Three New Operational Partners Join The Praetura Team
We’re delighted to announce three new industry heavy weights have been appointed to support our portfolio founders and their businesses on their growth journeys. They include Helen Verwoert, previously Chief HR Officer at Dr. Martens; Andy Barrow, the former CTO of tech giant ANS, which has just merged with UKFast; and Paul Johnson, the outgoing founder and CEO of SaaS business MPP Global, following its recent acquisition. In March 2021, we appointed our first five Operational Partners and since then they’ve had a huge impact on the portfolio. We’re so excited to be growing the programme, which supports our founders with More Than Money as one of the only venture capital businesses in the north who offers this level of support to its portfolio.
Trio of New Deals For Praetura Ventures
Three new companies have joined the portfolio! The first, Illuma Technology, is preparing some of the world’s biggest brands (Sky, VW and Coca-Cola, etc.) for the end of advertising cookies with an AdTech solution that expands potential display audiences. The second company is Percayso Inform. Percayso is a data enrichment business which provides next generation intelligence to the general insurance sector, all the while helping to prevent fraud and enable insurance providers to compete on price comparison sites. Completing the list is Sparkbox, which has created a data-driven platform to help busy merchandising teams in fashion make key pricing decisions, enabling retailers to sell their stock more efficiently and within a specific timeframe.
Enthuse Confirmed As London Marathon Fundraising Partner
Our portfolio company Enthuse has been named as the official online fundraising partner for London Marathon Events (LME), which runs the TCS London Marathon, Ride London and many other fundraising events. As a result of the news, LME will invite those taking part and raising money to do so via Enthuse, which inspires repeat donations through direct relationships between supporters and charities. Enthuse will process and manage the money raised by LME’s 200,000 participants over the next three years.
Inotec Gains NHS Approved Supplier Status
Inotec, the company behind the innovative NATROX® Oxygen Wound Therapy device, has become a supplier to the UK’s NHS Supply Chain and NHS Shared Business Services. The news means healthcare professionals and patients will be able to administer and easily access wound therapy for hard-to-heal wounds. It’s also the first time continuous topical oxygen therapy (cTOT) has been listed by the NHS, marking a major milestone for both Inotec and the NATROX® device.
PixelMax And XR Games Nominated For Two Digital City Festival Awards
XR Games has been nominated for yet another award after being shortlisted for ‘Best Small Digital Company’ at this year’s Digital City Festival. Elsewhere, PixelMax is shortlisted for ‘Best Start-Up’. The news follows a series of award wins for both companies, both of which make up the North’s ever-evolving technology landscape. The awards will take place from 7th-11th March in Manchester. To see the full shortlist, visit the Digital City Festival website.
Patchwork’s Dr Anas Nader Interviewed By The Times
Dr Anas Nader, the co-founder of Patchwork Health, has given his thoughts on flexible working within the NHS and the organisation’s admin burden in an interview with The Times. Patchwork, which has been adopted by over 70 organisations across 250 sites, continues to provide support to the NHS in the form of smarter staff rostering, saving Trusts millions in agency costs. Dr Nader told The Times: ” Over the last four years, we tallied up around £39 million saved across all the organisations we work with.” You can read the full article here.
PixelMax Featured On Primetime ITV News
With conversations around remote working ongoing, ITV News recently featured PixelMax on their news programme to see how the company is helping businesses adapt to remote working and events. The news broadcast also follows the publication of PixelMax’s landmark white paper on the metaverse and the role it could play in the future of work, corporate events and training. You can watch ITV News’ full interview with PixelMax here. Alternatively, click here to download PixelMax’s Virtual Workplace white paper.
Futr Wins Coveted Housing Innovation Award And New Client
Futr has won Best Customer Service / Experience Innovation at the Housing Digital Innovation Awards for its work in the social housing sector. Our portfolio company has been helping to transform communication in the social housing space with its smart self-serve chat bots and live agents, which can translate requests in over 100 different languages and provide round-the-clock responses. In addition, Futr has also welcomed Bowel Cancer UK as a client. The charity has implemented a chatbot to answer common questions and relay 24/7 information about bowel cancer.
Maxwellia’s Lovima Featured In Cosmopolitan
Anna Maxwell, the founder and CEO of Maxwellia, was recently interviewed by Cosmpolitan magazine about the Lovima contraceptive pill, which was made available over the counter for the first time last year. Speaking to journalist Zoë Beatty, Anna remarked on the ‘antiquated’ process of going to the GP for contraception and how Lovima is paving the way. Click here to read the full article, which charts the future of contraception and the pill’s journey following its 60th anniversary.
