The Instant Group, which was backed by Bowmark Capital last year, has acquired Incendium Consulting Ltd., an independent corporate real estate consultancy.

BGF, the UK and Ireland’s most active investor in growing businesses, has invested £6m in BB7, the high-growth fire sector specialist, to create the leading UK fire and security consultancy through acquisition. This begins with the acquisition of Manchester-based specialist fire consultancy Omega Fire, which will broaden BB7’s geographic reach and service offering to customers.

Cavendish Corporate Finance has advised Inflexion Private Equity on its successful buyout of Creative Car Park Limited (CCP), the UK’s foremost provider of car park management solutions for small businesses. The investment is being made by Inflexion Buyout Fund V, Inflexion’s dedicated mid-market fund.

BGF has invested £11.6m in Invenio, a UK-headquartered and global provider of business focussed technology solutions and consulting services, to support the business’s continued growth.

Founded in 2006 and headquartered in Reading, Invenio provides consulting services and technology solutions for organisations in the media, manufacturing & logistics, and public sector verticals.

London and Tel Aviv based HR tech platform Hibob has raised $20m in Series A+ funding, led by existing investors Bessemer Venture Partners, Battery Ventures, Eight Roads, Arbor Ventures, and Presidio Ventures.

This latest investment will support the company’s next phase of hyper growth, helping to establish Hibob as the platform of choice for mid-size fast-growing companies, accelerating its US presence, expanding to more countries across Europe and hiring more tech talent people into the organisation.

VenueScanner has raised £1 million to roll out its sharing economy marketplace for booking venues.

VenueScanner aims to become the #1 online destination for events globally, changing the landscape of discovering and booking space online, by creating a simple and smart self-service platform for hosts and organisers.

Current investor Tom Singh explains: “We’re excited to continue to back the VenueScanner team. They've scaled a unique approach to innovating in the events market, with 18k spaces live across 15 UK cities. The range of companies using VenueScanner for finding event space, from Deloitte to Lululemon is testament to the product.

The British Business Bank has announced the accreditation of Robert Owen Community Banking Fund (ROCBF) as a lender for the term loan variant of the Enterprise Finance Guarantee (EFG) Programme.

Based in Newtown, Mid Wales, ROCBF has recently launched an enhanced range of ethical loans for businesses, individuals and communities across Wales. These business loans, ranging from £1000 to £50,000, are available to support a spectrum of local enterprises.

YFM backed ACC Aviation has acquired global aviation consultancy Aerotask and has been recognised in the Sunday Times as one of the UK’s fastest growing international sales businesses 

Two niche property law firms, Equilaw and Thomas Legal, have received a multi-million pound investment from BGF, the UK’s most active investor in growing companies, to support business growth.

Set up in 2007, Equilaw is the UK’s only dedicated equity release legal adviser, working with homeowners and financial advisers to provide independent legal advice on the process of releasing home equity for a range of purposes including retirement planning, house improvements and care provision.

NVM Private Equity has committed £2.2 million of growth capital into London-based recognition, employee reward, and ideas platform business, Mo. Formerly known as Thanksbox, Mo provides proprietary technology to help organisations achieve success by strengthening relationships, sharing ideas and building stronger cultures and giving employees greater meaning at work. NVM’s investment will be used to accelerate scale up of the business, expand the team and to deliver further technical progression in the platform.

AI is already being implemented in businesses around the world, and while worries persist over whether robots will be taking over the workplace, some are predicting that it will actually improve and even create jobs in the future.

From devices in our homes to mobile apps, AI has already made its way into our daily lives. The workplace is no exception and AI has already helped businesses make better use of data and streamline processes. According to John Williams, Head of Marketing at Instant Offices here are a few AI trends you should be aware of for your business:

Over a quarter (27%) of business leaders are expecting revenues to grow by more than 10 percent in 2019, according to a new report by Independent Growth Finance (IGF), the leading independent asset based lender.  

Despite undeniable uncertainty in the economy, IGF’s Powering Freedom Report finds that British businesses turning over between £1 million and £500 million remain ‘bullish’ about the future. Nine in ten company leaders have concerns over Brexit yet they remain optimistic about opportunities in the year ahead. In fact seven in ten (69%) companies expect an increase in revenues.