OZO mops up investment for powerful food hygiene technology 

Ozone Purification Ltd (OZO), developers of powerful and environmentally friendly food safety and hygiene solutions, has secured investment from global investors Astia Angels and Wheatsheaf Group.

OZO’s technology uses electricity to transform water and salt into disinfectants for the food production and food processing industries and has been shown to:

• significantly reduce the power, water and hazardous chemicals used to clean and disinfect food manufacturing environments
• boost food safety and shelf life by killing bacteria on food surfaces
• protect crops from common plant diseases

Rowan Gardner, CEO, believes the investment will enable the company to accelerate its products to the market.

She said: “Our customers are fantastic advocates for our business, reporting that they have not seen this scale of innovation in food processing hygiene for 30 years.

“As a result we were able to secure capital from a high quality and committed global investor base that has the connections to help us scale the business.”

OZO’s cost effective cleaning and disinfectant products can be manufactured on site by customers. When used as part of a daily cleaning operation it replaces hazardous chemicals and significantly reduces the cleaning cycle time as well as the water and energy used.
Furthermore, washing fresh produce in OZO’s products kills bacteria and viruses that cause food spoilage, food poisoning and increases the safety and quality of food in the shops.

Sharon Vosmek, CEO of Astia and lead angel in this investment, said: “We couldn’t be more thrilled that our first investment outside of the US is into such an incredibly impressive leadership team alongside such a reputable co-investor.

“Astia Angels member investors around the globe are participating in this deal: from Silicon Valley, New York and Boston to London and Frankfurt, reflecting the truly global nature of our network and our vast ability to identify high growth potential companies led by women. The potential for OZO is extremely exciting and there was real enthusiasm for this investment and team from our members.”

Wheatsheaf Group, who have also invested in the company, believe in meeting increasing demands on the world’s resources by encouraging the commercial development of more efficient practices and technologies and find ways of producing more from less.

Anthony James, Wheatsheaf Group’s Chief Investment Officer, said: “OZO is an innovative electrolyzed water production platform with proprietary chemistry that has proven its potential utility to impact the food production and processing sectors. It further strengthens our portfolio of businesses that seek to make better use of global resources. We look forward to working with Rowan and the OZO team to help enable industry across the world to produce food with increased efficiency and help meet the demands of a growing global population.”



Archangels and Scottish Investment Bank support three Scottish Businesses with further funding 

             
Scottish-based business angel syndicate, Archangels, and the Scottish Investment Bank (SIB) have supported the investment of a further £2m in three growing Scottish businesses in the third quarter of 2015.

Archangels, the prominent business angel syndicate, based in Edinburgh, has been at the forefront of early stage investing in Scotland for more than two decades, alongside Scottish Enterprise’s investment arm, SIB.

The companies – NCTech, Zonefox and ATEEDA – have been supported by Archangels, along with the SIB, from early stage and their investment will be used to fund further growth. Around 50 of Archangels’ investor members chose to participate in these funding rounds.

Edinburgh-based NCTech designs and manufactures leading 360 degree reality imaging systems that automate and streamline image documentation and can be used repeatedly, accurately and consistently by anyone anywhere. In 2015, the company launched iris360, a camera system that is the only automatic spherical camera approved by Google for use by their Trusted Photographers on their official ‘Google Street View Trusted’ program and one of only two spherical cameras currently available that can publish to Street View with the Google Street View app. iris360 is also ideal for any other 360 imaging applications, whether for professional or personal use.

This was followed by a groundbreaking partnership agreement with Leica Geosystems, global leader of measurement and reality capture technologies, with NCTech’s iSTAR camera and ColourCloud software, to deliver automated, colourised 3D point clouds for enhanced usability and clarity. The additional funding of £750,000 will be used to support the recent launch of iris360.

NC Tech Chief Executive, Cameron Ure, said:

“Our pedigree in producing 360 degree imaging systems for industrial use was the perfect starting point from which to build a prosumer-grade product like iris360 and we have enjoyed working with Google to address this challenge. This funding will enable us to fulfil the order book for our camera, which we launched in September and are now starting to ship.  Archangels and SIB have been excellent shareholders for NCTech.  There have been challenges along the way and they have been very supportive.”

Zonefox, based in Edinburgh’s Old Town, helps its customers to protect their business critical data and intellectual property from malicious or accidental breach from insiders by providing next generation data monitoring, security analytics and endpoint security. The company will use its £650,000 of funding, provided by Archangels, SIB and Borders-based angel investor TRI Cap, to scale its operations as it targets profitability in 2016.

Jamie Graves, Chief Executive of Zonefox, said:

“We have successfully rolled out our product to a number of key customers and this funding will allow us to scale our operations as we seek to achieve our high growth revenue goals. Our shareholders have been very supportive. They get where we are and the different stages we have been through and they have backed us all the way.”

