A patient year for British Business Bank subsidiary

British Patient Capital, the commercial subsidiary of British Business Bank, the UK government’s economic development bank, has announced a round-up of its activity over the year, highlighting a number of deals:

• $50m investment in Atomico’s fifth fund, helping them to continue to support their most promising companies
• $45m in Balderton Capital’s seventh fund, supporting outstanding founders at a critical point in the start-up journey
• $65m cornerstone investment to SV Health Investors’ first dedicated biotech fund

BPC’s investment strategy is sector agnostic with its portfolio falling in to one of eight themes: future of work and education (19 per cent), marketplaces and consumer (18 per cent), digital health and life sciences (15 per cent), Big data and AI (13 per cent), Fintech (13 per cent) and clean growth, sustainability and mobility (9 per cent), Cybersecurity (5 per cent) and Frontier tech (5 per cent).

Talking Medicines gets cash injection in funding deal

Talking Medicines, the world’s first social intelligence company for the pharmaceutical industry, has secured a £1.1m funding deal. Tern Plc, the investment company specialising in Internet of Things investments, led the round alongside The Scottish Investment Bank, the investment arm of Scottish Enterprise.

The fund will be used to scale up Talking Medicines AI-based data technology platform for measuring patient sentiment.

The Scottish Investment Bank (SIB) is the investment arm of Scotland’s national economic development agency, Scottish Enterprise. SIB manages a suite of co-investment funds including the Scottish Co-investment Fund, the Scottish Venture Fund and the Energy Investment Fund  on behalf of the Scottish government.

Callaly looks to sustain growth with Innovate UK grant

Callaly has been awarded a £173,778 grant by Innovate UK to further develop its unique sanitary tampliner product with help from Imperial College London.

As part of UK Research and Innovation, Innovate UK is investing up to £55m to fund single and collaborative research and development projects as part of the Sustainable Innovation Fund to help all UK sectors rebuild after the effects of COVID-19.

Spin-out supported by healthy £12.75m investment

Koa Health, a digital mental healthcare provider, has closed a £12.8m Series A funding round as part of its successful spinout from Telefonica’s start-up arm, Alpha. announces its successful spin out from Alpha, Telefónica’s moonshot factory. The round was organised by Ancora Finance Group and Wellington Partners.

Telefónica will remain a shareholder of Koa Health. Ancora Finance Group and Wellington Partners will take seats on the board.

Wellington Partners is a leading European venture capital firm investing in early and growth stage life science companies.

Automata bank on users with new funding initiative

Automata, the UK/France-based fintech focused on retail digital banking and wealth management, has announced €1.5m ( £1.35m) in private investments as part of its ongoing Series A funding round.

The funding was raised through an equity token offering, enabling the public to buy equity in the company – creating a decentralised IPO. When its mobile app launches, users will be able to buy equity tokens directly in the app, allowing them to become shareholders in their own bank.

The money raised will be used to support product development, the evolution of its own proprietary technology and the rollout of its “Wealth Card” to the UK.

Compare Ethics connects with investors after £440,000 investment round

Compare Ethics, a sustainability platform connecting conscious consumers with verified sustainable products, has raised £441,739 in pre-seed funding to grow its patent-pending B2B offering.

The round was led by Ascension Ventures, with additional investment from Mariana Capital, The London Fashion Fund, The Fund, Innvotec and a number of angel investors.

Duel win £1.8m in investment

Duel, the advocacy platform, has secured a £1.8m funding round led by Downing Ventures, Publicis Groupe, London Co-Investment Fund and University of Bristol Enterprise Fund.

The investment will be used to develop Duel’s suite of brand advocacy tools, advance its patented curation AI and hire more community and brand experts.

Back2Work Group receives investment from Palatine

Back2Work Group, a fast-growing training company that helps individuals return to employment and develop new skills, has received investment from Palatine Private Equity‘s Impact Fund.

The Impact Fund is Palatine’s returns-focused £100m fund, which invests in profitable businesses making a positive impact on the environment or society. It makes impact investments in the UK mid-market, supports management buyouts, growth capital and buy-and-build models while investing between £5m and £10m.

Further reading

Deals of the Week, October 23 to 30 – Growth Business roundup