News

Health and Care Innovations (HCI) has secured a £375,000 equity investment from the British Business Bank’s South West Investment Fund via appointed Fund Manager, The FSE Group.

As part of an £880,000 funding round, the investment will drive the growth of HCI’s CONNECTPlus digital health platform and healthcare video library to help manage patient care.

HCI is already working with over 10% of NHS acute trusts, with ICBs and with Mater Hospital in Ireland and Castilla La Mancha and Catalonia in Spain, educating and supporting patients at home so that they can self-manage their conditions more confidently and reduce demand on the health system.

This reduces the number and length of appointments and calls in order to reduce elective care waiting lists and outpatient appointments and focus resources on the patients with the greatest need. As the world grapples with the growing demands of multimorbidity, HCI's integrated approach offers a singular platform for managing multiple conditions and treatments that simplifies life both for patients and health systems. 

CONNECTPlus addresses the needs of "the whole patient," supporting over 70 conditions already, plus remote monitoring tools and digital pathways of care. Alongside, their health and care video library offers over 1,000 patient-facing videos, providing patients with the vital information and education needed to manage their conditions effectively at home.

The ability to deliver in multiple languages means that the challenges around equality and diversity can be easily addressed.

Richard Wyatt-Haines, CEO and Founder of HCI, said: "We too often see people undergoing treatment or suffering from conditions they don't understand, which increases their anxiety. It also increases the demands they make on the health systems and services around them. It's not fair, and it's not necessary. There's so much more that can be done to help both patients and healthcare workers. HCI is here to do that. Our comprehensive solution empowers patients to take an active role in managing their health and we are delighted to receive this investment, which will enable us to expand our reach, to both healthcare providers and patients in need.”

Ralph Singleton, Head of Equity South West at The FSE Group, commented: "HCI's client base already includes over 20 NHS organisations, multi-national insurance companies, and hospitals in European territories. With an experienced team well-versed in NHS program delivery and a robust and adaptable solution for complex healthcare challenges, HCI is well-positioned to lead the charge in transforming healthcare delivery. We are thrilled to support the team in their journey to innovate patient care."

Jody Tableporter from the British Business Bank said: "The South West Investment Fund was established to support ambitious and innovative businesses like HCI that are harnessing technology to scale their own operations and deliver even greater impact. By investing in HCI’s CONNECTPlus platform, the fund is backing a business that aims to transform patient care, improve efficiency within the healthcare system, and enhance support for both patients and healthcare providers. We look forward to seeing the positive impact of this investment."

Richard Wyatt-Haines added that CONNECTPlus delivers improved quality of care and quality of life for patients, reduced costs and demand on healthcare providers, increased productivity and improved work experience for clinicians and admin teams, as well as increasing overall capacity within health organisations.

The purpose of the South West Investment Fund is to drive sustainable economic growth by supporting innovation and creating local opportunity for new and growing businesses across the South West. It offers a range of commercial finance options with smaller loans from £25k to £100k, debt finance from £100k to £2m and equity investment up to £5 million.

The fund is increasing the supply and diversity of early-stage finance for South West smaller businesses, providing funds to firms that might otherwise not receive investment and helping to break down barriers in access to finance.

A leading sustainable home and personal care product brand has secured equity funding from the British Business Bank’s South West Investment Fund. The investment comes via appointed Fund Manager, The FSE Group, and takes Bower’s total funds now raised through multiple funding rounds to £6.6million.  

A certified B Corp based in the South West, Bower is on a mission to eliminate household plastic waste through its innovative circular economy business model. Bower develops outstanding natural products like household cleaning sprays, hand wash, laundry liquid, body wash and washing up liquid supplied in a reusable pouch that is refilled for the next customer, encouraging repeat purchase and the consistent use of reusable products. 

This innovative packaging solution, BowerPack™, was developed with Innovate UK funding and is designed for ease of use, refilling, and returning. The pouches incorporate digital tracking via QR codes, which allow customers to view how many times a pouch is refilled, ensuring accountability and transparency for end users. 

Alongside strengthening the company’s existing subscription model via its website, the funding will aid investment into product innovation and expansion of B2B channels, as well as physical retail presence through partnerships with independent retailers and supermarkets. 

Nick Torday, co-founder and CEO of Bower Collective, said: "We’re delighted to receive this investment, which will enable us to enhance our operational efficiency, continue to grow our digital subscription business and expand our B2B channel growth. Our mission to eliminate plastic waste is more urgent than ever and, with this support, we’re well set to scale our impact even further”. 

