VINEX is a digital Business-To-Business (B2B) trading platform that connects buyers and sellers to source, sample, negotiate and execute contracts related to wine. The company has traded more than 115 million bottles of wine across 26 countries since 2016. It has also witnessed 3,200 monthly visitors on its platform with an average of 80 million litres of wine traded each month, from 16 countries. The company recently launched VINPay, an industry-first financial technology service customised for the wine industry, providing wineries with guaranteed payment and increased access to capital liquidity. VINEX argues that VINPay pays wineries in 3 days from dispatch, rather than them waiting for 90+ days, and removes non-payment risk. The company points out that it has already started processing invoices, making and receiving payments from 7 countries. VINEX aims to become a contender in the wholesale wine market that is set to exceed US$381 billion in 2021. It will use the investment to help wineries invest and flourish.
days to go:
Expired
investment:
£159,720
TheCarCrowd is a Passion Asset Investment (PAI) platform that intends to address the lack of investment options for the 8 million UK millennials by allowing them to take a real equity stake in a classic car and benefit from the potential appreciation. The company argues that classic cars appreciated 194% over 10 years up to Q4 2019 as per expert reports. TheCarCrowd points out that its portal allows interested investors to buy shares in cars from just £20 and unlock the benefits of potential appreciation. The company asserts that its business idea has found traction amidst users with over 620 investors registering on the portal since the company's launch in November 2020. TheCarCrowd will use 12% of the investment for Public Relations (PR), 48% for marketing, and 40% for working capital.
days to go:
Expired
investment:
£379,108
Wombat is an investment platform that encourages millenials in the UK, Europe and beyond to invest in some of the world’s best-known brands for as little as £10. Their mission is to empower the generation of millenials to manage, save and grow money by breaking down barriers to traditional investing. The Wombat app was launched in the summer of 2019, and the company has already acquired more than 5,000 customers. Moreover, the company was nominated as Best Newcomer for the Robo Investing Awards and received positive press coverage. With the proceeds, Wombat is planning to build a strong customer base, fulfil growth strategy with a significant increase in marketing, product development, and to educate customers about investing.
days to go:
Expired
investment:
£435,717
Trustco Capital is a value-added financial intermediary that acts as a bridge between suppliers and users of capital. Through its investor network, the company supports entrepreneurs and startup enterprises with capital allowing their business to advance further. The company's partnership venture, ‘The Envestry Investment Management Programme’, allows Trustco, as a licensee, the ability to introduce its investor client network and its deals to Envestors and the other licensees leading to a combined investor network of over 6,000+ individuals. This also allows users to view 20 to 30 deals that are mostly SEIS and EIS eligible backed by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).
days to go:
Expired
investment:
Withheld
OFFschool, under SUL Education, is a free Language Learning Application (LLA) that aims to make English language courses available to everyone who has access to the internet. Students can download the app or register by visiting the OFFschool study website. They need to undertake a placement test to check their language level. The app then prepares daily lessons, assignments and activities that are followed by a weekly progress test. SUL Education asserts that the tests provide a continuous assessment allowing the student to see first-hand the progress they are making. SUL Education is accredited by the Accreditation Body for Language Services (ABLS), UK. SUL Education argues that OFFschool has the potential to reach 600 million 7-19-year-olds. The company will use the investment to invest in its world-class team, create the OFFschool 'Referral Pot', and accelerate its user acquisition efforts through multiple channels.
days to go:
Expired
investment:
£252,130
SaigolEd is a subscription-based Education Technology (EdTech) company that aims to make quality teaching available to millions of 7-18-year-olds across the UK at an affordable price. It is developing an app to combine immersive videos with charismatic teachers from leading schools, rich visual effects, leading Artificial Intelligence (AI) and tests to inspire learning. The company points out that its teaching courses will be available to students wherever or whenever they wish to access them. SaigolEd also intends to cover the full student curriculum to enable its users to excel in their exams once the company's app development is complete. The company argues that there is no dominant UK EdTech player in a multi-billion pound market. It aspires to fulfil that gap. SaigolEd will use the investment to build a prototype that would be overseen by its team including a star teacher from a top UK school, initiate rigorous user group testing, and target General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSEs) as its core market.
days to go:
Expired
investment:
£271,975
Sophia Technologies is an Education Technology (EdTech) company that has launched an on-demand mobile application for hiring private tutors. All tutors on the portal are scrutinised by Sophia's education team as per industry standards to ensure quality teaching. Sophia allows clients to book sessions via its app and avail online classes at any location the client finds convenient. The company is working towards getting accreditation with the U.K. Department of Education (DOE). It has also received press coverage from organisations such as Telegraph, iNews, TechRound, OpenGov, and Just Entrepreneurs. In April 2020, the company launched SophiaX, a learning feature where parents can book classes focusing on extra-curricular activities for their kids. The company will use the investment raised to focus on technological development, and support customer acquisition & retention.
days to go:
Expired
investment:
£571,581
Leading Edge Only (LEO) is a platform that connects global corporations to innovators, startups, small and medium enterprises and scale-ups. Since 2018, LEO has worked with over 25 major corporations such as Britsh Petrol (BP), Marks & Spencer (M&S), Tarmac, Walgreens Boots Alliance, and Ford. It is currently in talks with Salesforce, GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) and Costa Coffee, as well as, 600 universities such as Harvard and Imperial College to build plausible tieups. Its innovations have grown from 2000 to 16000 in the last two years. The global R&D budget of the world’s Fortune 1000 is $782 billion, growing 11% annually. LEO aims to be a strong contender in this segment connecting innovation seekers to innovation providers. Since its launch, LEO has attracted over 25 blue-chip global clients who have paid to have access to over 16,000 cross-sector innovations. The company will use the investment to develop its Intellectual Property (IP) and build LEO into a valuable global brand.
days to go:
Expired
investment:
£377,690
WyzePay is a platform for the issuance and sale of corporate digital currency. It helps businesses by giving them access to advance working capital, customer acquisition and retention, and consumer behaviour analytics into one turnkey platform. It gives customers access to a marketplace to avail discounts, where they can buy, manage and spend their currency. The company strives to ensure that customers receive tangible financial benefits while helping local businesses to prosper. WyzePay claims that its coins are stored in a digital wallet that can be used as a payment method on NFC terminals or online. It further stresses that its coins can’t be lost or stolen, are fully transferable, and never expire. WyzePay states it will use the investment for product development and team growth.
days to go:
Expired
investment:
£617,214
Sendit.Money is a remittance entity. It argues that individuals sending or receiving money in emerging markets can face insecure processes, slow transaction times and incur high costs. Sendit.Money asserts that this is because non-fiat currencies are changed multiple times before they are received. The company aims to change this. Its prototype application for African markets was received amidst positive feedback. It is now building a cost-effective mobile wallet providing a secure and inexpensive way to send and receive money that also allows users to compare transfer fees of different remittance agents in real-time. Sendit.Money was shortlisted as Best Global start-up at the 2020 Wales Startup Awards. The company will build and launch its Most Valuable Product (MVP) in Q3 of 2021. It will also use the funding to begin work with an authorised entity to become an approved representative.
days to go:
Expired
investment:
£182,732
