News
The London-based startup for sharing of food and other items, OLIO, has closed a $43 million Series B funding round, to fund its fight against the $1.3 trillion of food waste created globally each year.
This latest fundraise saw existing investors Swedish investment firm VNV Global and New York-based hedge fund Lugard Road Capital become major investors in OLIO, supported by further funds from Accel, Octopus Ventures, Rubio plus technology entrepreneur and chair of Grimsby Town football club Jason Stockwood and media entrepreneur and politician Lord Waheed Alli. DX Ventures, the VC arm of food delivery firm Delivery Hero, is a new highly strategic investor in the round.
The women-led startup, founded in 2015 by Tessa Clarke and Saasha Celestial-One, has now amassed a user base of five million people. The hyperlocal food sharing app is used to give away unwanted food and other household items to neighbours, for free, with the aim of reducing waste in the home and helping people to consume more locally and sustainably.
It is the brainchild of Clarke, who struggled to find anyone to take the unwanted food from her fridge when she was moving home. Since its launch, the app has enabled over 25 million portions of food and three million non-food items to be saved from the bin.
This partnership will enable the app to accelerate its international expansion plans, and quickly grow the Food Waste Heroes Programme, which supports food businesses and restaurants around the world in their quest to achieve zero food waste locations.
After a year of rapid growth in the UK, the next generation community marketplace plans to build its presence across the world, focusing on 10 key markets in Latin America, Northern Europe and Asia, where the app has seen very strong organic growth.
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Ignite Software Systems is a Manchester-based provider of insurance policy administration systems to brokers, MGAs, and insurers. It has signed an acquisition agreement with Sequel, a Verisk business.
The Sequel acquisition and investment will accelerate the expansion of Ignite’s technology platform and form part of Sequel’s digital ecosystem.
Ignite’s Integrated Software as a Service platform includes policy administration, rating engine and digital engagement for brokers and MGAs with specific domain expertise in motor, property, and pet insurance.
The deal was supported by FRP Corporate Finance and it enabled Ignite to become part of Sequel. The acquisition by the Nasdaq-listed data analytics group Verisk was worth $33 billion (nearly £24 billion).
The acquisition will accelerate the expansion of Ignite’s integrated Software as a Service platform. It targets significant organic revenue growth with the support of the wider group.
This is a licensed platform supporting policy administration, rating engine and digital engagement for brokers and MGAs, with specific domain expertise in motor, property, and pet insurance. The business will benefit from full access to the significant technology, people and capital resources that Sequel and Verisk offer.
Sequel recognises that the Ignite platform plays with specialist insurance companies and will enable it to accelerate development and expand its capabilities. Ignite will benefit from the full support and access to the significant technology, people, and capital resources that Sequel and Verisk offer.
Notably, Sequel provides reinsurance software solutions to the global specialty market.
“Joining Sequel is a fantastic leap forward for Ignite, our clients and our team,” said Ignite MD Toby MacLachlan. “For Ignite as a company it will mean winning more tenders because, whilst our technology has always outperformed the market, our balance sheet was historically that of a young company. For our existing clients, Ignite will now have access to all the world-class infrastructure, resources, security, and expertise that come with Sequel and Verisk.”
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Delivery Hero SE raised 1.25 billion euros ($1.5 billion) from an offering of notes convertible into shares, marking the food-delivery company’s third equity-linked issuance in less than two years.
The company sold 750 million euros of notes maturing in 2026 and 500 million euros of 2029 securities, according to terms seen by Bloomberg. Proceeds will be used for general corporate purposes and to “take advantage of attractive investment opportunities that may arise,” the company said in a statement.
Eager to lock in cheap financing from investors before bond yields rise further, companies have piled into the equity-linked market this year, with a blockbuster $16 billion raised across Europe, the Middle East and Africa. Delivery Hero’s offering is one of the biggest in Europe this year.
Delivery Hero may spend the money on operating or capital expenses, or on acquisitions, Giles Thorne, an analyst at Jefferies, wrote in a note.
“Today’s raise promises the near term will be remain busy,” he said. The company has been “masterful” in using its rising stock price to match competitors’ capitalization, he said.
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Based out of London, Cazoo is a developer of an online used car marketplace designed to transform the way people buy, finance, or rent used cars.
Recently, the online car retailer announced the acquisition of vehicle data insight firm Cazana for £25 million in cash. The transaction is expected to have an immaterial impact on Cazoo’s FY2021 operating results.
