Heidi, a fast-growing online tour operator specialising in flexible ski holidays, has raised £5.6m in a funding round led by Mercia Ventures with participation from Active Partners and private investors.

Heidi’s technology allows customers complete flexibility to create their own bespoke package. They can choose from over 6,000 accommodation options in over 400 resorts, select the date of departure and length of stay and sort by features such as quantity of snow or proximity to slope. Customers can also book group holidays that allow members to fly from different locations, and extras such as lift passes and ski hire.

The inaugural Athena Festival is set to take place at Nexus Leeds, bringing together female founders and investors in a groundbreaking event designed to empower women entrepreneurs outside of London. The festival will be held on the 15th October 2024 and aims to drive innovation, foster economic growth, and build a supportive community for female-led businesses in the UK.

Over 100 small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and universities have collectively underscored the vital role of SME and university collaborations in a new report from the National Centre for Universities and Business (NCUB), Arresting the decline: Unlocking the potential of university-SME interaction in the UK.

London based startup Cryogenx, whose portable body cooling device offers a rapid response for heat-related illness, has secured a £150,000 investment from British Design Fund, as part of a wider £800,000 raise that included existing shareholders, angel investors and a US-based fund.

Vertus Energy, a Waste-to-X* industrial biotech startup specialising in advanced control of bacteria behaviour, has closed a €8.75 million seed funding round.

The funding, led by prominent global investors Energy Capital Ventures^®, joined by Blackbird, the Amadeus APEX Technology Fund and Aussie Angels, alongside all their existing investors, will be used to scale the firm’s flagship product, BRIO, into pilot projects. 

OSS Ventures, a leading industrial start-up studio in France, has raised €8.5 million, led by Tikehau Capital, France 2030's French Tech Accélération 2 fund (Bpifrance), Etablissements Peugeot Frères, and business angels including Max Pog.

The Enterprise Investment Scheme Association (EISA) has appointed Joanna Jensen as its new Chair. Joanna has extensive experience as one of Britain’s most successful founders as well as an active investor in startups. Joanna’s important work will be key to supporting entrepreneurs across the UK by raising awareness of the Enterprise Investment Scheme (EIS) and Seed Enterprise Investment Scheme (SEIS).

The Enterprise Investment Scheme Association (EISA) has announced the winners of the 2024 EISA Awards at the House of Lords, Westminster.

The awards, which recognise the outstanding achievements of those who have made significant contributions to the UK's EIS and SEIS startup ecosystem, bring together entrepreneurs, investors, legal experts and financial advisers and more to celebrate excellence made possible by the EIS (Enterprise Investment Scheme) and SEIS (Seed Enterprise Investment Scheme).

Nanomaterial producer iGii has raised £8.8 million of new funding to accelerate growth. The Stirling-based company, formerly known as Integrated Graphene, will use the funds to accelerate customer projects, increase its manufacturing capacity, and deepen its research and development to explore further applications of its patented Gii^TM material. iGii plans to expand its facilities and continue creating highly skilled local jobs.

Sussex-based angel investment group South East Angels has invested in Skyverse, a software startup helping increase safety and reduce costs in air traffic control operations.

Skyverse helps all airports modernise away from traditional processes to a cloud workflow solution that provides more data, transparency, and insight to a control tower. This solution allows regional and general aviation airports to access the same standard of tools typically delivered to the major international airports.

Skyverse’s SaaS tools replace Air Traffic Services’ paper-based processes and a significant volume of repetitious radio and telephone communications. The tools share clearer, faster and richer information between Air Traffic Services and their network of users. This cuts Controller and Assistant workload while improving safety and situational awareness.

Henley Business Angels (HBA) has announced a new strategic sponsorship partnership with NatWest, one of the UK’s largest retail and commercial banks, with a reputation for enhancing the startup ecosystem.   

This partnership represents a significant milestone for Henley Business Angels, providing the opportunity to leverage NatWest’s expertise, resources and extensive network to empower its members and portfolio companies to thrive and succeed from startup to exit. 

USA: Proofs, which uses AI agents to dramatically accelerate the proof-of-concept phase in software sales, has raised $2.6 million (€2.4 million) in pre-seed financing. The round was led by Earlybird Digital East Fund with support from Expeditions Fund, Step Function Ventures, RTP Global, and a number of prominent angel investors.