ATEEDA, also based in Edinburgh, helps microchip companies reduce their costs, as the complexity of their products increases, by offering two options to provide cost-effective chip testing.  Its £600,000 of further investment will be used to bring its next generation, high precision semiconductor test module, “generATE”, to market.

David Hamilton, Chief Executive of ATEEDA, said:

“We launched our new product, generATE, at the industry's largest tradeshow and it has already attracted significant interest from blue chip companies across the sector. generATE enables our customers to test that their chips achieve the highest performance and the modular nature of the product also offers substantial reductions in capital equipment expenditure.  This investment demonstrates a strong commitment by our major shareholders to support their portfolio companies through to success."

David Ovens, Chief Operating Officer at Archangels, said:

“Archangels’ philosophy has always been about supporting entrepreneurs to succeed. Alongside our financial investment in companies we provide mentoring and advice, enabling management to focus on achieving their business goals.  These companies are excellent examples of that strategy in action.”

Kerry Sharp, Head of Scottish Investment Bank, said:

“Scottish Enterprise is pleased to be able to continue to invest alongside Archangels in these three promising companies. We look forward to continuing this partnership, and working directly with these companies to help them achieve their growth ambitions.”

Business Angels Week 2015 breaks global records featuring 255 events in 28 countries 

The third edition of EBAN’s (European Business Angel Network) Business Angels Week 2015 breaks another record by featuring 255 events in 28 countries throughout the EMEA region. The Business Angels Week, the world’s largest cross-border angel investment awareness initiative featuring Business Angels and Entrepreneurs from Europe, the Middle East (MBAN) and Africa (ABAN), was launched during the first day of the EBAN Winter University & Creative Business Cup in Copenhagen, Denmark in front of more than 500 Angel Investors and Entrepreneurs.

The BAW will be celebrated during the week 16-22 November 2015 to emphasize the importance of early stage sector and in particular, business angels and related events. “EBAN is committed to provide support, foster and fuel entrepreneurship and growth in Europe, Middle East and Africa, said Candace Johnson, EBAN President and herself a founder and architect of the European/Global Success Story, Societe Europeene des Satellites. “The ongoing leitmotif of the Business Angels Week initiative is celebrating and creating “Success Stories” and inspiring “Cross-Border and Cross-Continent Business Angel Investment and Exits”.

Following the partnership with the Global Entrepreneurship Week, the Business Angels Week 2015 rolled out with the support of Global Business Angel Network, the global community of the business angel networks. The added value of the Business Angels Week lies precisely in raising awareness about the global possibilities and bridging the communication gap and matchmaking between the entrepreneurs and investors.

About Business Angel Week:  In 2013, EBAN celebrated the first European Business Angels Week, concentrating 141 events in 34 countries all across Europe. With a 5,5 billion Euros investment record last year, BAW is the reflection an active and growing business angels community. EBAN’s initiative was recognised and supported by Neelie Kroes, European Commissioner for Digital Agenda Daniel Calleja, Director-General for Enterprise & Industry and Dusan Stojanovic, Business Angel of the Year 2013. José Manuel Barroso, President of the European Commission, inaugurated EBAW on behalf of the European Commission as an initiative for a more innovative and sustainable Europe. In 2014, the second edition of the Business Angels Week gathered 244 events in 55 countries.

ABOUT EBAN, MBAN, and ABAN: EBAN is the pan-European representative for the early stage investor community, gathering 170 member organisations in 59 countries today. Established in 1999 by a group of pioneer angel networks in Europe with the collaboration of the European Commission and EURADA, EBAN represents a sector estimated to invest 7,5 billion Euros a year and playing a vital role in Europe’s future, notably in the funding of SMEs. EBAN fuels Europe’s growth through the creation of wealth and jobs. For more information, visit eban.org.

Recently, EBAN joined with partners in the Middle East and Africa to incubate MBAN and ABAN thus contributing towards the global knowledge-based innovation and entrepreneurial economy and society with cross-border and cross-continent Angel and private investment.



New £40m fund announced at launch of Creative industries – routes to finance 

Edge Investments, the fund managers, have unveiled a £40m fund to help creative industries as the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW) and the Creative Industries Federation launched a unique publication: Creative industries – routes to finance.

Creative industries – routes to finance is a guide to sources of funding and investment for arts, cultural and creative organisations. It is the product of unique research by the ICAEW and features contributions from more than 90 people across the worlds of arts and finance. The publication includes information on public investment; philanthropic support and corporate partnerships; private capital and advice on preparing for finance including working with professional advisors.

