Northern-based ‘death tech’ start up Guardian Angel, which is a free and private online platform that simplifies the bereavement process; connecting families, friends and funeral directors together, has closed its pre-seed round raising £492K and with it welcomes two former Co-op executives to its strategy team.

Thanks to this significant new investment Guardian Angel, founded by former financial professional Sam Grice, is one step closer to easing the stressful bereavement process for families following the death of a loved one.

The secure platform aims to reduce the stress in the immediate aftermath of a loved one’s death by enabling you to coordinate support from family and friends. There is a ‘Key times’ function which informs people when they can visit and when you and your family would like to be alone. Its ‘To-Do list’ allows you to manage all tasks and ask friends for help. You can share funeral information privately and it also staggers support, like flower deliveries, so they do not all arrive at once.

Guardian Angel was conceived in 2017 following the unexpected death of founder Sam Grice’s mother in a road accident.  Having been personally exposed to the end of life industry, the lack of digital efficiency became evident as he and his family struggled to coordinate the tasks and sudden influx of communications.

Sam Grice, Guardian Angel founder said: “The support we received from well-meaning family and friends after mum’s accident was amazing. However, managing that support together with organising a funeral and wake, something I had never done before, proved immensely difficult during one of the most stressful periods of my life. And I’m not alone. Most of us have or will experience the death of a loved one and face the same issues that I did.

“The funeral sector has been slow to modernise and digitise its services but we are talking to funeral directors on a daily basis about the benefits of creating a Guardian Angel support hub for their clients, as we believe technology can really help in the bereavement process.”

Guardian Angel aims to use this investment to improve its current digital platform and to develop a tool to make the process of planning for the inevitable easier.

As part of the raise, two members of the NorthInvest Angel network, Rod Bulmer and Alistair Asher, agreed to come on board as financial and as strategic advisors. Between them, they have contributed a six-figure investment.

Rod Bulmer had executive responsibility for Co-op Funeralcare and Co-op Life Planning from 2014 to 2016.  Prior to that, Rod was Deputy CEO, Coop Bank.

Alistair Asher is also a former Co-op executive, with roles including General Council, NED Co-op Insurance and Non-Executive Chairman Co-op Legal Services. 

Professor Adam Beaumont, Founder of NorthInvest commented: ‘NorthInvest has attracted investment to several scalable platforms which address challenges or opportunities on a global scale.  Guardian Angel is one of such platforms and we’ll watch with interest – I believe their empathic approach to help deal with difficult issues in an efficient way can not only be a successful start up but make a positive impact to many.’

Helen Oldham, founder, and board director at NorthInvest said: ‘NorthInvest are delighted to have supported Guardian Angel. Their larger aims are to make things like funeral plans and life insurance easier to assemble and more transparent. This has the potential to make a positive difference in an area which affects everyone.’

Guardian Angel has also attracted ex-Goldman Sachs MD Andrew Weisz who will act as Financial Director going forward.

The investment opportunity excited Bulmer for multiple reasons, he said: “Like many professional services the funeral and end-of-life planning industries are only now starting to go through significant digital change. There is a real opportunity for an independent platform to help families through this process and provide a vehicle to promote active communities discussing the subjects around death openly and honestly. To this point I don’t think there is anything in the market that is truly independent or that has been executed correctly. This is a real opportunity for Guardian Angel, which has an ethos focussed on support”

Full Circle Funerals owner and director, Sarah Jones, was impressed by the project and made the initial connection to the NorthInvest Angels.  She said, “The funeral sector has been very slow to embrace the digital age and Guardian Angel are actively trying to address this so that bereaved people can also benefit from technology”.

Technology firm UKFast is committing a further £3m to its cybersecurity fund to protect businesses online, taking the total amount donated to £20m.

The BASEfund (Building a Safer Environment) initiative has given more than £17m to UK businesses in the decade since the scheme launched. Now, UKFast is pledging a further £3m, growing the fund’s scope and enabling hundreds of businesses to strengthen their security.

The relaunch of BASEfund also sees the inclusion of a number of new security products including Threat Monitoring, DDoS protection, web application firewalls and penetration testing.

UKFast collaborates closely with Secarma, the security business owned by UKFast founder and CEO Lawrence Jones MBE, to deliver cloud security solutions and penetration testing services.