The acquisition by Cazoo will combine its market-leading brand, proposition, and platform with Cazana’s extensive data, products, and expertise. This acquisition follows its recent listing on the NYSE.
This deal will enhance Cazoo’s data team and capabilities and allow it to further optimise its car buying and pricing across the UK & Europe for the benefit of consumers.
Tom Wood, CEO of Cazana said, “I am very proud of what we have built and what the Cazana team has achieved over the past few years. We now have comprehensive vehicle data across Europe and our extensive dataset, products, and tools are highly valued by our customers. Cazoo has a clear vision and strategy to provide the best full-stack car buying and selling experience across Europe and by joining forces, the Cazana team, data, and products will continue to play a key part in accelerating the digital transformation of the industry. Chris and I are excited to be continuing our journey leading Car & Classic whilst supporting the integration of the Cazana business with Cazoo over the coming months.”
Founded by Tom Wood in 2012, Cazana data helps motor retailers, insurers and lenders digitally transform with big data and machine learning technology.
The London-based built an extensive dataset of over 500 million vehicle transactions from over 40 countries including, the UK, Germany, France, Spain, and Italy.
Cazana’s products include real-time vehicle valuation, pricing, and stock management tools.
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London-based Heroes is an e-commerce startup focused on acquiring and scaling small-sized category-leading consumer brands. Now, the startup closed $200 million (nearly £145 million) investment for its growth.
The investment round was led by US-based investor Crayhill Capital Management. The funds will be used for the next phase of Heroes’ rapid growth and enable it to acquire and scale consumer brands across the world.
Riccardo Bruni, Co-founder, said: “We’ve achieved incredible growth since our launch in October 2020 and we are excited to be partnering with Crayhill Capital Management to support us on the next phase of our journey. By adding this significant amount of capital, we now have a high level of flexibility in executing on our growth plans and significantly expand and further diversify our brand portfolio. We look forward to continuing our work with the new wave of outstanding entrepreneurs to give them a fast, seller-friendly and reliable way to sell their business, so they can reap the fruits of the hard work they have put into building their brands.”
Founded by brothers Riccardo Bruni and Alessio Bruni in October 2020, Heroes empowers the next generation of e-commerce entrepreneurs to reap the rewards of their hard work through a fair and fast exit. The company uses a proprietary approach to identify, assess, acquire and optimise e-commerce brands, which enables it to complete brand acquisitions in just three weeks.
Amidst the pandemic, Heroes has scaled its business in the UK, the EU, North America and Asia. This has been through multiple acquisitions that has enabled it to build a portfolio of category-leading consumer brands operating on global Amazon marketplaces. The company employs over 70 staff globally with a view to doubling headcount by the end of the year.
As per the company, some of the acquired brands having grown as much as 5x in 6 months post acquisition.
After acquiring PagoEfectivo and SafetyPay this month, London-based fintech company Paysafe has signed a definitive agreement to acquire market-leading German fintech company, viafintech, in an all-cash transaction.
The acquisition not only boosts Paysafe growth opportunities in Germany but also creates revenue-generating opportunities to cross-sell viafintech’s alternative banking and payments solutions to its merchants around the world.
The strategic acquisition also allows Paysafe to solidify its position as a global market leader for eCash and open banking solutions. On completion of the three acquisitions, the Paysafe eCash business will be able to offer eCash and open banking solutions in over 60 countries with over one million distribution points.
As part of the deal, the viafintech team, including viafintech’s managing directors, Sebastian Seifert, Achim Bönsch, and Andreas Veller, will become part of Paysafe’s expanding eCash and open banking solutions’ team which is headed up by Paysafe eCash CEO, Udo Müller.
The transaction is expected to close over the coming months, subject to customary closing conditions and in accordance with applicable laws and regulations.
Founded in 2011, viafintech offers digital payment solutions which enable consumers to make deposits or withdraw cash from their digital bank accounts at a nearby retail store using a barcode.
The company’s solutions are also used widely for bill payments and credit payouts, as well as for online shopping in general, supporting consumers in the region who don’t have bank accounts, or who simply prefer the heightened security of using eCash to pay online.
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Independent artists struggle to breakthrough in an industry dominated by major record labels. However, Un:hurd, a London-based digital platform, is set to change this.
The company will level the playing field, giving independent artists the level of music and marketing promotion that major labels provide their artists.
Recently, a former Universal Music senior analyst has secured £250,000 of investment to launch un:hurd for independent artists and record labels to help them break into the industry and grow.
