Business Finance Market (BFM) is a financial technology platform that stimulates the market towards Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) lending via data in the UK. BFM claims that SMEs are gradually being excluded from mainstream banking. The company cites that in 1988, 40% of all bank lending went to SMEs. BFM points out that lending today is closer to 4% with an estimated £22 billion funding gap to the 5.9 million UK SMEs. BFM asserts that almost 90% of SME loan applications are stuck due to a lack of choice and transparency when it comes to securing finance. BFM aspires to solve this dilemma. It states that its technology allows SMEs to experience quicker finance decisions based on true addressable market access and allows lenders and intermediaries access to its platform to help manage the end-to-end application process, improve deal flow, and deliver faster credit decisions. BFM intends to exit via a trade sale within the financial sector.
days to go:
Expired
investment:
Withheld
Equipsme is a company that aims to democratise health insurance by making it affordable for businesses. The company offers flexible fixed-price packages to employees while giving them the option to upgrade their package to avail more features upon payment. Members can speak to a general physician round the clock, have physiotherapy sessions, avail regular health checks and, if necessary, be quickly referred to a consultant for diagnosis and treatment. Members can access these features through a simple-to-use application. Since February 2018, the company has secured an exclusive 5-year insurance capacity deal with AXA PPP Healthcare and grown its members by 130.5% Year-on-Year (YoY) (to May 2020) with a 95% broker renewal retention rate. The company will use the investment to enhance its user experience and scale its marketing as it announces its partnerships with organisations such as Starling Bank and Simply Business.
days to go:
Expired
investment:
£879,204
Crosspay is a company that aims to make remittance simpler and cheaper. The company built its proprietary system in 2017 to bolster international transfers at a fraction of the money charged by traditional Over-The-Counter (OTC) services. It has since powered over 50,000 transactions across 50 countries with a cumulative value of approx £32,350,000. The company aspires to become the segment leader in the more than $200 billion global remittance market. Crosspay was rated 'Excellent' on Trustpilot. It also created white-labelled apps for charities and churches to host content, broadcast live and receive donations simultaneously, irrespective of location. The company has been invited to partner on an Innovate UK project. It will use the investment to grow its business across different verticals.
days to go:
Expired
investment:
£212,581
Helping insurance companies tackle fraudulent claims by using a combination of blockchain and artificial intelligence. BlockClaim aims to reduce the time spent by car insurers processing false claims, by performing data calculations on a driver and their driving behaviour. This information is fed into the BlockClaim system, which produces a fraud probability risk score.
BlockClaim's technology has been piloted by large insurance firms such as Admiral and Generali. The company's tool consists of a plug-and-play module that is integrated into existing systems used by insurance firms. Revenue is generated via a fixed fee per claim processed via BlockClaim’s product, as well as an initial set-up fee.
days to go:
Expired
investment:
£400,011
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
Spendology is a fintech company that licenses a digital-first SaaS-based travel money platform to retailers globally, addressing the demand for travel cash, which remains popular among Brits, with over £56 billion spent annually. Inspired by the inconvenience of traditional currency exchange services, the company's chairman, Don Clark, aims to revolutionize the industry, much like he did in a previous financial services venture that resulted in a significant sale. Spendology's innovative platform allows travel companies to offer online ordering and home delivery of travel cash, generating additional profits for these businesses and royalties for Spendology. Their platform is available to travel companies of all sizes worldwide, already operating in the UK and launching in the US, with plans to expand to 28 countries, serving a market worth $1 trillion.
days to go:
Expired
investment:
£354,053
dooo is an all-inclusive platform that offers on-demand specialised home haircut service to consumers. The company claims that 21% of people reported a disability in the UK in 2018 and 49% of people reported social anxiety or other mental health issues, that prevented them from visiting a salon. dooo wants to change this by helping everyone get the haircut they want, wherever they want and overcome the inequalities in the hair industry. dooo allows users to connect with the stylist beforehand and express any special requests to tailor the experience to their requirements. The company aims to become a contender in the 'Hair & Beauty industry that generated over £8 billion in 2018 in the UK alone. dooo will use the investment to develop native mobile apps on both iOS and Android, boost marketing and PR strategies to further its 'Bristol Launch' in Summer 2021, pay wages to essential staff, and manage administrative tasks.
days to go:
Expired
investment:
£70,850
Gridizen desires to change the way agencies and landlords manage their properties whilst enhancing the tenant experience. It eliminates manual methods and gives landlords and tenants a way to manage and communicate their rental property. Further, its central management team has a number of relationships within the market to build up the customer base and create a buzz about the product which other companies lack. Gridizen aspires to be the property management solution of choice for tenants and landlords. With the proceeds, it will fully develop the Property Management module, recruit an in-house technical team to oversee the development and recruit sales and marketing support.
days to go:
Expired
investment:
£150,004
ExpoCart is a marketplace that helps businesses in easily hiring and buying furniture, printed displays, floor coverings and more for exhibitions and events by a chain of suppliers. The company has built a customer base of 3500+ companies from 75+ countries. It has a strong supplier network and connections formed with a range of UK event and exhibition suppliers and, it has received a score of 8.5 on TrustPilot. The funds will be used to accelerate product range, strengthen the digital marketing channels and launch new technological platform features.
days to go:
Expired
investment:
£269,841
A multi-award winning investment platform providing customers with ISA eligible loans. Crowdstacker are fully FCA regulated and set a record for the largest crowdfunded P2P loan in the UK, valued at £15m. With the recent release of Innovative Finance ISA, the company is expecting to see rapid growth in the near future.
days to go:
Expired
investment:
£818,210
