Dundee-based CXR Biosciences joins Concept Life Sciences Group

CXR Biosciences Limited, (“CXR”) the Dundee-based investigative and exploratory toxicology business, has been sold by its shareholders – including Archangel Investors and Scottish Investment Bank – to UK-based Concept Life Sciences, the growing life sciences, scientific laboratory and consultancy group.

CXR is a leading investigative toxicology business. Its in-house expertise assists international life sciences companies to resolve issues relating to the safety of compounds and with the selection of drug and chemical candidates.    CXR, which has 33 staff, will retain its name and operate under the Concept Life Sciences’ Group umbrella. All staff, including the management team, are joining the Concept Life Sciences Group. CXR Biosciences’ CEO, Paul Smith, will continue to head up the business which will continue to be based in Dundee.

CXR was founded in 2001 as a spin-out from Dundee University with funding led by Archangels, the prominent Edinburgh-based business angel syndicate which has been at the forefront of early stage investing in Scotland for more than two decades.

Concept Life Sciences is a UK-based, international scientific laboratory and consultancy business working in the life, food and environmental sciences. Combining the resources, knowledge and experience of its companies, Concept Life Sciences provides a comprehensive platform of services to clients requiring innovative science based solutions. The business is supported by the leading European private equity group Equistone Partners Europe as part of its €1.5bn Fund IV.

Niki McKenzie, Investment Executive at Archangels, said:

“This is a good deal for staff, for shareholders and for Scotland.  CXR Biosciences is an excellent business and will benefit from being part of a larger life sciences group while retaining its base in Dundee.  This move reflects Archangels’ approach of investing early, providing support and further investment to allow our companies to grow and exiting at a mutually advantageous opportunity once they reach maturity.  We wish the business further success in the next chapter of the CXR story.”

Kerry Sharp, Head of Scottish Investment Bank said:

“Over the last 10 years, we have worked closely with CXR Biosciences to provide an integrated package of support and investment including help with realising their international trade ambitions. The acquisition by Concept Life Sciences allowing them to continue to operate in Dundee with the existing team is an optimal outcome. As well as securing the future of CXR in Dundee, this exit is another positive step for Scottish Enterprise in developing globally competitive businesses in Scotland”

Loyalty Bay raises $1 million led by Talis Capital to help businesses increase any conversion metric using data and rewards

UK-based Loyalty Bay has raised $1 million in a late seed funding round to power its service, which helps businesses increase any conversion metric on their web properties using data and rewards. The round was led by Talis Capital with Howzat Partners, NEON Adventures, Chris Mairs and Richard Verney all participating. Matus Maar has joined the board as Investor Director. 

Loyalty Bay enables businesses to reward and incentivise any action (i.e. sale, signup, retention, referral, cross sell, up sell etc.) taken on the business's site through their smart white-labelled API, Super Users product (it identifies your super users from an email address) and Rewards Hub. Data analytics is used to offer the right reward or incentive to the right person at the right time to drive actions, essentially providing analytics to a neglected but vast segment of ecommerce.
 
They offer complete fulfilment and have turned what was once a slow, laborious unscientific process (mailing out incentives) into a real-time data driven digital solution. Loyalty Bay call it Rewards as a Service (RaaS).
 
CEO William Roberts said “we marry the gift card and incentive sector up with ad technology to increase onsite conversions. If Loyalty Bay can offer the right incentive to the right person at the right time in order to get them to convert on a client’s site, conversions can be significantly improved. We have increased the conversion rate by over 100% working with some very large enterprise clients.”
 
Loyalty Bay already works with enterprise customers and SMEs in the Telecommunications, Finance, Travel and Automotive industries, although the product suite can be applied to any verticals that can benefit from data analytics and incentives to improve conversion rates.
 
Matus Maar, co-founder and Director of Talis Capital explained “data analytics platforms for enterprises remain a key focus for Talis Capital, especially businesses such as Loyalty Bay which can drive significant improvements in conversion rates. We are excited to partner with the team during this period of exceptional growth.”
 
Vasile Foca, co-founded and Director of Talis Capital added “Loyalty Bay have made impressive progress in delivering an enterprise grade solution in a manner accessible to SMEs. Data analytics and optimisation tools are already a necessity for businesses seeking to better understand their customers, we are pleased to announce Loyalty Bay as our tenth transaction of 2015.”
  

Contemporary womenswear brand ME+EM raises new equity capital to fund expansion

Venrex Fund, Pembroke Venture Capital Trust plc (“Pembroke”), Sir Charles Dunstone and other private investors have announced a co-investment in contemporary womenswear brand ME+EM, founded by Clare Hornby.

ME+EM is a contemporary British label that offers understated, accessible and beautifully crafted clothes that fulfil the fashion needs of a modern woman’s lifestyle. ME+EM products are sold direct to the consumer predominately through their e-commerce site, via brochures, and through their flagship retail store in Connaught Street, London.

The new capital underlines investor confidence in the business, and will allow them to build on their success to date by both acquiring new customers and broadening the product offering to their current loyal following. The funds will be used to increase customer engagement and acquisition by moving towards an omni-channel marketing approach including investment in digital, social and PR. Funds will also be used to expand the product range through increased colour, detailing and fabric, and for the targeted introduction of wholesale activity to drive brand awareness and support buying scale.

Andrew Wolfson, CEO of Pembroke Venture Capital Trust commented “We are delighted to be partnering with Clare and the team at ME+EM in what is Pembroke’s fifth investment in the apparel sector. We were impressed by the way the product resonates with their target demographic and the team’s intelligent approach to marketing and data management. We look forward to supporting the business in their growth and development.”

Clare Hornby Founder and Creative Director of ME+EM commented “ME+EM has doubled in size over the last 18 months. I am excited about the future and working with Venrex and Pembroke who both provide the expertise and financial support to take the brand to the next level”