Matt Browning, Investment Manager at The FSE Group, commented: "Bower’s management team has shown exceptional innovation and commitment to sustainability, which aligns well with our investment philosophy. They have demonstrated strong market demand for their outstanding products and we’re excited to support them in their mission to tackle the pervasive issue of plastic waste." 

Paul Jones, Senior Investment Manager from the British Business Bank said: "The South West Investment Fund was created to support ambitious and innovative businesses like Bower Collective, helping them scale and drive sustainable growth in the region. Bower’s commitment to eliminating plastic waste through circular economy principles aligns strongly with our mission to back businesses that deliver both commercial success and positive environmental impact." 

Plastic waste remains a global challenge; less than 10% of plastic is currently recycled, with most polluting the environment by ending up in landfill, the ocean or incineration. The refillable and reusable consumer goods category is projected to grow significantly over the next five years, providing ample opportunities for Bower Collective to further its mission. 

The purpose of the South West Investment Fund is to drive sustainable economic growth by supporting innovation and creating local opportunity for new and growing businesses across the South West. It offers a range of commercial finance options with smaller loans from £25k to £100k, debt finance from £100k to £2m and equity investment up to £5 million. 

The fund is increasing the supply and diversity of early-stage finance for South West smaller businesses, providing funds to firms that might otherwise not receive investment and helping to break down barriers in access to finance. 

The Play Company, based in South Devon, has secured a £500,000 loan from the British Business Bank’s South West Investment Fund via appointed Fund Manager, The FSE Group. The investment will support the company's growth and expansion plans, including the creation of 20 new jobs over the next three years. 

With its roots as a soft play maintenance provider for over 20 years, The Play Company pivoted to a full-service offering of design, manufacture, and installation of soft play structures, interactive play areas, and sports pitches for the family entertainment centre sector, just before the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Despite the unprecedented challenges brought about by lockdowns, the company has now firmly established itself in the market and witnessed significant growth with an almost 70% increase in turnover last year. 

The funding will enhance operational capacity and expand international reach by enabling investment in new staff to handle increasing workloads, larger premises to accommodate the growing team and increased marketing efforts. 

Elliott Myatt, Managing Director of The Play Company which is based near Kingsbridge, said: "We're excited to use this South West Investment Fund loan to build on recent successes and convert our robust pipeline into new contracts. As a newly profit generating business, we don’t fit the criteria for high street lenders so finding in FSE a funder that is focused on the growth potential of our offering is refreshing. This investment will be pivotal in achieving our ambitious growth targets." 

Rob Ward, Investment Manager at The FSE Group, commented: "As a projection-led lender, we are thrilled to support The Play Company, a business with a strong reputation and significant growth trajectory both in the UK and internationally. The award-winning management team has demonstrated resilience and innovation, and we are confident in their ability to achieve their ambitious expansion goals." 

With this new investment, The Play Company is poised for significant growth, ready to manage increased project volumes in a global market currently worth circa $30billion and continuing to expand. 

Paul Jones, Senior Investment Manager, from the British Business Bank said: "The South West Investment Fund is designed to unlock growth opportunities for businesses across the region, and The Play Company is a great example of the impact that access to finance can have, especially when a business might not have the trading track record to satisfy many lenders. This investment will drive future growth and create a significant number of new jobs.” 

The purpose of the South West Investment Fund is to drive sustainable economic growth by supporting innovation and creating local opportunity for new and growing businesses across the South West. It offers a range of commercial finance options with smaller loans from £25k to £100k, debt finance from £100k to £2m and equity investment up to £5 million. 

The fund is increasing the supply and diversity of early-stage finance for South West smaller businesses, providing funds to firms that might otherwise not receive investment and helping to break down barriers in access to finance. 

Big Business Intelligence, trading as Distil.ai, has successfully secured a £350,000 equity investment from the British Business Bank's South West Investment Fund, via appointed Fund Manager The FSE Group. The funding is part of a £1million round that also includes investment from Waterspring Ventures.  

Distil.ai is an AI-driven data and analytics platform that has carved a niche in transforming raw data into actionable business intelligence, with a particular focus on the restaurant and hospitality sectors.

Its scalable platform leverages AI to deliver powerful data insights, significantly boosting returns through operations, marketing effectiveness and customer relationship management. The Exeter-based company collaborates with OpenTable, the world’s largest restaurant booking platform, as well as other platforms, to unlock operational efficiencies.

The funding will fuel Distil’s ambitious growth plans, enhancing its team and advancing platform development including the addition of multi-language capabilities, ahead of a planned Series A funding round.

Gerry McNicol, founder and CEO of Distil, said: “This funding is allowing us to invest in key activities to accelerate our growth trajectory and solidify our position in the market. Planned developments mean we can continue to provide customers with unparalleled insights at exceptional value. We are excited to partner with The FSE Group and South West Investment Fund as we continue to expand our capabilities and enhance our platform.”

