As the talent dilemma continues, UK businesses are ramping up their focus on retaining and upskilling their existing workforce. New research [1] from recruitment specialist Robert Half UK, reveals more than one in three senior executives (31%) believe employee retention and training are the two main talent management concerns facing their industry until 2020. Talent retention is a particular concern for large businesses (35%), compared to one in three (29%) small and medium-sized businesses.

Graphite Capital, a leading UK mid-market private equity specialist, has backed the management buy-out of Hanson Wade, the market-leading conference organiser and provider of information services, focused primarily on the pharmaceutical and biotech industries.

Hanson Wade’s management team is led by Tom Richardson, who has overseen a period of rapid expansion since being appointed chief executive in 2015. Between 2016 and 2018, the company’s portfolio of events almost doubled to 108 and its revenues increased by 117% to £22.6 million.

Appnovation has received £9.3m in equity financing from a joint partnership between the Canadian Business Growth Fund (CBGF) and the UK’s BGF. The investment will allow Appnovation to accelerate its international growth and expansion strategy, spurring jobs and economic growth in Canada, the UK and beyond.

Appnovation is a full-service digital consultancy, focused on delivering meaningful business outcomes that drive innovation, growth and ultimately value for its clients. Through digital strategy and a deep industry focus across a variety of verticals (including some of the largest financial services and pharmaceutical companies in the world),Appnovation’s expertise with user-centric, design-led experiences and open technology platforms, helps brands to better engage their customers.

Keensight Capital, one of the leading European Growth Buyout¹ firms, has entered into an exclusive agreement to acquire a majority stake in Smile, the European leader in digital and open source. Subject to the completion of the information and consultation process of the employees representative bodies of the Smile group and the approval of the transaction by the French competition authority, Keensight Capital, which has built a strong partnership with Smile over the years having first invested in the company from 2013 to 2017, would replace Eurazeo PME as majority shareholder. Eurazeo PME would also be reinvesting in the company, alongside the management team and the employees.

Ashfords has advised WhiteHat on its recent $16 investment by Index Ventures, with participation from Lightspeed Venture Partners and Salesforce Ventures.

The Qube the capital’s coworking studio complex for creatives has announced a £1.9m funding round led by the Angel CoFund, UK music industry veterans AEI Group, and a strategic cohort of angel investors including co-founder of Mixcloud, Nikhil Shah, and ex-MD and co-founder of Investec, Bernard Kantor. The funding will be used to develop their 16,000 square foot flagship site ahead of its launch.

WeGift, the digital rewards platform, has secured £4 million in Series A funding, led by Fred Destin at Stride.vc, who also joins the Board of Directors, and other high-profile investors including SAP.iO fund and Unilever Ventures. WeGift also announced new angel investors including James Hind, founder of Carwow and Eamon Jubbawy at Onfido. This investment round will help WeGift deliver on its vision of creating the world’s first real-time infrastructure for digital rewards and incentives. The funds will be used to further scale WeGift’s operations, as well as to support the company’s expansion to the US, and for further investment in its technology platform. 

Research by Funding Options, the UK’s leading business finance marketplace, has revealed that half (51%) of UK small and medium business owners 

BGF, a leading investor in high-growth UK businesses, has invested £10m of equity in Extentia Group, the property services business formed through the acquisitions of Styles & Wood Group PLC and Southerns Ltd.  BGF previously invested in Styles & Wood PLC in 2015 to support the management team’s successful growth strategy whilst listed on the AIM market.

Global Tech Advocates (GTA), the international private sector network connecting tech hubs around the world, has launched Tech Japan Advocates 

Panoramic Growth Equity, the leading equity investor in fast growth, entrepreneurial companies today announce that portfolio company Quill has been acquired by French media group Webedia.

Digital disruption has heightened the need for technological experience amongst leaders of the UK’s biggest businesses, yet broader boardroom diversity is failing to progress, according to new data from specialist recruitment firm, Robert Half UK.

According to the results of the annual Robert Half FTSE 100 CEO Tracker, the proportion of FTSE 100 CEOs with a background in technology has increased by 27% in the last year, with 14% of CEOs now having a background in the sector. This includes 30% of all new CEOs appointed in the last year. In contrast the number of FTSE leaders with retail and hospitality experience is in decline, from 21% in 2016 to 15% in 2019. Of the new CEOs appointed this year, just one (10%) had a background in retail and hospitality.