Blackfinch completes 12 investment deals totalling £17m ahead of deadline
Blackfinch Ventures has completed on 12 investment deals totalling £17m ahead of the tax-year-end deadline, further cementing the firm’s reputation as the ‘go to’ investor for technology and tech-enabled companies.
The move sees three exciting new businesses join the Blackfinch Ventures growing portfolio, collectively securing a total of £5m.
This includes customer experience platform, Futr, recruitment and talent acquisition platform, Placed, and behavioural data platform, Measure Protocol.
A further nine companies – including Clientshare, Transreport and OnePulse – have received follow-on investment in totals ranging from £550,000 through to £2.64m.
The latest investment deal update follows hot on the heels of news that Blackfinch Ventures has exited its investment in Candidate.ID, a leader in marketing automation technology for recruitment.
This is the first exit for Blackfinch Ventures, and follows the acquisition of Candidate.ID by iCIMS, the US-based talent cloud company, in a deal which resulted in a strong return for Blackfinch investors over a 2-year period.
Commenting on the new investments Dr Reuben Wilcock, head of ventures at Blackfinch, said he was delighted to be backing some of the most talented founders and startup teams in the UK through these investments, which represented a well-diversified high-tech portfolio for clients.
He added that the total amount raised also reflected a ‘real confidence’ in the Group’s commitment to investing in disruptive businesses that have the potential to deliver a solid return.
“The latest round of investments follows a very busy and exciting period of growth for Blackfinch Ventures, having expanded both our team and our portfolio significantly over the last year,” Reuben said.
“In 2021 alone we invested in 10 new companies, and I am delighted to announce that many of those businesses have grown rapidly and received further investment as part of this latest round. We are also delighted to welcome Futr, Placed, and Measure Protocol to the portfolio.
“The quality of these businesses shines through in the technology they are bringing to the market, and the talent of their teams. We are delighted that these passionate founders see value in having Blackfinch as an investment partner and look forward to playing an important role in furthering their growth ambitions.
“Similarly, the total of funds raised is reflective of a real confidence from both new and existing clients in our commitment, as an investment group, to cementing lasting relationships with disruptive businesses that create products to address real world needs.”
The funds were raised through Blackfinch’s EIS Ventures Portfolios, which invests in innovative start-up and early-stage technology companies across the UK in a variety of industry sectors, as well as its Spring Venture Capital Trust (VCT) which invests primarily in technology enabled companies in their growth stage.
The Ventures team has invested a total of £45.8m across 27 companies and 57 deals since it was established three years ago.
Investors in the Blackfinch Spring VCT include financial advisors and their retail clients, and investors using direct-to-client platforms.
Blackfinch Ventures targets high-growth opportunities, supporting start-ups, and early stage and growth stage businesses with technological potential. The focus is on disruptive businesses, offering products that address real world needs, with the capability to make an impact in global markets.
The Ventures team sits within the wider Blackfinch Group, which collectively is committed to helping to create a more sustainable world through its focus on environment, social and governance factors.
