Blog by Briony Phillips, Investment Activator
18 companies successfully closed equity investment in March, with a collective total a little over £30 million, and the largest amount was raised by Geothermal Engineering at £15 million.
The companies in second and third place haven’t announced their news publicly so I can’t tell you much – just that they cleared £7 million between them. So that leaves a little over £8 million between the remaining 15 companies – but it won’t surprise you to hear that the funding is not equally spread. The smallest three raises totalled just £78k between them.
Six of the 18 companies announced their investment news publicly in March so read on to find out more about them.
Geothermal Engineering
Thrive Renewables PLC invested in United Downs Geothermal Engineering Limited (‘UDGL’) in connection with the construction and development of the UK’s first ever commercial-scale geothermal power generation project.
Thrive Renewables is a renewable energy investment company, working to reduce carbon emissions and tackle the climate emergency by connecting people with clean energy projects. Since 1994, the company has built or funded 32 renewable energy projects including hydro, wind, solar PV, battery storage and renewable heat.
Clade Engineering Systems
A manufacturer of heat pumps and refrigeration systems has secured investment from Groupe Atlantic, which owns Ideal Heating. Founded in 1985 as a refrigeration services company, Clade Engineering Systems has since expanded into manufacturing refrigerant appliances and CO2 heat pump technologies.
Its range of energy-efficient heat pumps can generate from 50KW to up to 1MW. Supported by Groupe Atlantic, Ideal Heating is currently investing £60m at its National Avenue headquarters in Hull to increase manufacturing and distribution capacity to accommodate heat pump production and warehousing.
Tappter
A Cornish software business has secured a £200,000 equity investment from the Cornwall and Isles of Scilly Investment Fund (CIOSIF) as part of a wider £400,000 funding round. Established in 2016, Tappter’s app is a multi-channel messenger with ID verification and e-sign features. It is currently targeting the residential sales and lettings market, allowing businesses and customers to communicate with multiple parties involved in the housing process.
Intelligent AI
Insurance software startup Intelligent AI has collected £2m from investors to establish a base of operations in Cornwall and generate 27 jobs in the next three years. The company uses AI and satellite image data to assist in commercial property insurance underwriting.
Investment in the £2m round includes a £500,000 contribution from the Cornwall & Isles of Scilly Investment Fund (CIOSIF) managed by The FSE Group, FSE’s Angel Investor Network, SuperSeed and unknown private investors.
PEEQUAL
PEEQUAL, the brainchild of Bristol entrepreneurs, Hazel McShane & Amber Probyn, is the revolutionary new womxn’s urinal that saw thousands of womxn ‘popping a squat’ for the very first time when they launched last summer at Glastonbury.
Now with fresh investment to back the venture, the pair have also announced a huge increase in customer interest as they share their exciting plans to take their womxn’s urinals to even more UK events this year, ambitiously scaling up from six events in 2022 to 30 in 2023.
Exmoor Ales
Over 300 investors and fans of Exmoor have backed the business in the plan to double sales. With two days left to invest before closing, the campaign has exceeded the target. Jonathan Price, Managing Director, says, “I believe it’s not only the heritage and recognition of our traditional brands like Exmoor Gold, Beast, Ale, and Stag but also the interest in our Brew Team’s modern beers that drew in a wide range of investors around the country and further afield.”
This article is written as part of the Investment Activator Programme (IAP) in the West of England. This programme is run by techSPARK and is kindly sponsored by TLT LLP, delaware, West of England Combined Authority, UWE, Sanderson, Engine Shed and Rocketmakers.
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