The £40m Edge Creative Enterprise Fund, backed by the Government’s British Business Bank, will be available to fast growing small and medium sized creative industries, which have access to core intellectual property assets. As well as capital, Edge Investments will provide mentors to help stimulate growth and innovation at these businesses.

Harriett Baldwin, MP, Economic Secretary to the Treasury said: “Creative Industries – routes to finance, provides an invaluable guide for creative organisations that are looking to leverage funding and investment from both traditional and non-traditional sources.”

Michael Izza, Chief Executive ICAEW, said: “This guide was devised and co-authored
by Shaun Beaney of the ICAEW’s Corporate Finance Faculty because we want to encourage creative businesses and organisations to consider a variety of sources of finance. The creative industries sector needs a way of combining public, philanthropic and private investment even more effectively if it is going to continue to thrive. Next week we have the Comprehensive Spending Review (CSR) and arguably investment will be needed more than ever before as the sector wrestles with reduced government spending.”

John Kampfner, co-author and Chief Executive of the Creative Industries Federation said: “There are many hardworking and successful businesses - both public and private - in the arts and creative industries but we all know there is always more that can be done to develop new sources of funding and build financial resilience. This publication is an enormously practical how-to guide that will be of huge service in identifying all possible ways sources of funding in these challenging times. It also highlights the importance of financial skills and expert professional advice.”

David Glick, Founder and CEO Edge Investments said: “The creative industries are one of the UK’s great success stories, an area where Britain excels. Our view is that a high degree of sector knowledge mitigates risk and also allows us to assess the most promising opportunities and most talented executives. There are nearly 160,000 creative industries businesses in Britain yet despite being in this high growth sector, many of them find it difficult to attract adequate capital to maximize their potential. Our new Edge Creative Enterprise Fund aims to fill that funding gap.”

Keith Morgan, CEO of the British Business Bank, said: “We are delighted to be playing a key role in the initiatives being launched today. The £40m Edge Creative Enterprise fund, supported by the British Business Bank, will bring much needed finance to the creative industries, and the new finance guide will be invaluable in raising awareness of the finance options for smaller businesses in this important sector of the UK economy.”

Lisa Burger, Executive Director, the National Theatre, said: "The publicly-funded arts have a vital role to play in the development of the artists, new work and ideas that support the profit-making parts of the creative sector. Creative industries - routes to finance gives a thorough overview of the wide range of options available to creative organisations, like the National Theatre, who seek to review, diversify or expand their funding streams. It is particularly timely given the ongoing pressure on public investment in the arts. The National Theatre is pleased to be one of the many contributors to this guide and we warmly welcome this conversation with our colleagues in the wider creative, financial and corporate sectors."

Photos of event speakers available at lunchtime from [email protected]

Download a copy of Creative industries – routes to finance



JWG’s RegDelta helps G-14 bank win 2015 FinTech award

Regulatory change platform recognised for excellence

JWG, trusted by the global financial services industry as experts in regulatory change management, gathered with leading figures to celebrate with Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) after they won a prestigious ‘best use of IT for the purposes of risk/ regulatory management’ award.

RBS was recognised for its project to create a standard set of interpretations to inform business requirements documents (BRDs) for over 50 regulatory reporting regimes across the globe. Hundreds of systems and databases were part of the scope of the analysis, involving scores of business stakeholders.
 
Claire Hussey, Head of Middle Office and Supervisory Technology at Royal Bank of Scotland, said, “This is an innovative way for us to manage our compliance with regulatory rules. We hope this will lead the way in providing a standardised and mutualised approach to regulatory rules interpretation across the financial services industry. Our operations and technology teams are thrilled to be recognised by this award.”

RegDelta is the world’s first regulatory change management platform that allows firms to analyse and maintain a golden source of all their regulatory obligations.  This state of the art platform empowers the enterprise to assess the impact of every clause, assign the right actions and track the status. Tracing decisions and storing documentation to provide a robust corporate memory, it provides powerful change management workflow and reporting unavailable on other platforms.

Simply, traditional approaches to managing the volume and multitude of regulatory changes have proven costly, slow and, in many cases, resulted in further complexity, confusion and fines.  Regulatory compliance continues to top the board’s agenda. The consequences of inadequate reporting can be severe and, between 2009 and 2014, global regulators levied more than USD260 billion in fines.

Commenting on the award Blythe Barber, Managing Director, of JWG, said, “Senior management saw two distinct choices ahead of them: either kick off a series of ongoing and siloed governance risk and compliance (GRC) projects for the foreseeable future; or leverage a state-of-the-art regulatory data platform to create a new way of managing regulatory reporting. We’re proud of how the team has leveraged our RegDelta platform to pioneer a new approach to managing regulatory change.”