Graphite Capital, a leading UK mid-market private equity specialist, has acquired Opus Talent Solutions, 

The Riverside Company, a global private investor focused on the smaller end of the middle market, announced that Allison Cole has joined the firm as Managing Director & Global Head, Fundraising and Investor Relations, leading Riverside’s expanding global fundraising and investor relations team. Cole will build and cultivate Riverside’s relationships with investors and oversee the firm's capital raising efforts.  

BGF has appointed Roshni Bandesha to the role of head of ESG and Sustainability. In her role at BGF, Roshni will be responsible for embedding its sustainability strategy and integrating ESG within new and existing portfolio companies. 

Guinness Enterprise Centre (GEC), a top global incubator in the heart of Dublin City – in the presence of Leo Varadkar TD, Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment – has launched its new 100,000 sq ft space following a €10M expansion project. A €1M phase two investment has now been announced and will commence immediately. Due to strong demand, the GEC has already committed 80% of its additional capacity to start-ups and expects to be at full capacity by early 2022.

Experienced private equity and venture capital finance director Marcus Karia has joined fast growing YFM Equity Partners (YFM) as chief financial officer.

Equity Gap, the Edinburgh-based angel investment syndicate, has announced key board member and advisory appointments, as it looks to expand its relationships with next-stage funders and enhance exit capability.

BGF, the UK & Ireland’s most active investor, has added two new high-profile names to its clean growth advisory board.

BGF, the UK and Ireland’s most active investor, has expanded its Central Scotland team following the appointments of investors, John Devine and Chris Nixon. 

Amadeus Capital Partners has expanded its deep tech investment team with the appointment of Dr Manjari Chandran-Ramesh as a Partner in its Early Stage Team. Manjari will focus on investing in start-ups and spinouts centring on machine learning and quantum technologies, in the Oxford innovation cluster and other university centres throughout the UK.

Dr Louise Rix, a former VC at Forward Partners, is stepping into the start-up world and taking up a new role as Chief Medical Officer at femtech start-up Béa Fertility. 

SETsquared has secured an additional £2m of funding from Innovate UK to run a second phase of the Regional Angel Investment Accelerator (RAIA) scheme. UK Business Angels Association (UKBAA) will once again support the roll-out of RAIA alongside SETsquared, through a programme of investor capacity building and education.

Par Equity’s investments in high-growth technology businesses have smashed through the £100m mark. The milestone was passed when the company completed five investments in a week earlier in October.

Par, from its headquarters in Edinburgh, backs emerging technology stars across the North of the UK. This strategy sets it apart from 80%-85% of its VC peers, which are London-based and channel most of their investments into the capital and surrounding area.