Business angels continue to be a significant source of equity investment for start up and early stage businesses with 70% of angels investing in early-stage businesses. British Business Bank's Small Business Equity Tracker, published this week, found that two-thirds (64%) of respondents to the Bank's survey of UK angel investors have matched or increased their investments from 2023 to 2024.

Six companies have received investment from a new angel investor network The Clarendon Private Investor Network (CPIN) in the past 12 months, with a number of additional funding rounds due to complete in the next few weeks.

The Minerva Business Angels investment network - part of the University of Warwick Science Park - brought new investors and business founders together as part of the UK Business Angel Association's (UKBAA) ‘Embracing Diversity' series of talks around the country.

Lifted Ventures, the female-founded investment network championing women entrepreneurs, has formed a strategic partnership with prominent law firm Gordons and leading wealth manager RBC Brewin Dolphin. This partnership is designed to catalyse investment into women-led businesses and to grow the number of women investors in the UK's early-stage funding ecosystem.

In addition to supporting women founders, the partnership places a strong emphasis on encouraging and equipping more women to become active angel investors, helping to reshape the investment landscape from both sides of the table.

DSW Ventures, the venture capital investment arm of Dow Schofield Watts, has led a pre-seed investment into RoxFit, a York-based hybrid fitness platform that provides training and racing insights. RoxFit is already established in the Hyrox community, a hybrid racing event that has exploded in popularity in recent years.

DSW Ventures led the £800,000 round, with co-investment from regional angel group, York Angels, and additional angel investment from across Europe and the US.

Despite the uncertainty and volatility of the financial year to March 2025, Scotland's angel investors maintained their support for Scotland's emerging high-potential SMEs, according to the latest annual data from Angel Capital Scotland.

Dorset Business Angels (DBA) hosted a successful pitch event on 22 May with three of the five presenting companies receiving expressions of interest from the 30+ attending angel investors.

Angel Investor Forum has reported an increase of its AIF Seed Fund V to $1.35 million as well as new investments of $125,000 in Reach Neuro and $150,000 in TETmedical. AIF Fund V provides AIF members with access to a carefully curated portfolio of high-potential early-stage companies while adhering to rigorous due diligence and investment analysis processes.

Lifted Ventures has announced a new partnership with the British Business Bank aimed at transforming the investment landscape for women outside of London, by supporting both women-led startups and the women investors backing them.

This strategic collaboration focuses on increasing the flow of capital to female founders, while simultaneously expanding the pool of women angel investors through targeted education and ecosystem-building initiatives. Through this partnership, Lifted Ventures will deliver a series of initiatives, events, and educational content designed to empower women founders and activate more investors to back them, supported by the British Business Bank.

Despite a complex global landscape, angel investors are planning to invest more in startups in 2025 than last year, with cautious optimism the prevailing mood. This is the key finding from the latest global survey of investors from Angel Investment Network (AIN), the world's largest online angel investment network.

The British Business Bank has made the first investment under its new co-investment strategy as part of its £285m Regional Angels Programme to Wales-based Space Forge, a company that utilises the space environment to manufacture advanced semiconductor materials for critical infrastructure, ensuring more powerful and resilient capabilities across telecommunications, aerospace, and quantum. Space Forge's £22.6m series A round was led by NATO Innovation Fund.

The British Business Bank has committed £7 million to a new platform enabling it to invest alongside five of the UK's promising and emerging angel syndicates. The platform will be managed by Haatch, an existing partner of the Bank.