Howard Kennedy advise Puma Investments on VCT launch 

Law firm Howard Kennedy and its regulated London Stock Exchange sponsor, Howard Kennedy Corporate Services LLP, have advised Puma VCT 12 plc (managed by Puma Investments, part of the Shore Capital Group) on the launch of its 2015 prospectus.

This is the twelfth Puma VCT promoted and managed by the Puma Investments team and sponsored by Howard Kennedy. Puma Investments has a strong track record in providing funding to established businesses across the UK.  Its principal focus is on capital preservation and generating stable returns for its investors.

Puma VCT 12 looks to raise £30m in this tax year.  Puma VCT 11, launched in the 2013/14 tax year, raised over £30m, representing more than half of the entire funds raised by planned exit VCTs in the 2014/2015 tax year.

The Howard Kennedy team was led by partners Michael Harris and Stephen Heinemann, with support from solicitor Sian Thomas.  PwC provided tax advice.

Michael Harris said: "Howard Kennedy has a long history in advising Puma Investments and the Puma family of investment vehicles, commencing with the first ever Puma VCT, and is the pre-eminent law firm advising VCTs.  Puma has a successful track record in investment in asset-backed businesses, providing good returns for its investors and we are delighted to have been able to help it with the launch of its 2015 prospectus."

Eliot Kaye, investment director at Puma Investments said: "Puma's asset-backed investment strategy continues to be popular amongst investors seeking to support UK businesses in a tax-efficient wrapper.  Investors in Puma VCT 12 will benefit from the successful track record of the Puma Investments team and a strong flow of quality investment opportunities with SMEs starved of the capital they need for growth.  As a consequence, we are able to invest in companies which have substantial assets or predictable revenue streams, over which a first charge can be taken."

In the 2014/15-tax year Howard Kennedy advised on 27 of the 33 VCT offers with a combined market value of £370m. 

Howard Kennedy has a dedicated team of partners and staff advising VCTs through its wholly owned FCA authorised subsidiary, Howard Kennedy Corporate Services LLP, which has been active in the market place since 1997, listing well over 200 companies over that period.

Virtual reality specialist Daden awarded £230,000 by Innovate UK

Daden Limited - a virtual reality specialist based at the Innovation Birmingham Campus - has been awarded nearly £230,000 by Innovate UK for its 'Virtual Field Trips as a Service' initiative. 

The funding has been awarded in phase two of Innovate UK's Design for Impact Competition, which aims to identify and then support innovative technology that has been proven in pilot projects in education, but is yet to have a national impact. Daden, working with The Open University (OU), the Field Studies Council  and Birmingham-based Design Thinkers UK, has been awarded the funding to develop its Virtual Field Trips as a Service concept as a national service for schools and universities.

The funding will enable the development of a prototype system, and a full trial and assessment with both universities and schools, the latter facilitated by working closely with one of the Field Studies Council's own field study centres.

David Burden, Managing Director of Daden said "We are really proud to be one of the projects chosen by Innovate UK to receive this investment. There was some stiff competition and we were up against some other very innovative and exciting ideas.

"The funding gives us the opportunity to develop an immersive 3D environment that is optimised for educational use, yet flexible enough to let educators create and customise content. Almost everyone we've spoken to has not only seen how virtual field trips can be a natural complement for physical field trips, but also how the technology could be used to provide a wide range of virtual experiences in support of other subjects, from history to languages."

From November 2014 to April 2015, Daden worked with teachers and students at Washwood Heath Academy in Birmingham, virtual world educators in Second Life, university lecturers at a Royal Geological Society workshop, and a range of other stakeholders to understand the potential, challenges and key features of any virtual field trip service.

David Burden added: "Virtual Field Trips as a Service is intended to support, not replace, physical field trips. It will help students and staff better prepare for a field trip, can provide additional context and gives a focus for post-field trip data analysis, revision, virtual visits to comparative sites, and provides a catch-up for those who may have missed the physical trip. Whilst this funded project is focused on UK education there are obvious opportunities overseas, particularly for virtual 'exchange' field trips."

A 12-month timescale has been set for completion of the project, by which point Daden and its partners should be in a position to start taking Virtual Field Trips as a Service to market. As well as addressing desktop and mobile delivery, the project will also be looking at using the latest generation of virtual reality headsets, such as Oculus Rift and Google Cardboard.

Daden is one of 20 early stage tech companies receiving support from Innovation Birmingham's 'e4f Inspire' programme, which delivers a series of workshops, keynote events, entrepreneur dinners, off-site visits, funded internship/apprenticeship placements, and peer group sessions, in order to accelerate the growth of entrepreneurial tech companies. 

For more information visit the VFTaaS project page at: http://www.daden.co.uk/conc/trainingscapes/design.

Dunedin backed Citysprint completes acquisition of Bexley Couriers 

CitySprint has completed the acquisition of Dartford-based Bexley Couriers, building on its position as the largest privately owned same day distribution company in the UK.  This brings the number of acquisitions made by CitySprint to twenty-one, since it received investment from UK mid-market private equity firm Dunedin in 2010.  It follows the acquisition of two Milton Keynes based logistics operations, CJ's Logistics and Worldwide Logistics and Distribution, which took place earlier this year.

Since its establishment in 1988, Bexley Couriers' diverse fleet has offered a range of local and national delivery services.  The acquisition further strengthens CitySprint's regional network, whilst giving Bexley Couriers' customers access to CitySprint's unrivalled network of 3,000 couriers, which can reach 88% of the UK mainland population in under one hour.

Nicol Fraser, partner of Dunedin who sits on CitySprint's board commented:

"Dunedin has worked alongside the management team to drive the rapid growth of CitySprint over the last five years, cementing its position as the UK market leader in same-day delivery.  The twenty-first acquisition is an important milestone in the company's development and we see exciting opportunities ahead to further increase the scale of what is a unique business in its sector."

Patrick Gallagher, Chief Executive of CitySprint commented: "This acquisition strengthens our regional network and our commitment to providing the best delivery service in the UK and we remain dedicated to further building on our market-leading position."