Venture capital business of the Dow Schofield Watts group focusing on early-stage scale-up businesses requiring funding of more than £250k.
Portfolio
4
companies
Stressfreecarrental.com
Stressfreecarrental.com operates an online comparison and booking platform for car hire and airport transfers.
4D Biomaterials
Developer of a biodegradable biomaterial used for 3D printed medical implants.
One Utility Bill
Simplifying household utilities and billing administration for tenants and landlords.
Poptop
Events booking platform connecting consumers with private event suppliers.
Ellie Boardman
Investment Manager
The Manchester-based car rental platform secured £534k from DSW Ventures and angel investor Harry Dixon to fund European expansion and team growth.
"The online car rental market is ripe for disruption. Stressfreecarrental.com offers a fresh approach and we believe it is well-placed to achieve significant scale. The business has already gained considerable traction, despite restrictions on travel, and this round will support its further development and growth."
The funding round was led by DSW Ventures with backing from Mercia and SFC Capital.
"I am delighted to welcome DSW Ventures and Mercia on board at this exciting time for the company. The raise was oversubscribed by 60%, helped by the continuing support of SFC Capital and our angel investors. This puts us in a strong position as we move into the next phase of taking our products to market."
The Newcastle-based utility platform has raised a follow-on investment led by DSW Ventures and Northstar Ventures to scale operations and enhance technology.
"We’re delighted to raise this follow-on round from our investors, our second investment in a challenging but very rewarding 12-month period. This is a huge vote of confidence in our business and reflects the incredible progress that the One Utility Bill team has achieved over the last 12 months. We’ll be using the funds to further accelerate our customer growth and invest in our technology."
The Newcastle-based events booking platform has raised a further £440k from DSW Ventures and NorthStar Ventures.
"We are confident that in 2021 the market for private events will bounce back strongly and Poptop will play an important role in the redevelopment of the industry. The technology we’ve built allows us to significantly improve the customer’s experience of planning an event and increase conversions and bookings for our suppliers."
