planarTECH is an engineering company founded in 2014 as a provider of process equipment for the growth and characterisation of graphene and other emerging 2D materials. Its core product line is the planarGROW Chemical Vapor (CVD) system. The company has the ability to deliver scalable production systems that allow lower-cost production of graphene in comparison to other options currently available in the market. Moreover, from 2014 to 2019, the company’s cumulative revenues exceeded £5 million. The company's products have been installed and used by faculties and students at prestigious universities like Stanford University (USA), IIT- Bombay (India), Deakin University (Australia), and many others. From the investment, the company will utilise 45% as working capital, 30% in Capital Expenditures (CAPEX), 15% in R&D and 10% in hiring additional staff.
days to go:
Expired
investment:
£425,061
Ember Snacks (ES) is a sustainable meat snack brand that aims to end factory farming in the meat industry. It works directly with farmers committed to using high welfare and regenerative practices to improve soil health and encourage wildlife on their farms. Since its launch in 2017, ES's products have been stocked in over 2,000 distribution points across the UK, including Sainsbury’s and Waitrose. It also argues that it is the most reviewed meat snack brand on Amazon across the UK and Europe, with nearly 4,000 reviews. The company asserts that its products are stocked in 200 Stonegate pubs, supported by field activation. It earned over £1.75 million in sales in 2020, won a medal at the Charcuterie Live Awards 2021, and received over 35 pieces of press coverage in 2021. ES states it will use the investment to discourage factory farming, build its team, grow distribution channels in major UK supermarkets, launch a campaign to highlight factory farming practices, reach out to new customers, and launch new products.
days to go:
Expired
investment:
£1,420,578
YurOn is a video platform that cultivates authentic interaction between prominent personalities and their fans. The portal allows people from different walks of life–drag queens, mountaineers, activists–thirty seconds to ignite a conversation, start an Ask Me Anything or co-create a skit. YurOn shuns away filters, anonymous commenting, vanity metrics or validation-driven algorithms and endeavours to bring to the public an unadulterated conversation between stars and their fans. The portal soft-launched in Q2 of 2020 and has seen over 5000 downloads, 2000 active users, and 32% of users retaining over a month. The company will use 80% of the investment to grow its tech team and cloud infrastructure, and 20% towards marketing and partnerships to accelerate growth.
days to go:
Expired
investment:
£222,110
BabyChum is a bespoke marketplace for independent family, baby & parent-related gifts. It aims to be a significant contender in the estimated £10 billion UK baby market. The company has onboarded 300 vendors and witnessed over 70,000 unique visitors in 6 months since launching in April 2020. It has also secured several partnerships with notable entities like Vodafone and Craft Gin Club. BabyChum has received press coverage in publications like OK! and Mother & Baby magazine. It has a combined social following of over 10,000 across Instagram & TikTok. The company will use the investment towards digital marketing to boost sales and update its marketplace software to enhance both supply and consumer experiences.
days to go:
Expired
investment:
£68,545
SeedStream is a digital content platform that uses Artificial Intelligence (AI) to combine articles, videos and podcasts into personalised feeds based on user interests. The company has built a prototype focussing on Formula 1 motorsport that aggregates free-to-access news articles and YouTube videos alongside social media posts from the drivers and teams to cover stories from every angle. SeedStream aims to be a disruptor in the 580 million subscription services market. The company will use the investment to develop its prototype into a complete platform, produce original content based on trending topics, and accelerate into different markets.
days to go:
Expired
investment:
£40,843
The Stem is an online garden centre aiming to become a leading digital brand in the £7.5 billion per annum UK garden retail market. It is on a mission to make plants and gardening more accessible than ever and in the most sustainable way possible. The company has made over 7,880 deliveries to 6,800 customers across London since launching its new website in March 2020. The Stem has a 97% Net Promoter Score (NPS) and 4.97/5* customer rating. The company will use the investment to expand its product categories and catchment area, build its team and brand, develop its content platform and supply chain.
days to go:
Expired
investment:
£550,008
Nikalyte is a specialist in nanoparticles research and development (R&D) as well as commercialisation in various application areas such as cell binding, cell separation, drug delivery, catalysis, nano-photonics, and electrochemistry. The company is developing a nanoparticle generator, which will enable researchers to produce nanoparticles of almost any metal or alloy on almost any substrate via a user-friendly interface. Nikalyte is offering free nanoparticle samples to researchers investigating antiviral materials, such as Copper and Silver, towards developing a vaccine for Covid-19. The company also offers a consultancy service that provides advice on nanoparticle applications and ultra-high vacuum systems. The company aims to use the investment to scale its business.
days to go:
Expired
investment:
Withheld
HighCandi is a drone services business that specialises in providing operational support to large companies, for example, in telecommunications and renewable energy sectors. It brings together independent drone service providers under one brand and uses these drones to inspect infrastructure, providing photo analysis, video inspections, and 3D digital models of facilities to help clients manage their assets in an affordable manner. HighCandi’s app, which can memorise and automate inspection regimes, makes sure that each drone delivers consistent imaging and data. The company's aerial videographers are Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) licensed and adhere to legal restrictions wherever they film. The company's strategy is to target 10% ($520 million) of two key sectors, namely The Global Industrial Inspection market and European Real Estate market, by 2021. HighCandi is a potential disruptor in the drone sector which is expected to boost the UK economy by £42 billion. With the investment, the company will start recruitment to drive sales, pilot engagement, and brand marketing.
days to go:
Expired
investment:
Withheld
Andersen fills the gap by producing intelligent, strong and customizable charging points that can be happily used by customers at home. It has proved itself as a premium provider in the rapidly growing electric vehicle home charger market. The company has witnessed an increase in growth by 10x in 2018 and a third of all sales in the last three months. Andersen has been featured in The Times, BBC London and much more famous press. The company has received 5* on Google review and 'Great' on Trustpilot. It will be using funds to scale up the production and accelerate the growth.
days to go:
Expired
investment:
£588,560
Callaly is the UK’s first female care B-Corp that delivers subscription-based organic cotton period products. The company has invented and patented the 'Tampliner', a combination of an organic cotton tampon with a soft mini-liner for built-in leak protection, with a clean insertion and removal, and no hard plastic applicator. It is multi-patented in 30 countries. The company has developed bespoke robotic machinery to automate production at a UK facility. In a £26 billion global femcare market, Callaly claims that its potential tampliner market would constitute 2% to 4% by 2024. The company has received rave reviews from magazines such as Cosmopolitan and Grazia. Callaly plans to begin sales in Europe in the third quarter of 2020 followed by sales in the US and Asia in 2021.
days to go:
Expired
investment:
£1,704,460