Jones said: “We spent the first decade and more of our journey explaining why people needed to get themselves online and get themselves higher up the search rankings. That has changed over the past decade, as businesses understand the value of being online. Now it’s our responsibility to help secure those organisations.

“All businesses need cybersecurity, but for some the cost is prohibitive and as a result there are more and more insecure websites and applications holding critical, sensitive information.

“BASEfund is designed to help businesses get the security they need, where it might otherwise be cost-prohibitive or overlooked for other priorities.We’ve set aside this pot of money to contribute towards people’s safety and security online because these threats have to be taken seriously. By the end of this year we’re set to have given away a total of £20m to protect our clients.

“The fund is specifically for security products and originally gave people access to firewalls and other hardware. With cyber-threats constantly changing and evolving, we’ve expanded BASEfund to include a raft of security products which our R&D team has developed in recent years.”

Taking place on 8 May at the Manchester Marriott Victoria & Albert Hotel, the MSDUK Regional Supplier Diversity Day will welcome ethnic minority owned businesses looking to enter corporate supply chains.

Businesses will have the opportunity to hear best practices from entrepreneurs in the region who have successfully won business through MSDUK and network with some of our corporate members including, Barclays, IBM, CBRE, as well as a session by award-winning pitch specialist David McQueen, who will provide unique insights into presenting to corporates or potential investors.

There are limited places available and thus tickets will be reserved on a first come first serve basis with only a maximum of two tickets per company. Tickets are available via Eventbrite.

Accountants and business advisors Beever and Struthers now represent more than 170 charitable organisations nationwide after achieving a 10 per cent increase in client numbers during the past year.

Winning diverse and influential new clients and successfully retendering for existing work throughout 2018 and in the first quarter of 2019 allowed the firm with offices in Manchester, Blackburn and London to secure a double-digit rise in fees from charities and not-for-profit organisations.

A specialist and multi-disciplined team led by six partners across the three locations made the gains by continuing to focus on building strong relationships with trustees, executives and operational teams.

New clients won by Beever and Struthers in 2018 and early 2019 include The Big Life Group, National Society of Epilepsy, Groundwork Cheshire, Lancashire and Merseyside, Rapport Housing and Care, Viaduct Care, ALSG (Advanced Life Support Group) and Trafford Carers Trust.

Phil Alty, finance director of The Big Life Group, said: “Big Life is a complex group and we felt that Beever and Struthers offered an all-round professional service in terms of disciplines that Big Life Group required. We also felt that Beever and Struthers was able to give the personal level of client service that larger accountancy firms have difficulty in putting into practice.”

Core services for charities provided by the firm include external and internal audit, independent examination of accounts, accounts preparation and financial reporting, business assurance, risk management, payroll, charity taxation and VAT and grant compliance.

Charitable organisations also benefit from ‘added value’ services such as governance and risk management reviews, IT audit and data mining, business planning and cashflow forecasting, HR support, anti-fraud consultancy, due diligence, advice on viability and restructuring, insolvency and data analytics and benchmarking.

This wide range of specialist skills available to clients of Beever and Struthers cover care and welfare, sport and leisure, culture and arts, social housing, health and well-being, social enterprise, charitable foundations and education and training.

Sue Hutchinson, partner and head of the firm’s charity sector, said: “Thanks to outstanding teamwork and investment in the sector across various departments at Beever and Struthers, we are able to provide excellent services, technical expertise, locally-based unrivalled experience and easily accessible staff for clients from our three offices.”

“Our achievements throughout 2018 and the first quarter of 2019 are hard won and well deserved and with further investment in our team and services we look forward to replicating our success throughout the rest of this year and beyond.”

Pioneering American venture capitalist Nitin Rai has been announced as keynote speaker as Venturefest returns to Manchester for its sixth year.

The region’s biggest annual innovation expo and conference, Venturefest North West takes place at Manchester Central on Wednesday 20 November, with registrations now open. Organisers GC Business Growth Hub are promising an exceptional mix of inspirational speakers, interactive workshops and networking opportunities.

Nitin Rai is the founder and managing director of Elevate Capital, based in Portland, Oregon. Elevate prides itself on its inclusivity, investing more than $6m in 25 start-ups founded or led by diverse and underrepresented entrepreneurs in the Pacific Northwest of the United States since 2016. Nearly 60% of Elevate’s investments are in female-led companies, and 40% in start-ups founded or led by entrepreneurs from African and Latin-American backgrounds.

