• North-East recruitment platform Avail Technologies has raised £300k to support its Teesside expansion plans. Avail, which focuses on haulage operators through its HGV driver recruitment app, has secured the funding from NPIF – Mercia Equity Finance, which is managed by Mercia and is part of the Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund. The funding will support the company’s move to new headquarters in Stockton-on-Tees, as well as plans to recruit five additional staff this year.

• International food-to-go outlet Pret A Manger has awarded NSL a contract to assess the right to work of all applicants in its UK stores, as part of an ongoing recruitment campaign that is planned to start in May 2021. As part of the contract, NSL, a Marston Holdings company, will provide a fully managed service to verify that documents provided by applicants are genuine and that they have the Right to Work in the UK.

• Recruitment platform Qonnectd has partnered with employee engagement specialists Growth Partners. By working together, SMEs can benefits from a recruitment service that is focused on employee retention with the appropriate employee engagement tools, and recruiting less frequently as employee wellbeing is at the heart of the process.

• Online platform Springpod has raised £2.25m Series A to accelerate its mission of enabling 500,000 young people in the UK to gain work experience – virtually. New investors include Triple Point, Cass Entrepreneurship Fund and MSIF.

The new funding means Springpod will be rapidly expanding its library of innovative experiences such as our Virtual Work Experience Programmes and Insight Events that bridge the gap between education and the world of work, to help young people succeed. The investment will also help with offerings such as Virtual Degree Tasters, which will offer every young person the opportunity to sample a university course area of their choice and envision their prospective future in that field. Springpod also aims to expand into new international territories this year.

• Online car marketplace and tech business cinch has entered into a recruitment partnership with recruitment process outsourcing specialist Talent Works to expand its Manchester-based tech hub and support its continued growth in 2021 and beyond.

• Recruitment and HR outsourcing and consultancy provider The Curve Group has been appointed by upholstery and mattress designer and manufacturer The Belfield Group as recruitment outsource partner in a two-year deal.

The Curve Group will manage the end-to-end recruitment process for permanent hires and day-rate contractors across the group, for both internal support and senior factory operation roles. The Belfield Group employs around 1,800 people across five businesses (Tetrad, Westbridge, Usleep, Clinchplain, and Belfield Home and Leisure) and 12 sites in the UK and Romania.