BaseKit secures new £4.5m investment

BaseKit, the leading website building platform, has today announced that is has secured a further £4.5m funding from the Angel CoFund backed by the British Business Bank; alongside existing investment from Eden Ventures, NESTA and Nauta Capital.

The additional funding follows a previous investment of £10m, and comes at a significant time for both parties, confirming the economic growth as discussed in this years' Autumn Statement.

George Whitehead, chairman of the Angel CoFund comments: "We are very impressed with what BaseKit has achieved and also its potential for the future.  Our goal is to provide cash for high-growth UK businesses - and BaseKit's company vision, ability to execute and current momentum classify it is as exactly the kind of business we like to invest in."

Central England Business Angels rebrands as Oxygen Investors

The long-established Central England Business Angels is to rebrand as Oxygen Investors, reflecting its move from a traditional investment network focused solely on raising equity funding from a group of high net worth individuals, to a broader funding model.

Oxygen Investors will in future seek investment for businesses with high growth potential by working in collaboration with institutional funds, together with both wealth managers and pension fund managers, as well as their extensive network of high net worth individuals. The aim is to allow larger deals to be made, moving from the current £100k to £200k range towards higher value deals. The firm also plans to work closely with debt providers to ensure that the right funding mix is available for all of its clients.

Leading Indian investment syndicate to make first UK start-up investment

'Asia's largest angel network' to back software firm SwiftShift

The government has announced that India's largest business angels syndicate, the Indian Angel Network (IAN) is set to make its first-ever UK investment, in London-based software start-up Swiftshift.

The IAN is Asia's largest network of angel investors, comprising around 250 high net-worth individuals spread across 10 countries in the region.

It is set to back SwiftShift, a London-based start-up which sells a range of employee management software, including a tool to allow companies to quickly fill short-notice shifts. Its software can be managed over SMS, email and smartphones.

Founded by Dan Sandhu in 2012, Swiftshift gained the IAN's backing following a pitching session at 10 Downing Street organised by UK Trade & Investment (UKTI), held as part of the government's strategy to target investment from high-growth markets such as India and China.

Syndicated equity Investment focuses Laser Wire Solutions' ambitious growth plans

An Abertillery-based company whose high-tech products are based on technology originally developed for NASA's Space Shuttle programme has secured a £275,000 equity investment package from Finance Wales and a group of business angels syndicated through xénos, the Wales Business Angel Network (xénos).

Finance Wales and three xénos business angels invested alongside an angel from the South West Angel and Investor Network (SWAIN).

Laser Wire Solutions (LWS) used a Smart Cymru research and development grant to develop a range of laser-based wire-stripping products.  These products can improve the quality of high-value electrical wiring systems and can be used to strip wires in complex wiring systems.

The funding package has provided LWS with the capital it needs to commercialise its current products and further develop its technology.