Mobeus appoints two new Partners

Mobeus Equity Partners is delighted to announce that Chris Price and Richard Babington have been appointed Partners of the firm.

Chris Price originally joined Mobeus in 2010 as an Investment Manager, progressing to Investment Director in 2013.  He is a well-known deal principal in the South East corporate finance market and his recent investments include Media Business Insight and Creative Graphics International.

Richard Babington joined Mobeus in 2014 as an Investment Director, having previously worked for 8 years at NBGI Private Equity.  He has a particular interest in the food and specialist manufacturing sectors.  His recent deals include Jablite and Ward Thomas Group.

Mark Wignall, Managing Partner, comments, “In Chris and Richard, Mobeus has two very effective and highly regarded deal-doers.  These appointments reinforce our position as one of the leading investors in the lower mid-market and they will enable us to maintain our strong investment record as we continue to grow.”

New £40m loan fund to fuel small firms’ growth

Enterprise Ventures, which specialises in providing finance for small businesses, has today launched a new private capital loan fund with £40m backing from Santander UK plc and Greater Manchester Pension Fund.

Enterprise Ventures SME Loans will provide up to £1m to established and ambitious SMEs in all sectors and in all areas of the UK, building on Enterprise Ventures’ strongholds in Yorkshire and Humberside and the North West.

The launch of the new fund brings Enterprise Ventures’ total funds under management to £200m. Chief Executive Jonathan Diggines said: “Enterprise Ventures SME Loans represents a significant new institutional source of investment into the SME market, one which is not subject to the constraints of other Government and European funds.

“We recognise the important role that small businesses play in providing services and employment within local communities, developing new ideas and technologies, and strengthening regional economies.

“The backing by Santander UK plc and Greater Manchester Pension Fund supports our aim of providing better access to finance for small businesses and their commitment is highly innovative."

Santander’s investment is part of its Breakthrough initiative, a unique suite of financial and non-financial services and products for the country’s most ambitious businesses. Damian McGann, Divisional Managing Director - North of England, at Santander UK Corporate & Commercial said: “SMEs need access to multiple sources of finance, our support of Enterprise Ventures allows us to fill a gap in the market and provide a breadth of innovative solutions for all ambitious SMEs. SMEs are the lifeblood of the UK economy, helping to create jobs and drive local economic growth. Santander has been a consistent supporter of businesses in the UK, with lending over the last four years growing by an average of 20% per annum.”

Enterprise Ventures SME Loans are available now to established businesses anywhere in the UK which have been trading for three years or more and which have current or anticipated £100k operating profit and a minimum turnover of £1 million.

Loans will be available for all purposes, including acquisitions, asset purchases, operational improvement and business development.

Peer to peer lending ISA would deliver a £400 tax break for investors

Chancellor George Osborne announced in his 2014 Budget that he would make it possible to include peer-to-peer lending in an ISA wrapper. Following a consultation on implementation expectations are that Osborne will announce firm plans in the July 2015 Budget.

Inclusion of peer to peer lending in ISAs could deliver a tax break of up to £400 per year for investors.

Rhydian Lewis, CEO at RateSetter, the UK’s most trusted peer-to-peer lender[1], said:

“We look forward to the Chancellor finally giving the thumbs up to including peer-to-peer lending in ISAs in the Budget.  Hard-pressed investors deserve better than the pitiful rates currently offered by cash ISAs.

“For example, rates for five-year cash ISAs are typically languishing at just over 2 per cent. Investing £15,240 in RateSetter’s five-year product yields around three times that at 6.5 per cent before tax[2].  The difference amounts to hundreds of pounds in interest each year.

“By including their RateSetter investment in an ISA, a higher-rate taxpayer would save £396 in tax on a total of £990 in interest in the first year, almost doubling their net income. For a basic rate taxpayer the equivalent tax saving is a £198.”

Technotomy and iVeridis Merge to Form Synoptic Technologies

Two leading software developers join forces for new company focused on connecting world-class business innovations

Technotomy Ltd., an experienced bespoke software development and data analytics provider, and iVeridis Ltd., a leader in efficiency and cost-saving technologies, today announced a merger to form Synoptic Technologies Ltd., a new company focused on linking innovative SME’s to global brands and government agencies.

