Led · Equity · May 2023

Yuup operates an online marketplace for bookable, in-person events, workshops and group activities using a curator model that helps hosts set up and manage experiences. The platform launched in Bristol in 2021 and expanded to Birmingham in 2022. Yuup retains a 20% commission on ticket sales in return for support, marketing and managing bookings. Since launch it has sold around 80,000 experiences and generated over £1.9m for local enterprises and hosts. The company reports supporting over 400 small businesses and entrepreneurs, with 26% of hosts from under-represented communities and 60% of host income flowing into those communities. Yuup says it has ambitious growth plans to scale the platform and deepen its impact, and is using the new investment to strengthen its expansion in Birmingham and grow its presence in Bristol.

Led · Equity · Oct 2022

Albion Technologies designs and manufactures energy storage systems that integrate batteries with advanced control software to better attach surplus solar and wind generation to nationwide power grids. Its battery cells are built for recyclability, use no rare earth metals or toxic materials, and are engineered for safety and lifetimes of many thousands of charge cycles. The company pitches a competitively priced Smart Energy Storage System intended to improve economics for renewable offtakers and support the transition away from combustion-based power. Albion plans to establish a domestic manufacturing and assembly facility in Bristol to produce its systems and create local green-economy jobs. The company says the Bristol facility could create up to 90 roles across warehouse, assembly, design and R&D functions. Albion was founded in 2019 and is headquartered in Bristol, UK. Financially, it is currently mid-raise in a £1.1m funding round, having secured a £400,000 investment from Bristol & Bath Regional Capital via City Funds. Albion Technologies develops battery energy storage systems that allow surplus electrical energy to be stored near renewable generation facilities such as solar- and wind-farms. Its systems are intended to help operators feed the nationwide power grid more persistently than previously possible. The company applies artificial intelligence to battery conditioning and array management to keep output levels high after many thousands of charging cycles. Albion avoids the use of rare-earth metals in its battery components, which it says yields price-performance benefits versus East Asian competitors and a more sustainable, scalable supply chain. Britbots has made an initial investment as part of a £850,000 round that remains open to other angel investors. The funding is being used to finance a handful of small-scale grid deployments in 2022 and to support a planned scale-up in 2023 backed by a prospective order book.