Managers
Midlands Engine Investment Fund (MEIF) Debt Finance, managed by Maven Capital Partners (Maven), has provided Sleaford Building Services Limited (SBS) with a GBP750,000 funding package.
Greater-Lincolnshire based SBS provide clients with a range of services including design and build MEP Services, alongside installation and coordination services for pre-designed projects. The firm will use the loan to support its growth plans, helping deliver a number of upcoming contracts, while also creating 15 new jobs.
SBS is led by Managing Director, Barry Exton and his management team. Founded in Exton’s back garden in 2003, the firm has successfully grown into one
Venture capital firm BIP Capital has closed BIP Capital Venture Fund IV, with USD101 million in capital commitments, surpassing its target of USD100 million.
Venture Fund IV will provide Series A and Series B financing for market-disrupting B2B SaaS and tech-enabled services companies focused on Enterprise SaaS, Healthcare IT, Digital Media, Dev Tools, and MarTech.
The firm will continue to focus on companies in the southeastern United States’ startup ecosystem, while also expanding into the Midwest where it has already begun making investments. BIP Capital currently has more than 30 companies in its investment portfolio.
In August, BIP Capital
The Citco Group of Companies (Citco) has expanded partnership with Solovis, a multi-asset class portfolio management, analytics and reporting platform for asset owners and allocators.
The strategic partnership with Solovis spans business, technology and services and includes an equity investment in Solovis. This relationship enhances the performance reporting and analytics services currently provided by Citco Institutional Services, the firm’s investment record-keeping and reporting team for institutional investors.
The expanded relationship builds upon the two firms’ existing partnership, in place for over a year, and extends the capabilities of the Citco Institutional Services business line, which was launched in June
Future Industrial Services (FIS), a provider of specialist environmental and industrial services, has announced a 22 per cent increase in turnover following its acquisition of Colt Industrial Services (Colt) and further investment in its management team and fleet.
Headquartered in Kirkby, Merseyside, FIS works with clients including government, major utility and multi-national companies to provide a range of cost-effective solutions to waste management and decontamination requirements, including specialist recovery facilities for oils and heavy metals.
The company, which was backed by private equity firm NorthEdge Capital in April 2017 in a deal that valued the company at GBP16 million,
JP Morgan Asset Management has held the final closing of its Lynstone Special Situations Fund (Lynstone), with USD1.06 billion in capital raised from a broad set of global investors comprising of pension funds, insurance companies, banks, foundations, endowments and family offices across the Americas, Europe, the Middle East and Asia.
More than half of investors are first-time investors in a JP Morgan Alternatives fund.
Lynstone will invest in stressed, distressed and event driven situations across North American and European private and public credit markets, where underlying assets are discounted due to illiquidity or market disruption and where an event
SPOKE, a direct to consumer menswear brand, has raised GBP8.5m of new equity capital in a Series B round led by BGF and supported by existing shareholders Forward Partners, Oxford Capital, and 24 Haymarket.
The new funds will be used to accelerate growth in four core areas: technology, product innovation, brand building and international expansion.
An early adopter of the direct to consumer model, Spoke has applied machine learning tools and an agile approach to inventory to create and sell ‘legendary legwear’.
“We believe that fit matters most” explains founder and CEO, Ben Farren. “Mr. Average doesn’t exist
NPIF – Mercia Equity Finance, which is managed by Mercia and is part of the Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund, has invested GBP500 thousand in Airship Services Ltd, a provider of customer relationship and marketing platforms.
The funding will allow the Sheffield-based company to further develop its technology and create eight new jobs in the coming months for additional developers, sales and customer service staff.
The company’s first product, Airship is used by over 50 customers across more than 600 locations. Airship draws together data from different sources to help operators understand more about their customers and their visiting habits.
Capitala Group, a provider of capital to lower middle market companies, has entered into a strategic partnership with, and sold a minority non-controlling interest of its management firm, to Mitsui & Co (USA), Inc (Mitsui USA).
Mitsui USA is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Mitsui & Co Ltd, trading, investment and service enterprises in the world. The partnership combines Capitala’s 20-year track record with Mitsui USA’s global reach and capabilities.
Capitala’s current management team will remain in place, continue to execute their vision, investment process, and provide day-to-day management.
“For 20 years, Capitala Group has invested and supported lower
Sykes Holiday Cottages has secured fresh investment from private equity firm Vitruvian Partners to fund the fast-growing firm’s plans for further UK and international expansion.
The transaction sees Vitruvian invest an undisclosed sum for a majority stake in Sykes, replacing existing backers Livingbridge following their five-year partnership with the company.
At the time of Livingbridge’s investment in January 2015, Sykes managed 5,000 properties in the UK and Ireland and generated GBP17 million revenue. The business today manages over 17,500 properties, having delivered market leading organic growth and completed 12 acquisitions underpinned by a highly effective digital transformation strategy.
Sykes enjoyed a record year in
Specialist eCommerce platform Online Poundshop has secured considerable investment from venture capital firm Midven, allowing the company to upgrade current warehouse systems, and create a range of new positions across the business – including marketing and distribution roles.
The investment has come from the GBP35 million West Midlands equity portion of the Midlands Engine Investment Fund (MEIF).
Based in Wednesbury and founded in 2014, Online Poundshop offers a wide variety of top brands and essential products at a discounted price direct to customers across the UK. The company has seen rapid growth since its inception largely due to a
Events
12 November, 2026 – 8:00 am
12 November, 2026 – 5:00 pm