Nitin also serves as the chair of The IndUS Entrepreneurs (TiE) Global Board of Trustees, leading the mission to help its 60 plus global chapters ensure entrepreneurs become successful. Additionally, under his leadership, TiE Oregon Angels has invested $15m in 50 seed stage start-ups with 10 liquidity events. He also chairs the TiE Global Angel network, which consists of over 200 TiE Angels globally.

Nitin said: “Manchester and the North West has an incredible global reputation for fighting for equality, promoting tolerance and supporting minorities, which is why I’m thrilled to be taking part in Venturefest. The region is also already buzzing with entrepreneurs from all kinds of social backgrounds.

“As we have found through our work in the USA, having such a richly diverse, multi-cultural and inclusive pool of people to draw upon leads to a dynamic, innovative and disruptive start-up scene, so I’m really looking forward to seeing what the North West has to offer at the event in November.”

Hosting the event for second time will be business commentator and successful entrepreneur Professor Vikas Shah MBE.  Having started a web design business while at Stockport Grammar School aged 14, Professor Shah is now CEO of Swiscot Group, a diversified international trading business. He is also co-founder of feature film studio 53 Degrees North and a venture investor in a number of businesses. An honorary professor at University of Manchester, he was awarded an MBE for Services to Business and the Economy in the 2018 New Year’s Honours List.

Professor Shah said: “Venturefest celebrates building business and, whether you’re starting out, scaling or a well-established business, this is an event where you will find a mix of the practical, inspirational and useful – from great speakers, to service providers, products and the people you need to grow.

“This event also showcases the very best of business in the North West and, importantly, brings together many of the region’s most successful entrepreneurs to connect with each other.”

More than 1,100 delegates attended last year’s Venturefest North West, as GC Business Growth Hub joined forces with regional partners Cheshire & Warrington Growth Hub, Cumbria Growth Hub, Liverpool City Region’s Local Growth Hub, and Boost, Lancashire’s Business Growth Hub.

GC Business Growth Hub director of business growth Richard Jeffery said: “One of the great things about Venturefest is that it brings together entrepreneurs, growing businesses, investors and innovation specialists from across the region, providing the perfect opportunity for inspiration and ideas generation.

“We’re very proud of the North West’s tradition of innovative and independent thinking, and I’m really looking forward to seeing new business innovations being spotlighted.”

To register your free place at Venturefest North West 2019 go to venturefestnorthwest.com.

Businesses looking to access specialist support can visit www.businessgrowthhub.com for more information about the organisation’s extensive range of services. This event is part-financed by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) as part of the GM Business Growth Hub project, designed to help ambitious SME businesses achieve growth and increase employment in Greater Manchester.

Technology specialists Apadmi to take Charles Stanley’s tech to the next level, after being appointed the firm’s mobile partner.

Established in 1792, Charles Stanley is a wealth management company that has never stood still. It has tasked Manchester-based Apadmi with enhancing its mobile offering to clients, and take its technology solution forward.

Apadmi will design, build and deliver a new mobile app strategy, taking on its current apps (Charles Stanley Direct and Charles Stanley My Accounts), enhancing their performance and features, before bringing new functionality to their customer bases. Users will be able to view and manage their trading portfolios, access financial advice services and more, through intuitive, helpful and fast mobile solutions that suit today’s investor.

Marcus Hadfield, Chief Strategy Officer for Apadmi, said: “Charles Stanley have innovated for over 200 years. That’s why they’re so highly regarded, still. Their continued investment in mobile technology will deliver an even better experience for their clients – but this is just the beginning.

“The enhanced apps will provide rich data on the kinds of services their customers value the most when on-the-go, and this will inform future developments. We can’t wait to get started on this project, and we’re looking forward to the beginning of great partnership.”

Magnus Wheatley, Managing Director of Charles Stanley Direct, added: “We always strive to lead the way, our last App with fingerprint and face-id log-ins was incredibly popular.  I am very excited to work with Apadmi to take all the Charles Stanley apps to the next level and make it even easier for our clients to access and manage their investments from wherever they are.”