Charm is a peer-to-peer impact investment platform that allows a user to use his/her investments to drive positive change in the world while earning a financial return. Morgan Stanley estimates that 85% of people are interested in sustainable investing. Charm enables individuals to fund projects led by high-impact entrepreneurs selling clean energy solutions in developing economies. Users can view their investments on the company's transparent, personalised impact investment dashboard, as well as, earn social, environmental and financial bottom line returns for their contributions. The company secured a £496,000 grant funding to develop its platform, refine its offering & provide growth capital. It is in the process of becoming an appointed representative of a Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) authorised entity post this funding round. It will use the investment to expand its team, develop its platform, and raise brand awareness.
days to go:
Expired
investment:
£273,720
Fairer Finance (FF) is a consultancy launched in 2014, on a mission to become the UK's most trusted provider of consumer financial services ratings. FF makes money through four key channels namely, licensing access to its data and insights, selling endorsements to those who do well in its ratings, sponsored research that helps improve the financial services market, and helping firms do better for their customers. FF earned £170,000 worth of revenues in its latest quarter, had its ratings published on thetimes.co.uk, which got 35 million views/week and onboarded noted entity, Lloyds Bank, that uses FF's data insights. The company aims to expand into more banking and insurance sectors and grow its consumer presence, helping it to strike deals with comparison sites and sign up more companies for its Insight services. The company will use the investment to expand its campaigning work and create a fairer market for consumers.
days to go:
Expired
investment:
£291,899
Innovate Recycle (IR) is a company that aims to reduce carbon emissions from burning discarded carpets. It asserts that only 2% of the 400,000 tonnes of discarded carpets in the UK is recycled, with the rest going into a landfill or being incinerated. IR further points out that burning waste carpet leads to an estimated CO2 impact of £16 million per annum in the UK. It wants to solve this crisis. IR is building a new carpet recycling plant in Northamptonshire that would be able to recycle carpets into reusable materials. They have already received grant funding of up to £2.35 million. IR claims that a single production line in the plant, at full capacity, can recycle up to 20,000 tonnes each year and generate 12,600 tonnes of polypropylene pellets. It will use the investment to expand to a second production line by Year 4 at the same facility.
days to go:
Expired
investment:
£2,650,000
Thyngs is a touch-free instant payment platform for businesses and charities. It has around 20 active re-seller partners for new sectors and markets. The company is working with PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) as part of its raise programme and actively engaging with several Series A Venture Capitalist (VC) funds intending to raise £4-5 million in late 2021 to scale its business. Thyngs aggregates various payment partners including PayPal, Worldpay, Apple Pay and Google Pay. The company was the cashless donation platform for 210,000 fundraising events for Macmillan's 'World's Biggest Coffee Morning', which raised £27 million in 2019. Many reputed organisations such as Warner Bros, Royal British Legion, Wasabi, National Geographic, and ANZ Bank are working with Thyngs. The company will use the investment to enhance its marketing campaign, bolster its sales team, work on data security and integrations on its platform, and expand the account management team to boost its business.
days to go:
Expired
investment:
£329,591
Handset Expert (HE) is a company on a mission to help a customer select his/her next phone or SIM card in a quick, cost-effective, and easy manner. HE claims to provide all the information customers need when buying a new phone and/or SIM and streamline every step of the process. In 2018, 28.8 million handsets were sold in the UK. 61% of consumers expect to buy a new phone in the next two years, and the advent of 5G will usher a new generation of devices. The company, having undergone a thorough test and build phase, believes that it is in a suitable position for a full launch with a comprehensive go-to-market plan in place. It has featured in publications such as The Guardian, The Sun and The Mirror, been recommended by MoneySavingExpert and received Ofcom accreditation. It will use the investment to grow its business across different verticals to become the UK’s go-to mobile recommendation service.
days to go:
Expired
investment:
£286,670
Vestemi is a clean tech company with an environmental and social purpose. It has created, in partnership with EDF Energy, Radbot, a smart heating control product that saves money by reducing energy consumption of up to 30%. Radbot is easy to install, simple to use, and scalable. Moreover, Radbot has been awarded National Energy Efficiency Product of the Year, 2019. With the proceeds, Vestemi focuses on developing Radbot and testing the market to optimise its commercial strategy. It will also generate growth, increase brand awareness, and invest in sales & marketing to drive market sales.
days to go:
Expired
investment:
£421,705
Toraphene is an environmental technology company that aims to eliminate plastic waste. It has released with its product, Toraphene, to solve this crisis. It claims that Toraphene is a biodegradable, compostable and commercially-viable plastic packaging substitute for conventional plastic. The company asserts that its product is biodegradable even in the ocean, and has been developed using graphene technology. It is focussed on eliminating carrier bags and food containers in its first-round which account for 23% of marine waste. It aims to be a segment leader in the projected $25.4 billion biodegradable plastic industry by 2026. The company will use the investment to make Toraphene accessible to companies worldwide and make plastic packaging obsolete.
days to go:
Expired
investment:
£1,000,000
Glint is a proprietary multi-currency platform that allows users to buy, save, spend and send real gold and other currencies, digitally with its application. The company asserts that its scalable technology enables its clients to use their currencies such as GBP, USD, EUR and Gold, with Glint's UK, EU and US-issued Mastercards in 210 countries worldwide. Glint also points out that its Peer-to-Peer (P2P) Service, Glint It!, allows clients to send and receive gold and currency between Glint accounts in over 160 countries. The company has raised £20 million in equity funding to date, reached 79,000 registered clients, and overseen over £158 million worth of transactions on its platform. Glint will use the investment to maximise revenue, organically grow its business, increase its registered customer base to 250,000 in 2021, and hire key personnel across various portfolios.
days to go:
Expired
investment:
£3,072,539
Sknhead is a company offering a range of male grooming products. Conceived by male celebrity hairdresser, Adee Phelan, the company asserts that shop shelves are full of the same products that have been around for lifetimes, with very few actually tailored to men's needs. Sknhead aims to change this. It claims that its Gamechanger line of personal care is the only product for hair, skin, and tattoo care. Sknhead also offers a range of 9 hair care products to the growing $66 billion global male grooming market. It has supplied £1.2 million+ of products and 900 haircuts to National Health Service (NHS) workers nationwide. The company has also sold over 20,000 units across more than 10 international markets. Sknhead will use 50% of the investment for marketing and advertising, 20% for sales, 20% for product development, and 10% for operations.
days to go:
Expired
investment:
£353,376
Avida Global (AG) is a Business-to-Business (B2B) producer of high-quality medicinal cannabis oils and derivatives for the global medical, well-being and cosmeceutical markets. The company has a cultivation and processing facility in North-East Colombia. It asserts that the therapeutic properties of the cannabis plant has driven 53 countries to legalise its use, with more to follow. AG seeks to capture this demand and become a contender in the medicinal cannabis market that is expected to soar from $33.1 billion to $84.0 billion by 2028. The company has received regulatory approvals for initial non-psychoactive cannabis cultivation, manufacturing, and export licences in 2019. It is working on a partnership with a medicinal cannabis prescriber through doctors and clinics for the supply of medicinal cannabis strains in the UK. The company will use 40% of the investment to drive revenue growth, 25% as capital expenses, and 35% as additional operating expenses.
days to go:
Expired
investment:
£1,646,249
