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VC investment into London’s tech companies has increased by nearly eight times between 2015 and 2020, while the city has attracted growing amounts of VC capital from North American investors in recent years, data from London & Partners and Dealroom.co shows.
London has added three new impact unicorns to its list this year; Octopus Energy, Arrival and Gousto, which takes London’s impact unicorns total up to four, including Babylon Health.
According to research produced by Dealroom.co, VC investment into impact tech startups in London has grown by almost 800 percent since 2015, compared to 3.1 times in Europe as a
Infrastructure investment manager I Squared Capital has expanded its European social infrastructure footprint with the acquisition of a portfolio of elderly and specialist health care homes in South West Germany, currently operated by Römergarten Residenzen and Römergarten Senioren-Residenzen Ba-Wü.Established in 2012 and based in Schifferstadt, South West Germany, Römergarten currently operates elderly care residences in the federal states of Rhineland-Palatinate, Hesse and Baden-Württemberg, providing a range of services, including nursing care, assisted living and specialised dementia care. Römergarten has a portfolio of modern nursing homes across 20 sites, with 2,000-plus beds.
I Squared Capital recognises the need for new and
Fast-growth manufacturing business, Joloda International Limited (JIL), has acquired US-based Loading Automation Inc (LAI) as part of its ambitious global expansion. The company’s progress is underpinned by the boom in the global ecommerce market and the increased adoption of warehouse and logistics automation.
Based in Wilmington, North Carolina, LAI has been a distributor of JIL’s products across North America for more than 15 years. JIL designs and manufactures loading technology systems that improve or automate the process of loading and unloading cargo onto vehicles. Demand for this critical automation infrastructure has accelerated this year as it drives benefits through the
Pacer Ventures, a venture firm for sub-Saharan Africa, has launched a USD3 million fund for early-stage startups, aimed at solving the most critical problem on the continent. Registered in Delaware, with operational offices in Lagos and Johannesburg, Pacer VC is focusing on verticals that are expedient to the African continent, including healthcare, financial inclusion, education and agriculture.
The UN projects that Africa will have a population of 1.68 billion people by 2030, while the GSMA Mobile Economy Report states that 84 per cent of Africa’s population or 1 billion people will have access to a SIM connection by 2025.
“We see
Onecom, one of the UK’s largest independent business telecommunications providers, has acquired Nice Network for an undisclosed sum as part of its ambitious three-year expansion strategy.The acquisition, Onecom’s second of 2020, sees Sunderland-headquartered Nice Network become a Onecom company. It strengthens Onecom’s presence in the North East of England, and creates significant opportunities to scale its business in the region through market-leading mobile, cloud-based hosted voice, connectivity and cyber security services.
Founded in 2002 and headquartered in Whiteley, Hampshire, Onecom has doubled its revenues over the last five years. It employs almost 400 people across seven regional offices and
Portobello Capital has announced a new investment fund of EUR350 million that will be placed entirely in the secondary market.The main objective of the new fund, Portobello Secondary Fund II, will be to promote the growth and internationalisation of two of its portfolio companies, Angulas de Aguinaga and Industrias Alimentarias de Navarra (IAN), owner among others of the Carretilla brand products.
With this new Fund raised, the second so far this year, Portobello consolidates itself as a leading and reference manager in the Spanish and European private capital market.
The new fund will also have an additional EUR100 million to
Vector Capital, a private equity firm specialising in transformational investments in established technology businesses, has appointed Anupam Banerjee as a Managing Director and Head of Value Creation. At Vector Capital, Banerjee will work with the firm’s investment team to underwrite new investments and assist portfolio companies to develop and execute go-to-market strategies, drive growth, and improve profitability.
Banerjee brings nearly two decades of proven technology industry and operating experience to Vector Capital. He was most recently a Partner in McKinsey & Company’s Technology, Media & Telecom and Marketing & Sales Practices and a leader in its global software team, where
Ironwood Capital has made an investment in Cox Transportation Services (Cox), a provider of truckload freight services. The majority recapitalisation was led by Expedition Capital Partners and Tecum Capital, with a subordinated debt and equity investment provided by Ironwood Capital. The three groups joined to back CEO Jay Smith in support of the company’s continued growth.
Established in 1982, Cox provides freight hauling and brokerage services to customers in a diversified group of industries across the U.S. The Company specialises in transporting time-sensitive full truckload freight on a local, regional and national basis. Cox also operates a brokerage division that serves
Pacer Ventures, a venture firm for sub-Saharan Africa, has launched a USD3 million fund for early-stage startups, aimed at solving the most critical problems on the continent. Registered in Delaware, with operational offices in Lagos and Johannesburg, Pacer VC is focusing on verticals that are expedient to the African continent, including healthcare, financial inclusion, education and agriculture.
The UN projects that Africa will have a population of 1.68 billion people by 2030, while the GSMA Mobile Economy Report states that 84 per cent of Africa’s population or one billion people will have access to a SIM connection by 2025.
“We see
Israeli VC firm Peregrine Ventures has launched its fifth fund and first growth fund, Peregrine Growth, focused on late stage life science companies that are on the verge of an IPO or M&A deal.
Peregrine Growth will invest USD20 to USD30 million per round in sectors including medical devices, pharma and digital health.
“With the renewed focus on biotech, health, and life science in the wake of the COVID-19 crisis, the potential of Peregrine Growth is great,” says Eyal Lifschitz, managing partner and co-founder at Peregrine Ventures.
Several of Peregrine’s current portfolio companies have pivoted to combat Covid-19. For example,
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