B-North is a financial technology bank combining cloud-native technology with face-to-face relationship banking to disrupt the £150 billion UK Small and Medium Enterprise (SME) lending market. It argues that it delivers cash to SMEs faster than the competition by combining its lending origination platform with a locally delivered servicing and relationship model overseen by experienced bankers. B-North asserts that it is engaging in a positive dialogue with several potential investors with a committed investment now standing at £18.6 million since June 2020. The company has also raised a seed capital of over £6.8 million that includes a six-figure investment from the Greater Manchester Combined Authority to establish its core team and create both the lending and deposit-taking platforms. The company will use the investment to provide a cash runway to the end of Q2 2021 as the team finalises its Series A round and secures its banking license.
days to go:
Expired
investment:
£883,835
Cranes develop acoholic, cranberry flavoured drinks. Currently their product range consists of 3 different variations of cranberry cider and also a cranberry liqueur. Current stockists include the online supermarket Ocado, as well as many other local shops and bars.
days to go:
Expired
investment:
£194,634
Ready Burger (RB) states that it has created the UK's first scalable, value-driven, entirely plant-based Quick Service Restaurant (QSR) brand. RB claims that it has mastered the science behind the taste and texture of plant-based foods to make them indistinguishable from their non-veg counterparts. It further points out that its final products use up to 92% lesser greenhouse gases, and require up to 70% lesser water than competitor brands. RB argues that its meals cater for vegetarians, vegans, meat lovers, and people preferring Halal or Kosher foods. RB offers fast-food classics and has partnered with a global plant-based food manufacturer. RB asserts that its ergonomically designed kitchens enable it to produce 1000s of items a day, that are in turn, serviced from its central distribution centre. RB's integrated web-app ordering, in-store ordering kiosks and an innovative delivery solution allow customers to have their food in under 30 minutes. RB says it will use the investment to grow its business across different verticals.
days to go:
Expired
investment:
£1,998,549
Smartlands is a blockchain-based digital finance and investment ecosystem. It allows asset owners to turn an ownership right to a share of any asset, into a tradable digital token attributing it almost unlimited liquidity. In the UK, Smartlands is the first platform for crowdfunding investments that allows investors to use digital currencies alongside fiat currencies to raise capital. The platform boasts of a 16,000 strong community following with over 11,000 wallets opened since its inception. It has a reputed list of partners including Colliers International, CMS, Archax, UK Sotheby’s, and many more. They have been awarded the 'Best Crowdfunding Platform' at the 2020 FinTech Breakthrough Awards and have been featured in Yahoo Finance, Forbes, Coindesk, Benzinga, and Investors Chronicle to name a few. With the investment, the company will grow its internal engineering team and obtain the necessary licenses to move its business forward across Europe.
days to go:
Expired
investment:
£379,183
This award-winning French wine company are seeking funding to further expand their business. Enhancing their barrel cellar is one of their main priorities, as well as planting new vines to increase quality and replacing low yield rows of vines entirely. With the investments made, they are also planning to export to new markets.
days to go:
Expired
investment:
£145,972
B-North intends to revolutionise the business lending industry, which is often outdated, impersonal and slow. The fintech company uses some of the most advanced cloud-based technology, coupled with face-to-face relationship teams to get the best lending solutions for borrowers and their businesses. The company is powered by a team with prior experience in starting and scaling challenger banks, and profitability is its focused goal. B-North has submitted the banking licence application, and the result is expected by 2020.
days to go:
Expired
investment:
£2,135,456
luxury British distillery to create high quality spirits using innovative and natural ingredients. Over the past three years, sales have increased 45% each year.
days to go:
Expired
investment:
£554,074
Taster is a collection of online restaurants dedicated to bringing the best street food to users. The company says that it has launched five highly successful digital restaurant brands with chefs and food personalities, is available in 11 cities across the UK, France and Spain, and has onboarded over 20 partners. Taster's revenue grew 110% to €10.5 million in 2020 alone where it delivered over 1 million meals. The company has raised $50 million to date from investors such as Battery Ventures, Octopus Ventures Rakuten, LocalGlobe (Latitude) and Heartcore Capital. It claims that Taster brands hold the third-largest market share on Deliveroo in Paris. It will use the investment to increase Taster’s presence across the UK, France and Spain, drive expansion into new cities, support the launch of two new consumer brands in 2021, and take the company globally by signing up with more through more restaurants brands.
days to go:
Expired
investment:
£592,079
Thymia aims to empower clinicians with cutting-edge Neuroscience and AI objectively identify and track mental illness using speech, facial movements and behaviour patterns, enabling personalised, efficient treatment and accurate remote monitoring. They have a large dataset, successful sales, and are raising funds for medical regulation, ADHD expansion, and patent filings.
days to go:
Expired
investment:
£1,126,464
Findr aims to automate the creation of business partnerships by providing easy access to hyper-targeted opportunities in minutes. The company asserts that its platform allows any business, regardless of its size, to sign up, post its partnership requirements, and explore opportunities for free. The company's portal allows users to request a 1-hour 'Discovery' call with a potential partner when the said user spots a relevant opportunity. Findr argues that it has made 'Discovery' for free for the first few months to build its user base. The company has onboarded 140 business users ranging from early-stage to global brands such as Mastercard, Uber and Visa since November 2020. Findr has featured in Forbes for helping businesses navigate COVID-19. The company will use the investment to develop two new price plans – Unlimited and Enterprise, introduce new platform features, hire a machine learning expert, and undertake digital activity to grow its user base.
days to go:
Expired
investment:
£396,288
