outsourced management and pharmacovigilance for the Healthcare and Life Sciences industries and more specifically for pharmaceutical laboratories. The group, created 25 years ago, benefits today from a solid and diversified base of more than 300 clients, of which 36 are in the World Top 50. It offers its services in more than 100 countries, notably through Global Outsourcing contracts.
ProductLife Group reaches circa EUR25 million in sales with strong profitability. Thanks to its
Transatlantic venture capital investor, Beringea, has led a GBP6.5m investment in Exonar, a data discovery and management software firm.
Downing Ventures, the early stage investor, has also participated in the round alongside notable existing investors, Amadeus Capital Partners and Winton Ventures.
Enterprises are facing a fundamental change in the way they process and store information. An exponential increase in data volume means organisations must find new ways to understand the risk as well as the opportunities in their data. Driven by new regulation, cyber threats and competition, organisations who use data they hold effectively will survive and thrive.
BGF has made its fourth life sciences investment in the last few months, providing Nottingham-based business incubator BioCity with development capital, alongside Blue Skies Investments (BSI).
Founded in 2002 and a pioneer in the field, BioCity is the UK’s largest life science incubation business, providing specialist workspace for growing life science companies, including access to high-end equipment, shared services and training, as well as business advice through its expert network.
BioCity enables entrepreneurs to turn ideas into businesses that help address the world’s health and environmental needs by providing advice and funding in an environment that maximises a company’s
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12 November, 2026 – 8:00 am
12 November, 2026 – 5:00 pm
