A specialist Bristol software company working internationally to help detect and prevent corruption, fraud and other crimes has raised £4m to maintain its rapid expansion. Launched more than eight years ago, Clue Software has since grown into a leading provider of software for investigations and intelligence management with a...
Lawyers from the Bristol office of international legal practice Osborne Clarke have advised on the introduction of a $250m (£189m) fund aimed at backing purpose-driven technology founders. Some $100m of the total will act as a seed fund to back 25 early-stage companies while $150m will be a climate-focused...
The South West’s small firms are the least confident in the UK about their prospects for this year as they continue to struggle against the state of the economy, high labour costs and the lack of available staff. Worryingly, one in five say they may have to cut their...
Acquisition-hungry Bristol financial services provider Clifton Asset Management has notched up another takeover as it aims to further disrupt the market. The firm, which has £1.5bn in assets under influence, has snapped up Portishead-based Pure Advanced Financial Planning – its seventh acquisition in recent years. Clifton bosses have said...
Highly experienced venture capital and innovation specialist Kevin Simmons has been appointed to the entrepreneur in residence team at acclaimed tech incubator SETsquared Bristol. A general partner of a $50m (£39.4m) early-stage pan-African venture capital technology fund, Kevin, pictured, has helped launch several successful angel networks and has invested...
National Apprenticeship Week, which takes place early each February, is a great opportunity to celebrate apprenticeships as a means of getting young people into the workforce. For Haines Watts, apprenticeships have become a key strategy for recruitment and business development. In our Bristol office alone we have taken on...
Nearly 4,000 companies in the Bristol area are in ‘significant’ financial distress as the economy continues to teeter on the brink of recession, according to a new report. The 12% increase on the previous quarter shows stubbornly high interest rates and inflation alongside weak consumer confidence and rising and...
The Bristol office of growth finance group BGF invested nearly £70m in small and mid-sized businesses in 2023, taking its total for the past three years to £190m. The long-term investor, which makes initial investments of between £1m to £20m for a minority equity stake, said it backed businesses...
A Bristol drain clearance company is targeting a turnover of £5m this year as it continues to invest in its fleet and personnel. Trent’s Drains, which was set up by father and son Mark and Louis Trent in 2013, has grown dramatically over the past four years on the...
Bristol-headquartered national law firm TLT’s corporate team has advised on a complex investment deal involving a West of England financial advice business which has significantly increased the UK footprint of a major Swedish group. TLT acted for Bath-based Fidelius on its investment by Söderberg & Partners, one of the...
Bristol-based invoice finance provider Optimum Finance has made a number of appointments as it looks to continue last year’s steady expansion into 2024. Steve Chapman has joined as risk & recoveries manager to lead the firm’s activity in that area. Steve, pictured, has more than 40 years’ experience within...
Private equity and investment firm Maven Capital Partners has strengthened its presence in Bristol to support its delivery of the £200m South West Investment Fund (SWIF). Launched last July by the British Business Bank, SWIF aims to boost the supply of finance to small and medium-sized businesses across the...
Alternative regional funder SWIG Finance has reached the landmark of lending £15m to 250 small businesses across the South West in a scheme backed by Triodos, the ethical bank with its UK headquarters in Bristol. The milestone came within five years of the first loan being made under the...
