Cambridge University spinouts set ‘shining example’ on investment
A strong level of university spinouts helped the East of England to secure £980 million in equity investment last year, the highest level of any UK region last year outside London. The University of Cambridge raised 34 spinout deals last year, the most of any UK UK academic institution, according to the British Business Bank’s annual Small Business Equity Tracker. Nationally, university spinouts raised £1.9bn of equity investment in 2024 and accounted for a record share of deals across the UK . Leandros Kalisperas, chief investment officer, British Business Bank, said: “… with such a high investment value of equity deals across the UK, small businesses in the East of England should be commended for their contribution to the wider equity market. It also great to see the impact of Bank-backed spinouts deals in the region with the University of Cambridge setting a shining example for other academic institutions in the UK.” Although the overall number of deals in the East fell by 26 per cent to 129 in what was a tough year for UK equity finance, the region outperformed in other areas; on private equity/venture capital investment, the East had the third highest share of equity deals at 7.4 per cent behind only the South East and London.
Separately, businesses across the East of England are set to benefit from £350 million in new funding as part of the British Business Bank’s expanded efforts to drive regional growth. The new funding – shared between the East and South East – was announced by the business secretary as part of a wider £2.6 billion government-backed support doe entrepreneurs and smaller businesses.
Royal warrant for North Norfolk-based playground design company
A North Norfolk-based business which designs and builds playgrounds, Creating Adventurous Places, has been awarded a royal warrant of appointment in recognition of its work for the royal household. Founded by Simon Egan in 2013, the company began its first royal commission eight years ago – to design and build a playground for The Crown Estate’s Windsor Great Park. It later designed a large-scale outdoor play space at King Charles’ Dorset new town Poundbury and at Nansleden – a new suburb at Newquay – for the Duchy of Cornwall. The phased installation of a children’s play area at the king’s Sandringham Estate in Norfolk and a nature-based play trial at Balmoral Castle followed. “…To be endorsed by the Royal Court and to be allowed to use their household crest is a great achievement. We are all delighted, rather humbled and emotional. It’s at times like these that you wish your parents were still alive,“ said Simon Egan who carries the warrant.
Region’s firms have high hopes for AI as a driver of growth
Most East of England firms – 61 per cent – believe artificial intelligence will be a key growth driver in the local economy and many are seeing increases in productivity and profitability, says a Lloyds business barometer survey. Firms are most commonly using AI platforms to improve efficiency or to analyse data and make better-informed decisions. Looking ahead, 79 per cent of businesses in the region plan to invest more in AI over the next year, with just over a fifth of non-adopters planning to to use the technology for the first time. Firms also plan to create new jobs linked to AI. Kirsty Sadler, regional director for the East of England at Lloyds, said: “Encouragingly, many businesses are planning follow-on investments in the technology and as many as one in five non-adopters will be using it by this time next year. Sharing knowledge, skills and experience will be key to fully capitalising on the technology’s potential for our local economy.”
Briefly…
Law firm Howes Percival’s corporate & banking team delivered a record £828m worth of deals in the year to end-March. The growing team of 10 partners and 37 staff has been involved in more complex and higher value deals, as well as a higher volume of deals. Growth at the firm, which has seven offices including Norwich and Cambridge, has been driven by sector expertise, particularly in automotive, development, food & beverage, health & social care, leisure & tourism and technology & innovation. Recent deals included the acquisition of wholesale food supplier Central Foods by Gressingham Foods.
Growing Ipswich-based software company expands its team
Inform Direct, an Ipswich-based creator of award-winning company secretarial software is expanding its team with three key new appointments. It comes as the company nears a milestone of 500,000 companies on its platform. Inform Direct, part of Bright Software Group, is strengthening its in-house capability to continue enhancing its innovative software. Greg Szynal has been appointed senior software tester, joining the team of specialists who carry out testing to ensure that customers are provided with fault-free software. In his role as software business analyst, Andrew MacNeil is responsible for ensuring the software is current in terms of legislative and commercial requirements, with new features and improved functionality. Meanwhile, Matt Pickersgill joins the sales team as business development manager, offering accountants solutions to help them run their businesses and arranging demos. John Korchak, Inform Direct managing director, said: “We are delighted to welcome our new members of the team – bringing the total to 20 – and look forward to their contributions in both enhancing our product with new features and functionality, as well as supporting users. “Ensuring our software meets current and emerging customer requirements remains a key focus as we approach the major milestone of having half a million companies on our platform.”
Photo: New Inform Direct team members (l-r): Andrew MacNeil, Greg Szynal and Matt Pickersgill.
New hotel experience launched for ‘how people actually travel, meet and unwind’
A new ‘hotel experience’ for business travellers and others has been launched at Wyboston Lakes Resort, west of Cambridge. The Drift Inn has been created from the resort’s Waterfront Hotel with contemporary interior designs and a new approach to corporate meeting space. The venue’s Meeting Point provides three flexible, tech-ready rooms built for strategy, pitching or planning, for up to 80 delegates boardroom style in a larger space and 40 in smaller rooms. The facility also includes an interactive, social breakout zone and can be used for corporate offsite team getaways and social groups. The venue is also introducing The Gravel Pit Café & Bar. “Drift Inn is designed to be exactly what today’s guests want from a hotel, it’s more connected to how people actually travel, meet, and unwind today,” said Steve Jones, CEO, Wyboston Lakes Resort.
Company launched to ‘redefine’ waste management sector
A new comprehensive waste management company has been launched by Cambs- based Demcom to support the sector with challenges from increased regulatory pressure and sustainability demands. Wastecom is aiming redefine the sector by offering fully independent, end-to-end solutions tailored to businesses of every size and sector. Director Ryan Marshall said: “Wastecom is set to deliver tailored solutions at speed; helping clients stay compliant, cut costs, and reduce environmental impact. We independently audit waste facilities, ensuring clients’ duty of care obligations are met. We take on the risk, validate the waste chain, and deliver data that is accurate, measurable, and actionable.”
Cambridge companys supports International Women In Engineering Day
Cambridge company Domino is marking International Women in Engineering Day this week by highlighting its female employees working in key technical roles. Domino, a world leader in coding, marking and digital printing technologies is putting the spotlight on the wide range of rewarding careers in STEM subjects. Meanwhile, the company has recently set a target to increase the number of women in leadership roles to 40 per cent by 2030. Rachel Hurst, chief operating officer, said : “Domino is an excellent environment for women in technical roles, now more than ever. We have recently introduced many new initiatives such as our commitment to increasing women in leadership roles, our Women’s Network, and our partnering with national initiatives such as SheCanCode and STEM Returners.”
Photo: Celebrating IWED 2025 at Domino (l-r): Ainara Asteinza, Rachel Hurst, Vijay Jayakumari, Amanda Braund and Belinda Pryor.
- The Middle East, the US and the market.
- Discover more insights in Brown Shipley’s latest market and investment update: Markets and Investment Update – 23.06.25
- Investing puts your capital at risk