Bringing symbiotic technologies and years of unparalleled expertise in the field, Synoptic Technologies will be a market leader in open-innovation, connecting SME’s with buyers of highly specialized tools for technological innovation. Synoptic Technologies’ global network helps companies discover and qualify thousands of pre-market and market ready technologies to find the right solution faster and cheaper than conventional searching processes.

Synoptic Technologies platform, Synoptica, leverages its network and technology in two ways:

InfoClew™ is a specially designed distributed search algorithm that allows clients to go beyond basic web searches and quickly access comprehensive and context-rich results. InfoClew is specially designed to scrape the deep web for professional data and gives visual clarity to unstructured information. The tool creates a concise company profile that makes quick and informed comparisons more intuitive.

InSuite™ helps companies build their own network of innovative technology solution providers and uses matching algorithms to quickly order and rank the right solutions for their project requirements. It allows companies to respond to specific challenges by leveraging the power of Synoptica’s network and create their own, bespoke innovation supply chain.

Working with a diverse roster of clients around the world, Synoptic Technologies is a transformative new partner for buyers and sellers of innovative business solutions to engage. With the best talent and technology from iVeridis and Technotomy Ltd., Synoptic Technologies will combine years of industry-leading experience and some of the most effective software in the world to help usher in a new era of super-charged business innovation and accelerate innovations’ access to market.

For more information, visit www.Synoptica.com.

Six new tech start-ups join Innovation Birmingham’s Entrepreneurs for the Future programme

Six new tech start-ups have enrolled on Innovation Birmingham’s Entrepreneurs for the Future programme. Since the launch of the programme in November 2009, 111 start-ups have been created, with over £7.8 million of investment secured during initial funding rounds.

Entrepreneurs for the Future is part-funded by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF). To date, close to 200 new employee and director positions have been created. The latest new tech ventures are: Borroclub.co.uk, which is an online platform that enables people to borrow household items from others living close by; Eye Tracking Analysts, which is undertaking research and development on innovations in eye tracking; Hopper, which enables marketers to schedule posts on Instagram; Language Garden, which creates online interactive materials to teach literacy and languages; Stride Education, which is developing a 3D learning system; and Voltrics, which is undergoing product design and innovation in electronics.

 The six new start-ups will receive up to nine months office space, telecoms, meeting rooms and superfast broadband at the Innovation Birmingham Campus. In addition, they will benefit from structured mentoring from the Entrepreneurs in Residence, regular visiting expert sessions, a series of workshops and events, networking opportunities and peer-to-peer support. All of this support comes for free; Innovation Birmingham does not take an equity stake in the start-up businesses, as enrolment onto the Entrepreneurs for the Future programme is part-funded by an ERDF grant.

 Dr David Hardman MBE, CEO of Innovation Birmingham said: “The continued growth of the Entrepreneurs for the Future programme is driving the success of the Innovation Birmingham Campus. Our new iCentrum tech incubation centre will be open for business in March 2016, which will enable us to deliver much more activity and provide state of the art space for new and growing tech businesses.

 “Launching a new business in a sector specific incubation centre ensures it has a much better chance of succeeding and becoming commercially viable. We have a full-time team working in the centre, together with the three Entrepreneurs in Residence, who guide, drive, motivate and facilitate connections for the start-ups, to ensure they become investment-ready and/or revenue generating in as short a time as possible. “

Mike Bandar, Co-founder of Hopper said: “Developing a new business can be a tough and testing time. At the Innovation Birmingham Campus, everyone is either launching or growing a tech company, so the atmosphere and peer to peer support is fantastic. Opportunities naturally emerge to collaborate on projects and get instant feedback on ideas.

 “The structured aspects of the Entrepreneurs for the Future programme, such as the regular sessions with our Entrepreneur in Residence, are also a really valuable way of ensuring all the right opportunities are maximised and nothing crucial is missed. During every session, new contacts and ideas are formulated.” 

 Innovation Birmingham has designed its tech incubation programme in order to capture serial entrepreneurs, who as individuals are working on more than one project concurrently. The Innovation Birmingham Campus is open 24/7, enabling people to work flexibly, or cram in the hours when needed.

 For more information on Entrepreneurs for the Future, please visit www.e4f.com and www.innovationbham.com