Plerith works with high growth start-ups and scaling companies to plan for and deliver growth. The company asserts that it helps companies promote their business to potential funders, through its network of angel and venture capital investors depending on the stage and sector of the said business. Plerith is partnering with Newable and Bristol Private Equity Club to deliver the fund in the South West London (SWL) area and identify and invest in the most exciting high growth companies in the region. Plerith argues that its deep knowledge of fundraising, sales, strategy, finance and technology would help SWL businesses flourish. Plerith aims to provide investors access to the highest quality local companies in the SWL region.
days to go:
Stretch
investment:
Withheld
Celestial Labs is a drone display company that combines advanced technology with organic performance. The company's proprietary 'Skytheatre' display is a dynamic, safe and green alternative to carbon-intensive fireworks and represents a new frontier for the live event industry. Composed of a creative collective of award-winning filmmakers, musicians, developers, entrepreneurs, and storytellers, the company is constantly pushing the boundaries of drone display innovation, where technology meets imagination. The Human Support division of Celestial is a not-for-profit initiative that aims to lift the spirits of those who witness Celestial's displays whilst imparting crucial information. The company aims to enlist the support and guidance of city leadership partners, industrial conglomerates, and seek grant funding.
days to go:
Stretch
investment:
Withheld
Kestrl is a mobile app based on the principles of Islamic banking. It aims to cater to the over 1.9 million British Muslim community to invest in the UK in line with their religious beliefs. Consumers can avail a host of financial services from finding interest-free savings accounts to taking out a mortgage. The company raised a £135,000 pre-seed round from C-level Islamic banking professionals in January 2020. It also launched its application on Google Playstore and App store in September 2020. Kestrl is working on launching an equity-based home purchase product soon. It also aspires to expand to Malaysia/Indonesia by white labelling with established retail banks and utilising its 'inside knowledge' of the region. It will use 39% of the investment towards platform up-gradation and tech team expansion, 20% towards hiring personnel across various departments, 19% for maintaining agency license fees and acquiring its own regulatory permissions, 8% in marketing, and 14% towards ancillary costs.
days to go:
Expired
investment:
£194,502
Scribestar's Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) platform digitises and automates the documentation and compliance processes required for raising capital on stock markets such as IPOs, bonds etc. The platform intends to provide users with structured data format documents that can be machine-read and monetised. Scribestar aims to become a contender in the $22 billion Regulatory/Legal Technology markets. It argues that it is already active in the UK and has witnessed over 50 transactions on its system. It is also a part of the London Stock Exchange Issuer Services and CMS equIP with 4 years of verifiable commercial use and over £13 million received as investments. Scribestar asserts that its services are being regularly used by three law firms in the UK with more showing interest in its capability to function as a remote tool to manage the compliance documentation process. The company will use the investment to start its expansion in the US and other markets targeting law firms and deliver successful trials with stock exchanges.
days to go:
Expired
investment:
£864,009
Zazu are building a digital-only bank in Africa, to bring financial inclusion to millions. Beginning as an e-commerce platform for farmers, Zazu is now pivoting to become a 21st century bank for Africa. Zambia has 1.2 million adults in formal employment, 1.4 million MSME's and 2 million emerging farmers, and Zazu aim at these high earners as they believe they may be unhappy with the high cost of banking.
days to go:
Expired
investment:
£259,688
Fast-tracking ideas by connecting innovators and organisations together on a single platform. WorldLabs is helping the development of innovations by streamlining the process of those seeking funding and resources to make changes in the world. The company has already partnered with establishments such as UCL and Cambridge University.
WorldLab's ecosystem is designed to assist innovators in raising awareness for their initiatives and collaborate with businesses that support the idea. To date, almost 7,000 members are signed up to the platform, with more than 1,000 live projects listed. Funds will be used to increase the number of partnerships with international universities and institutions, as well as develop a mobile app with sophisticated features such as machine learning algorithms.
days to go:
Expired
investment:
£527,943
Similar to the functionality of workplace pensions, employees can invest part of their pay into an ISA and start to build a healthy saving habit. Smarterly's current clients include Rolls Royce, Samsung and OVO Energy and they have identified 85 other organisations with a collective 600,000 employees as potential opportunities. Due to the fundamentals of Smarterly being automated, there is no need to pay for a large staff and revenue is generated via small fees.
days to go:
Expired
investment:
£1,638,150
Chip is one of the fastest-growing Fintech companies in the UK. Chip has built an app that uses the user's banking app to make personalised decisions about their money. Its user base has doubled since its previous fundraising in 2018. The company has 153,000 accounts, and it has processed more than £130m of savings. ChipX is the company's revolutionary returns platform and it has a waiting list of more than 50,000 people. The company is a winner of the British Bank Award, 2 Crowdcube awards, and 1 World Banking Award. It has welcomed many management executives from Funding Circle, Monzo, and Purple Bricks. Chip is now scaling with market-leading returns on ChipX. It aims to build the biggest savings account in the world. With the proceeds, the company will double its team and expand ChipX in the €10 trillion European savings market.
days to go:
Expired
investment:
£3,768,260
A web-based location experience platform for businesses to market their content for their target audience by users visiting physical locations to view digital content. Landmrk's service is currently used by travel, entertainment and retail industries and allows businesses to provide 'rewards' when customers reach the location. Revenue is primarily generated from marketing agencies and businesses licensing the platform on a monthly, quartely or annual basis.
days to go:
Expired
investment:
£519,364
Qardus is an ethical and Sharia-compliant financing platform for social impact Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) and investors. Qardus asserts that the 3.8 million Muslim community in the UK, and 25 million in Europe, is massively underserved when it comes to accessing interest-free (Sharia-compliant) structures. It intends to change this. Qardus offers up to £200,000 in innovative interest-free business financing to eligible SMEs for tenors of up to 24 months and is Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) approved. Qardus points out that it has provided over £250,000 in financing to some high social impact SMEs during the COVID-19 pandemic, maintained a 100% track record with a 0% default rate to date, and featured in media entities like Sifted, Islamic Finance News, Peer-to-Peer Finance News, and Fintech Futures amongst others. It will use 30% of the investment on marketing costs for acquiring SMEs and investors on its platform, 60% on growing its team, and 10% on obtaining additional licenses to expand its services.
days to go:
Expired
investment:
£313,009
