SaaS for solopreneurs, fresh dog food and digital care in this week’s MaddyMoney

Hokodo secures £85.75M debt facility to facilitate £1.28B of B2B transactions over the next 2 years

Hokodo, Europe’s leading provider of digital payment terms solutions, has announced a new £85.75M debt facility from Viola Credit, a global credit investment manager focused on supporting the growth of the innovation economy.

Hokodo offers a scalable, all-in-one payment solution for B2B, complete with trade credit and upfront payment options. We enable B2B merchants, marketplaces, and other suppliers to accelerate growth without being hindered by operational inefficiencies, outdated payment processes or working capital constraints.

With this new financing, Hokodo will facilitate more than £1.28B of B2B transactions over the next 24 months. The debt facility will also support the continued roll-out and expansion of Hokodo’s embedded Pay Later and Pay Now offering for B2B merchants and marketplaces.

“With this new credit facility, and by partnering with a reputable global credit fund, we’re able to continue our work supporting the B2B economy, making payment terms safer, simpler and more sustainable for buyers and sellers of all shapes and sizes.” says Aman Mehra, VP of Finance at Hokodo.

Marleybones, the UK’s innovative pantry fresh® dog food brand, attracts stellar lineup of investors to reach more pet owners

Marleybones, a fresh dog food brand known for its unique pantry fresh® solution, announced new £900K seed funding led by JamJar Investments, the venture capital firm set up by the founders of Innocent Drinks, and further supported by Active Partners.

Marleybones’ mission to redefine dog food has also been recognised by other participants in the round including a group of renowned veterinarians from Animal Health Angels alongside tech unicorn founders, digital marketing experts and consumer specialists. The fresh funds will be used to grow the Marleybones team, expand its online presence and broaden its retail footprint after its recent UK launches in Waitrose and Whole Foods Market.

Marleybones pantry fresh® meals offer a unique solution, delivering the nutritional benefits of a fresh, home-cooked diet in a shelf-stable format and in planet-friendly packaging, making it the easiest way to feed fresh without having to use the freezer. The pantry fresh technology is akin to a TetraPak liner in fruit juice cartons and Marleybones use the cartons to gently steam cook their freshly prepared ingredients in pack, avoiding the use of preservatives.v

Digital care platform raises further £3M for expansion

Log my Care – a London-based company whose software platform enables care homes and social care organisations to ‘go digital’ – has raised a further £3M funding from existing investor Mercia Ventures.

Log my Care enables carers to record patient notes, access medical records and receive prompts and reminders via a mobile app. The platform typically saves carers up to an hour per shift and enables them to create personalised care plans in a third of the time. It also helps care providers to improve efficiency, care quality and oversight.

Founded in 2017 by former University of Oxford engineering students Sam Hussain and Adam Hurst, Log my Care is one of the fastest-growing platforms of its type and now supports over 1,300 care providers with around 20,000 patients. It is particularly popular with independent care providers and those in the learning disability sector.

The funding will enable us to continue scaling our business in the UK and extend the positive impact the system is making, by increasing the number of patients it looks after from 20,000 to over 100,000.” says Sam Hussain, CEO of Log My Care.

Seat Unique secures investment from pioneering athlete-led venture capital firm, The Players Fund

Seat Unique, the innovative premium ticketing and hospitality platform, has secured investment from The Players Fund, the UK’s first athlete-led venture capital firm.

Seat Unique is pioneering a revolution in the ticketing and hospitality industry. By seamlessly blending technology and addressing the key challenges of accessing tickets, Seat Unique provides access to unforgettable experiences for fans and unrivalled revenue opportunities for rightsholders.

The Players Fund’s investment in Seat Unique opens doors for athlete investors to participate in one of Europe’s fastest-growing startups. Recently ranked as the fourth fastest-growing tech startup based on revenue growth in Sifted’s 100: UK & Ireland in 2024, Seat Unique has solidified its position as a leading platform in the premium ticketing industry.

SMB financial management platform Mimo raises £15.5M and launches platform to simplify B2B payments

Mimo has raised £15.5M of new investment. The company is launching its platform with this funding, which was led by Northzone. Other investors participating in this round include Cocoa Ventures, Seedcamp, Upfin VC, with an asset backed facility arranged by Fost and participation from various angel investors including founders and early operators from the likes of Stripe, GoCardless, Wayflyer, and Anyfin. Mimo will deploy the new equity funding to continue to build out its B2B payments solution for SMBs and expand its headcount.