After generating 25 million Spotify streams for independent artists in just one year, un:hurd says the new app will help more artists and labels find where their fans are, who they interact with, and which playlists they should be pitching to.
The company’s algorithms take an artists’ data and then turn it into targeted and practical marketing tips to create impactful campaigns across the social media and streaming landscape.
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Evaluations and analysis of boards and management teams involve manual elements and consultant-heavy processes. Also, it was very limited to have a transparent, automated and data-driven process. There is a heavy demand for boards and management groups to switch to the modern digital evaluation process with digitalisation.
Female founded Swedish company BoardClic addresses this issue by selling a SaaS-based product for digital board and management team evaluations. The company just raised €1.6 million (nearly £1.4 million) in a seed round led by Subvenio Invest. All existing owners including Curitas Ventures, Brofund and the company’s founders also participated in the financing round.
The capital will be used for continued investments in product development and to accelerate the company’s rapid expansion both in the Nordics and the UK.
“It has only been a matter of time until digitalisation and relevant data should enhance the board work. At BoardClic, we have made this happen, as we give boards an opportunity to focus on what is really important, and gain an understanding of how they can increase the degree of efficiency and value-creation. It is important to work regularly and frequently to analyse the board’s performance, in a time-efficient manner of course. With new capital, we look forward being able to meet the great demand we see globally even faster,” said Monica Lagercrantz, founder and CEO of BoardClic.
“BoardClic has an exciting and attractive offering with a clearly defined product that creates real value for its customers at both a company and an owner level. The company’s offering ties in nicely with a number of fundamental drivers, including the strong digitalisation trend, increased ESG focus both from a regulatory and business-driven perspective, as well as a willingness among companies and their owners to improve and streamline processes at a board and management level. In three years, the company has successfully built an attractive product, attracted a strong customer portfolio and established a number of exciting collaborations. We are impressed with the team’s performance and look forward to supporting the company in its continued expansion”, said Patrik Östersgård, Partner at Subvenio Invest.
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With a mission to clean up and disrupt the world of nutritional supplements, UK-based digital health startup Feel has recently raised £3 million investment from ITV AdVentures. Feel is one of the portfolio companies of Mark Pearson’s Fuel Ventures.
The London-based startup will be one of the first brands to join ITV AdVentures ‘media for equity’ investment portfolio. ITV has agreed to subscribe for up to £3 million convertible loan notes in the startup in three tranches.
Attempting to clean up the unhealthy world of nutritional supplements and producing high-quality supplements following an exceptional first year of growth, the company that was founded in 2019, will now commence its tailored media campaign across ITV’s channels later this year.
Operating on a direct-to-consumer subscription model, Feel’s cleaner, fresher approach to health and wellbeing has resulted in rapid growth, exceeding all expectations.
With its research-backed formulas containing natural ingredients, free from nasty additives – the company’s goal is to make affordable, high-quality products within reach for people across the UK.
The ITV investment is followed by the recent announcement of Feel’s equity partnership with superstar, health dedicatee Cheryl. As an equity partner in the business, Cheryl will work with the Feel team to develop new offerings, expand and unlock new audiences and represent the brand’s goals.
Launched earlier this year, ITV AdVentures Invest is building a diversified portfolio of high-growth and innovative brands, having previously invested in the location app what3words and the online menswear brand Spoke.
Feel’s Founder and CEO Boris Hodakel said: “To achieve our next stage of development, we looked for a leading media partner with a trusted brand and the broadest commercial reach in the UK. We are not here to create a brand for a select few; we want everyone in the UK to be able to benefit from our science-based nutritional supplements.”
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Hopper, a Montreal, Canada-based mobile-first travel marketplace, completed a $175m Series G financing.
The round was led by GPI Capital with participation from Glade Brook Capital, WestCap, Goldman Sachs Growth and Accomplice.
The company intends to use the funds to continue to expand operations and its business reach and customer support.
Led by Frederic Lalonde, CEO and Co-Founder, Hopper is a mobile-first travel marketplace which leverages massive amounts of data and machine learning to develop fintech solutions for customers to travel and save money. Through its B2B initiative, Hopper Cloud, the company is syndicating its fintech solutions, infrastructure, and agency content.
Hopper is hiring an additional 500 employees, of which 300 of them are focused on customer service. The company is actively looking to acqui-hire other teams in travel, data science, or engineering-heavy startups to introduce new product offerings and accelerate international expansion. Hopper recently integrated the teams of Journy and Mowgli, which will accelerate entry into new travel categories such as home rentals and regional expansion to Europe.