Distil’s competitive advantage lies in its ability to integrate multiple data sources, resolve fragments of customer data into usable single customer profiles whilst offering self-service analytics reducing the need for traditional data analysts. The platform is already trusted by top-tier customers such as Hawksmoor, Gordon Ramsay Restaurants, The Devonshire Group, Aqua Restaurants and Crowdcube with clients reporting significant improvements including a 200%+ uplift in sales of a single product in one case and 75% business growth in another.

Meg Salt, Investment Manager at The FSE Group, commented: “With its scalable technology and strong foothold in the restaurant sector, Distil.ai is a compelling investment opportunity. The company's unique access to OpenTable data, along with its credible management team, make it an exciting proposition. Distil is well-positioned to achieve significant growth and we are delighted to be supporting them on this journey.”

Paul Jones, Senior Investment Manager from the British Business Bank said: "Distil.ai is a great example of how data-driven innovation is thriving in the South West. By harnessing AI to unlock new value in hospitality and other sectors, the business is helping customers harness their data to drive efficiency and growth. We look forward to seeing how support from the South West Investment Fund accelerates Distil's next stage of development."

Sam Huxtable, Managing Partner at Waterspring Ventures added: “We are thrilled to announce our investment in Distil. With a highly experienced team, they have developed an innovative platform to help restaurant chains leverage data science to streamline and automate complex, manual operational processes. Now, with exclusive access to OpenTable's data, Distil is poised for significant growth, and we look forward to supporting them in seizing this exciting opportunity. 

The purpose of the South West Investment Fund is to drive sustainable economic growth by supporting innovation and creating local opportunity for new and growing businesses across the South West. It offers a range of commercial finance options with smaller loans from £25k to £100k, debt finance from £100k to £2m and equity investment up to £5 million. The fund is increasing the supply and diversity of early-stage finance for South West smaller businesses, providing funds to firms that might otherwise not receive investment and helping to break down barriers in access to finance.

At The FSE Group we talk about sustainability a lot; it’s a weighty word with nuanced meaning.  

As one of our company values, we talk about it in terms of sustainable finance and sustainable growth. But we are also focused on the more familiar aspect of environmental sustainability, both in how we work with and support our portfolio companies to meet their environmental targets, and also the actions we take as a business to ourselves be more sustainable. 

By using an ESG VC framework with all of our portfolio, we ensure that these companies are assessing, monitoring and working towards strong ESG principles across their business. Many of the businesses we work with are registered B Corps or working towards B Corp accreditation and/or have made a commitment towards net zero. 

Our portfolio also features a number of businesses where the operation is provision of sustainable products and services, including: 

• Connekt Group is an independent electric vehicle (EV) charging network and commercial installation business, which secured a £250,000 Investment Fund for Scotland (IFS) loan to develop Connekt’s first three rapid charging hubs in Scotland, contributing to national sustainability goals and supporting the transition to electric vehicles. 

• Revolution-ZERO provides reusable medical textiles such as masks and surgical textiles. The company secured £1m South West Investment Fund equity to grow its circular economy solution that uses decontamination/sterilisation units equipped with an RFID tracking system. 

• Flexi-Hex received a £0.9m mix of debt and equity funding from Cornwall & Isles of Scilly Investment Fund to grow its sustainable packaging solutions, originally developed for the shipping of surfboards. Their durable, patented, recycled paper honeycomb sleeves are now used in the transit of goods including wine and premium toiletries, are curbside recyclable, and biodegrade within eight weeks. 

• RAD Propulsion is helping to reduce marine carbon emissions with its innovative electric engine technology, which cuts CO2 emissions by 89% compared to traditional diesel outboards. A £500,000 equity investment  from our Funding Escalator in the South East is helping the business drive product development.  

Since 2022 The FSE Group has been working towards Carbon Neutral Status, using an independent assessment tool and taking practical steps to change behaviours and practices that would reduce emissions. 

Paul Marston, CEO at The FSE Group, said: “with our focus on ensuring the businesses we fund are taking steps to be environmentally responsible, it’s important that we can lead by example.  Following the work to reduce our emissions, we have now taken action to offset the small amount of residual carbon via Carbon Neutral Britain. By supporting CNB’s Woodland Fund, we’re supporting projects both in the UK and around the world that are actively removing Carbon Dioxide & Greenhouse Gases from the Earth’s atmosphere. We’re proud to have gained Carbon Neutral status and look forward to continuing to support our portfolio companies to do the same.”