Mimo is a platform simplifying global payments, cash flow, and financial management for SMBs and finance professionals.

Mimo already works with 50+ SMBs and finance professionals and processes several million GBP every month via its early access offering. The company was founded in 2023 by Henrik Grim (CEO), former General Manager of Europe at Capchase and Investment Manager at Northzone, Alexander Gernandt Segerby (CPO), and Andreas Meisingseth (CTO). It has offices in London and Stockholm.

Veremark secures £2.36M to expand global background screening capabilities

Veremark, a global background screening company, has secured £2.36M in a Pre-Series B round led by Samaipata and Stage 2 Capital and including participation from ACF Investors and Vulpes Investment. The investment will be used to support Veremark’s continued client acquisition and further develop its screening technology.

Veremark is one of the world’s leading background screening and pre-hire check service with a mission to help the world trust faster. Used by some of the world’s best workplaces, its platform is designed to verify candidate work histories, gather references and check identities and qualifications.

This investment comes after a period of sustained growth for Veremark. The company has tripled its client base since its Series A raise in July 2022 and has seen a 50% increase in valuation since the last round. It is also working with major industry players all over the world including OVO Energy, Wise and Schneider Electric.

“This additional funding will enable us to broaden our global reach, enhance our technology, and provide a significant runway to achieve our next growth round when it best suits the business, as we continue to empower businesses worldwide to make informed hiring decisions.” says Daniel Callaghan, Founder and CEO of Veremark.

JENA secures £1.2M in oversubscribed Pre-Seed funding round led by True and Gfund

JENA, a pioneering vertical SaaS platform for solopreneurs, announced it has secured £1.2M in an oversubscribed pre-seed funding round.

JENA is an Operating System (OS) for solopreneurs: an integrated platform so they can run their business smoothly instead of piecing together disjointed tools. The company provides them a full tech-stack: website, AI-powered booking system, payments, CRM, marketing, and e-commerce in one app.

JENA stands apart by providing a powerful all-in-one ecosystem. At its core is a professional website with a unique URL seamlessly integrated with an advanced booking system and secure payment processing capabilities.

“This funding validates our vision and will fuel our efforts to empower more solopreneurs to thrive on their own terms,” says Jean-Michel Chalayer, Co-Founder and CEO of JENA.

In other investment news

LeadBlock Bitpanda Ventures and Mantle strengthen partnership in France and Europe

LeadBlock Bitpanda Ventures (LBV), a £42.73M EU investment fund, and Mantle, a burgeoning on-chain ecosystem built around the high-performance modular Ethereum layer-2 (L2) scaling solution Mantle Network and Ether liquid staking protocol Mantle LSP, have announced a strategic collaboration for Europe.

The partnership comes as Mantle Network aims at boosting user adoption and expanding its footprint in Europe, starting with France. Through this partnership, LBV and Mantle will drive awareness and back founders throughout their entrepreneurial journey in the region.

As pioneers in the European digital assets landscape, LBV’s mission has been to democratise access to blockchain technology and support founders early in their journey. LBV has been closely working with domestic players, including corporates, institutions, universities etc. Since its creation, LeadBlock valued the importance of creating a bridge between start-ups and corporates/institutions to bolster blockchain & digital assets adoption. Additionally, with its strong footprint in Asia, Mantle will support LBV in its expansion to the APAC region.

Praetura launches new Venture Capital Trust to support Northern high-growth businesses

Praetura Investments, the Manchester-based alternative asset manager, has launched and made its first allotment of shares in its Praetura Growth VCT plc.

Having successfully raised over the required £3M mark, the VCT’s objective is to back some of the most exciting scale-up businesses in the North of England, drive capital growth and target a regular annual dividend commencing in 2027, in addition to special dividends from the proceeds of completed exits of portfolio companies.

Praetura Growth VCT, which remains open for subscriptions, will primarily focus on investing in companies based in the North of England, enabling investors to diversify their portfolio and also help address the structural imbalance in the UK venture capital market. This was identified by Praetura’s research, which revealed there is a £9bn funding gap for Northern small businesses seeking capital for growth.