Dragon’s Den success Nursem smashed a £400,000 crowdfund target as part of moves to expand overseas.
The hand cream company, which is based in Newcastle, was founded five years ago by nurse Antonia Philp and her husband Jonny to make hand lotion which treats the skin condition contact dermatitis. Around 85% of NHS workers are said to suffer from the condition because of the number of times they need to wash their hands at work, and the problem also affects many other people, particularly those who have sensitive or damaged skin.
Nursem provides a range of products to counter the condition and for every product sold, it gives a month’s worth of free hand cream to an NHS nurse or midwife. The couple appeared on Dragons’ Den in 2021, where they won over the investors and struck a deal for £75,000 with Tej Lalvani, in exchange for 5% of the business – funds it used to develop the expansion of its international presence as well as explore new products.
Now the business is giving people a chance to share in its success, through a Crowdcube campaign to raise £400,000. Within two days of launching the fundraise last Monday the brand had already reached its 100% funding limit, so is now allowing ‘over-funding’ for more people to join and help support its expansion plans and its wider mission to deliver free handcare to NHS nurses.
County Durham's Everflow announced expansion plans after completing a partial management buyout.
Peterlee-based Everflow said it planning to expand its range of services to other utilities outside of the water market. The company - which was named the third fastest growing business in Europe in 2021 - announced a management buyout by its existing management team, with the deal marking a partial exit for lead investor Perwyn.
Everflow Water was launched in 2015 after CEO and founder Josh Gill saw a gap in the market for an ethical water retailer that could harness technology to operate efficiently. The company said the transaction will result in an excellent return on investment for Perwyn, which initially invested in the company in 2018. The deal will enable the company to restructure its capital framework, and Perwyn said it will maintain a significant minority stake, as well as its seat on the Everflow board.
Everflow CEO Mr Gill said: “We are grateful to Perwyn for their enduring support of Everflow and are very pleased that they will remain shareholders. Ravi and his team have played an invaluable role in our growth journey to date and their support and advice will remain key as we look to substantially scale the business into different utility verticals.
“We have learnt how to maximise advantages in Ƶ utilities markets following the end of monopoly models for those basic services and our future plans include targeting the telecoms and wider utilities.”
Northumbria University received £9m in funding for its part in a major AI research and innovation programme.
The Newcastle-based university has been named as one of 12 Centres for Doctoral Training in Artificial Intelligence as part of a £118m funding announcement by Ƶ Research and Innovation (ƵRI), a move the university says will encourage further investment into the city. The centres, based at 16 universities, will train the next generation of AI researchers and innovators, with doctoral students specialising in areas such as developing a responsible and trustworthy future for AI, healthcare, agriculture, and environmental sustainability to media.
The £9m ƵRI funding for Northumbria – one of the largest single awards the university has ever received – will aid the creation of a centre called the ƵRI AI Centre for Doctoral Training in Citizen-Centred Artificial Intelligence. It will take on its first cohort of students next September and will involve academics from across the university, focusing on the inclusion of citizens in the design and evaluation of AI.
A Gateshead entrepreneur who has developed an alternative to concrete foundations for holiday lodges has secured investment to further his venture.
Having introduced ground screws to the Ƶ more than a decade ago in partnership with a Swedish brand, Andy Gabel has recently launched a new system for securing lightweight holiday lodges without pouring tonnes of concrete into the ground. His firm Groundscrew4u offers other products that are used for domestic and commercial structures including garden rooms, home offices, modular classrooms and home annexes.
Mr Gabel showcased the Staygrounded product at the Great Holiday Home Show in Harrogate last month and says there has already been interest from big industry names, with a number of new projects in the offing for next year. Now a £50,000 sum from the North East Small Loan Fund, arranged through NEL Fund Managers, will be used to market the system, including taking it to subsequent trade shows.
Anticipated demand over the next 12 months means Groundscrew4u expects to double its eight-strong team of installers. Mr Gabel said: “Ground screws offer a faster and cleaner solution for solid foundations for all types of timber and lightweight structures than traditional concrete foundations. Alongside this, they typically have a 60% lower environmental impact, which is especially important to businesses working towards carbon neutral status."
Wealth management specialist Fairstone bought up two independent financial advice firms, one of which is on its home soil. The North East-based business, which has been acquisitive through its downstream buyout model, has taken over County Durham-based Advanced Financial Services, which has offices in Newton Aycliffe and Consett, and Station Financial IFA, which has three offices including New Milton in Hampshire, Bridgend and Chepstow in Wales.
The deals expand Fairstone's presence in Wales and the South West, and bring a combined £380m of assets under management and £4m in annual revenue generated by 2,000 clients. Together the firms employ 17 advisers and 19 support staff. The moves are the latest for Fairstone, which earlier this year said it planned to recruit around 120 people amid a planned relocation of its head office to the former Nike building at Doxford International Business Park in Sunderland.
Leighton Hawkins, co-principal at Station said: “Fairstone’s unique acquisition proposition was perfect for us as it gave us the time we needed to ease into the sale without compromising any of our stakeholders. By taking the deal slowly and doing it properly, we have managed it with minimum disruption to our colleagues and most importantly, our clients.”
North East challenger bank Atom raised £100m from its investors in a move it says will boost its lending capabilities. The Durham-based bank said the new equity capital had come from long-term shareholders BBVA, Toscafund and Infinity Investment Partners. The investment has come amid a search for funding that began earlier this year and following last Novembers £30m secured from the same investors.
Atom said the funding round formed part of its long term strategy to "deliver a liquidity event in the future". CEO Mark Mullen has previously said the bank was working to make itself a "credible candidate for IPO" and to be a company that would not only survive the transition but thrive thereafter.
It comes after Atom reported its first operating profit of £4m in the year to the end of March. Reporting the results this summer, the bank said it had the momentum to "eclipse" the numbers, and has now confirmed it has already done so this financial year with a quarterly run-rate generating more than £100m of annualised net interest income and more than £25m operating profit.
Motor retailer Vertu has purchased what it describes as one of the most successful Honda dealer businesses in the Ƶ.
The Gateshead-based firm has agreed a £6.2m deal for Rowes Garage Limited which has four sales sites in the South West. As well as Honda showrooms in Plymouth, Plymstock and Truro, Rowes also operated a Suzuki franchised outlet in Plymouth, which Vertu said will continue to operate as a used car outlet and Suzuki authorised repairer on acquisition and later refranchised.
All four sites will immediately be rebranded under the Vertu and Bristol Street Motors names. The move follows Vertu's £120m acquisition of the Helston group of 28 garages in 2022 - the firm's biggest deal in its history.
This latest move means Vertu now operates 34 sites in the South West, including its first site Plymouth. And the group, which was already Honda's largest retailer in the Ƶ, will now run 17 outlets for the brand. Altogether the group now boasts 193 sites across the Ƶ.
