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The Venture Codex

Maven Capital Partners

Kintyre House, 205 West George Street, Glasgow, Scotland, G2 2LW, United Kingdom

Overview

Maven Capital Partners is an independent alternative asset manager, with over £415m of assets under management. Maven was formed in 2009 after a buyout of the Aberdeen Asset Management private equity business, and operates from a nationwide network of regional offices. They provide flexible equity and loan finance packages to UK SMEs, on behalf of a range of client funds, as well as funding for well-researched property development projects. They also offer attractive investment opportunities for investors including tax-efficient investment into VCTs, and direct co-investment in private equity and property transactions. Maven is one of the UK’s most active private equity managers in the lower mid-market, investing for a range of client funds including six Venture Capital Trusts (VCTs) and a number of regionally focused funds delivering equity and debt finance. They offer a range of flexible funding solutions for entrepreneurial SMEs at any stage of the business growth cycle, with the ability to commit as little as £100,000 of development capital or as much as £15 million to support an MBO.

Total investments
99
Lead investments
73
Investments · 12mo
12
Active investors
21

Sector focus

  • Finance
  • Financial Services
  • Funding Platform
  • Venture Capital
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Investment portfolio

  • Xentra

    Led · Seed · Jul 2026

    Xentra delivers managed cybersecurity and digital protection services through a subscription-based model that combines technology, managed services and specialist expertise. Its core packaged offering includes STAX bundles and a proprietary customer portal to simplify procurement and management of cybersecurity, compliance and safeguarding tools. The company aims to help organisations strengthen digital resilience, reduce complexity and maintain continuous protection against evolving threats. Xentra was founded in 2021 as Fairtech Solutions and rebranded after an acquisition and strategic restructuring. It has quadrupled ARR over the past two years and serves a customer base of more than 90 clients. The company plans to invest the new funding in people, technology, customer experience, sales and marketing, and further development and expansion of its STAX product suite.

  • Esk Film Services

    Led · Equity · May 2026

    Esk produces licensed, branded live entertainment experiences for blue-chip clients including Netflix, Paramount and BAFTA and provides services to promoters and venue operators internationally. Its recent productions include Top Gun: Maverick – Live in Concert and Ocean In Concert narrated by David Attenborough. The company developed an in-house proprietary media control system — combining bespoke hardware and software — after repeated failures with incumbent solutions. Esk licences IP from rightsholders and transforms it into live formats while also building its own IP portfolio. Following the £2.6m funding led by Maven and supported by the British Business Bank’s Investment Fund for Scotland, Esk plans to invest in business development, marketing and further development of its hardware offering as it expands internationally.

  • Highway Data Systems

    Led · Equity · Apr 2026

    Highway Data Systems develops technology that automates manual, labour-intensive and safety-critical quality assurance testing for the road construction sector. The company has built a strong client base in the UK and is growing its presence in the US. High-profile customers include Eurovia, Holcim and Tarmac. Following the £1.25 million funding package, HDS plans to invest in product development and to expand its international footprint, particularly in the US. The business was the first to receive investment through the Greater Glasgow Innovation Cluster via the Investment Fund for Scotland. Investors highlighted HDS’s engineering-grade precision and international growth potential when backing the company.

  • Third Space Learning

    Participated · Equity · Apr 2026

    Third Space Learning operates a large-scale one-to-one maths tutoring service, reporting support for about 196,000 students across more than 4,200 schools and delivering millions of hours of tutoring. Its spoken AI tutor Skye is built from a decade of tutoring practice and designed around human tutoring techniques such as dialogue, pacing, targeted questioning and ongoing assessment. The company emphasizes an evidence-led approach, using operational data and pedagogical design that underpin its human tutoring service to inform Skye’s development. Third Space Learning has a research partnership funded with $1.9m from the Gates Foundation and run with Stanford University and Cornell University to validate development in US public schools. With the £4.4m growth raise, the company plans to deepen Skye’s capabilities, expand into new subjects and languages, and build a dedicated US function to support international growth. The business positions itself as combining rigorous evaluation with scalable classroom distribution as it seeks broader adoption in the UK and US education markets.

  • iPac Packaging Innovations

    Led · Equity · Mar 2026

    iPac designs and manufactures thermoformed packaging for the food sector, supplying tier 1 producers whose products are stocked by major retailers including Tesco, M&S, Aldi and Sainsbury’s. All its packaging products are 100% recyclable and contain up to 100% recycled raw materials. The business operates across two large, state-of-the-art manufacturing sites in Gateshead and County Durham. Founded by Jonny Catto and industry veteran Harry Reed, iPac has grown turnover from £6.3 million in 2019 to £25 million, driven by sustainable product design and manufacturing. The company plans to pursue vertical integration by bringing sheet production in-house and expanding thermoforming capacity. The recent capital injection is intended to support those integration and expansion plans and to capitalise on market demand for environmentally responsible packaging.

Team