Oliver Woolley from Envestors considers what information really matters when courting investors for funding.

Stressfreecarrental.com, a new challenger in the online car rental market, has raised £534,000 in a funding round led by DSW Ventures and including angel investor Harry Dixon, former technical director at Rentalcars.com.

Stressfreecarrental.com operates a price comparison and booking platform for car hire and airport transfers. It aims to bring a fresh approach to product, service and technology and offer lower prices, improved transparency and better customer experience.

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.  

Kernel Capital portfolio company B-Secur Ltd, a Belfast-based health tech company, has completed a total raise of £8.8 million (USD $12 million) of investment in 2021, with the latest round led by US-based First Capital Ventures and The Bank of Ireland Kernel Capital Growth Fund NI increasing its investment level to £2.2M with other existing investors also participating.

Honeycomb Network, an Imperial College London spinout developing smart charging and storage infrastructure for e-scooters and e-bikes to accelerate micromobility adoption in the UK, has secured £127,000 in pre-seed funding from SFC Capital, the UK’s most active seed stage investor. The funding will support the development of prototypes of the company’s storage and charging pods and rollout of a pilot scheme. 

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. 

A radical overhaul of business education is coming as some of the world’s most influential investors and business leaders from the world of tech, entrepreneurship and education, invest £1.5million ($2million) in Framework, the world’s first on-demand business school.

Tech startups are the engine of economic growth worldwide, generating nearly $3 trillion in value. These companies are giving rise to a new generation of modern professionals who want to continuously learn and grow but are disenchanted with outdated professional development schemes and traditional business school education. Framework is changing the game by bringing them a mobile-first social learning solution, designed uniquely for them. 

Oxford University, through Oxford Universtiy Innovation has created 31 new companies over the past year, setting a new record for company creation at the University. In addition, Oxford companies have raised over £1.1bn during this period, a 29% increase from 2020's previous record.

Foresight Group, a listed private equity and infrastructure investment manager, has made a £749,000 growth capital investment into TMAC, using equity finance from the Midlands Engine Investment Fund (MEIF) as part of a c.£1.5 million funding  round.

Founded in 2018 by Jimmy Hosang and Sean Northam, TMAC is a rapidly growing contact centre software solutions company. Based in Manchester and with significant operations across the Midlands, TMAC’s proprietary artificial intelligence and machine learning software drives efficiency, reduces costs and improves results for large contact centres primarily in the insurance, retail and banking sectors. 

A London-based entrepreneur has launched SQI, a brand new e-commerce clothing startup. The company, which champions multi-use, diverse, and sustainable winter jackets, aims to break into the fashion, sportswear, and skiwear industries, bridging the fashion gap between the mountains and city life.

Female Invest, an EdTech platform and community which, through approachable subscription-based e-learning, empowers women by increasing their understanding of personal finance and investing. Female Invest has members across 67 countries (with the UK being the fastest growing market) and an online community of 150,000+ women.

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.