Tech Will Save Us is a company that specialises in making STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Math) kits for children in the 4-6, 7-10 and 11+ age categories. The company has created a home learning system that enables kids to learn about the world through technology and play. There are three core components to its home learning system: A Digital platform, Physical Experiences and Subscriptions through which the company has helped over 1 million kids build & create. For its ingenuity, the company received the 2019 Good Housekeeping Best Toy Award for Electro Guitar and the Design of the Year Nomination by the London Design Museum. It also collaborated with the BBC to develop The BBC micro: bit., a pocket-sized computer designed for kids to invent with which, in turn, was given to one million kids and is now used in over 40 countries. Its first coding product, Gamer Kit was launched at WIRED's 1st Next Gen conference amidst positive feedback. The company will use 15% of the proceeds in Technology and Research & Development, 25% for marketing, and 60% for working capital and team building.
days to go:
Expired
investment:
£843,940
Nanusens is the manufacturer of small sensor chips that are mainly used in smartphones and earbuds. Its integrated circuits with built-in nano-sensors are reliable, better performing and have a lower cost. Nanusens' patent-pending technology uses an already existing standard manufacturing process known as CMOS, and do not have any mechanical moving parts inside, thereby creating more valuable space within the devices that can be used for other components. This company's first target is the mobile phone industry, which approximately sees 1.5 billion smartphones sold per year, then it has added another growing target market, earbuds. The earbuds are sold mainly by the same companies but require even smaller chips than currently available which Nanusens believe that it can do much better than its competitors along with providing for other future requirements.
days to go:
Expired
investment:
£557,290
HUUB is a premium endurance sports apparel brand. Its products are used by Olympic gold medallists, 'IRONMAN' champions and amateur athletes. HUUB witnessed profits worth £4.8 million and an EBITDA of £420,000 in 2019. The company is a leading brand in the £60 million UK triathlon apparel & accessories market. HUBB is now targeting the US$5 billion global bike apparel market. It has built working relationships with noteworthy individuals such as former Olympian Greg Whyte and chef Gordon Ramsay. The company will use the investment to target all endurance sports through a combination of retail and distributor partnerships. It will also expand its Direct-To-Consumer (DTC) online business.
days to go:
Expired
investment:
£1,352,941
The British Snack Co makes quirky and original British snacks. The company's award-winning flavours and unique ranges of craft popcorn, crisps, and pork snacks have sold over 8 million bags to date. It aims to be a contender in the £3.2 billion UK snacks market. The company's products are stocked across major retailers like Waitrose, Ocado's, Morrisons, Borough Box, and Amazon, to name a few. Its craft pork scratching product, Awfully Posh, was the first pork snack ever to win a Great Taste Award. The company has been working with buyers in the hospitality industry to create joint marketing plans for after lockdown to rapidly grow its Out Of Home (OOH) sales. It will use 50% of the investment to grow its staff, 37.5% towards trade marketing, and 12.5% for New Product Development (NPD).
days to go:
Expired
investment:
£382,495
Wellbeing Sisters (WS) is a company that offers wellbeing advice, hosts an online shop, and sells a subscription box full of toxin-free health, beauty, and nutritional products by and for women. The company first launched its subscription box in 2019 for women trying to conceive. WS witnessed a sell-out of its series of one-off boxes tailored towards conceiving, pregnancy, early motherhood, midlife and menopause in 2020. WS aims to be a contender in the UK subscription box market that is set to be worth £1 billion by 2022. The company asserts that it has organically grown its social media following consisting of over 5,000 supporters. It will use the investment to invest in technology, product development, and marketing/PR.
days to go:
Expired
investment:
£153,394
Chapel Down (CD) is one of the UK's leading wine industry leaders that seeks to challenge the hegemony of champagne. It argues that with the sales of English sparkling wine forecast to grow by 134% by 2026, the demand for its products is growing fast. CD's 'Sparkling Wine' sales increased by 52.8% in 2020 whilst champagne sales in the UK dropped by 21.7% over the same period. The company argues that 2020 was a record year for its business, despite COVID-19, with its revenue growing by 32% year on year and e-commerce sales growing by 467% year on year. CD has partnered with notable hospitality entities like Harrods, Royal Opera House and Sheraton Grand. It will use the investment to scale up and improve its winemaking capabilities, complete the planting process of its biggest vineyard on the finest terroir in England, scale up its e-commerce channels, invest in selected export markets worldwide, and give people a memorable experience at its winery.
days to go:
Expired
investment:
£6,953,241
Healthier Brands is a family business which provides innovative, fun and healthy snacks for kids and is loved by health-conscious adults as well. Its sales have doubled, and it has over 1000 retailer across the UK. Its current strategy is to provide natural products to the jelly market. Furthermore, its aim is to become a national family brand and to find its place in all the major multiple grocery stores by 2020. Healthier Brands has been featured in The Telegraph, Metro and countless local titles. The company will use the fund to drive growth, scale up sales and trade marketing supports with retailers.
days to go:
Expired
investment:
£244,583
trükl is a web-based, integrated and automated parcel delivery booking platform for small businesses. The company argues that on average, 5% of all UK deliveries don’t go as planned, which amounts to over 50 million dissatisfied customer experiences. trükl intends to change this and become a contender in the parcel delivery industry that is expected to double to £21 billion by 2024. The company monitors orders for issues and alerts retailers in real-time to ensure satisfied customers across the supply chain. It has successfully monitored the delivery of 4,500+ shipments since August 2020. The company also processed 330 orders earning revenue worth £1,800 on a single day in December 2020. trükl is a member of SETsquared, an award-winning business incubator. The company will use the investment to develop its integrations further, platform features and acquire and support new retailers.
days to go:
Expired
investment:
£357,477
Occuity seeks to develop revolutionary non-invasive screening and monitoring devices for chronic diseases like diabetes and Alzheimer's. It argues that its device safely shines a low power beam of light into the eye and then collects and analyses the return signal to accurately measure structures within the eye and detect changes associated with the onset of the aforementioned diseases. Occuity is targeting three distinct markets, namely Ophthalmology, Disease Screening and Disease Monitoring, which is worth an estimated $35 billion per year. It claims that its 'Occuity Indigo' product enables earlier detection of diabetes and provides a non-contacting, pain-free glucose monitor. Occuity was awarded over £1.5 million as part of the Innovate UK grant for the development of technology within Occuity Indigo. It has also signed a partnership with one of the UK's leading ophthalmic distributors, Birmingham Optical, to distribute its PM1 pachymeter device. It states it will use 42% of the investment towards Research and Development (R&D), 23% towards sales and marketing, 20% towards management and finance, 9% towards managing CAPEX and NRE, and 6% towards paying fees.
days to go:
Expired
investment:
£2,854,857
TOG designs handmade kitchen knives that are forged in the Samurai sword. By working with craftsmen in Seki, Japan, this company has produced knives and a brand that met its customers' needs. It has been endorsed by ten Michelin star chefs and appeared on cooking shows such as Masterchef. In 2017 and 2018, TOG Knives reached 18k profit (EBITDA £19.5k). Currently, it is aiming to be the UK's No.1 premium knife brand by helping people realise how enjoyable food preparation is, only if, one owns the right knife. With the fund raised, it will purchase stock, grow its team, shift its staff to full time and hiring new people.
days to go:
Expired
investment:
£193,810
