Boundary Capital Partners opens new £10m fund for UK Based, early stage technology & life science companies

Boundary Capital Partners has announced it is raising a £10m fund to invest further into British technology and life science businesses. It will be the fourth in the successful line of Boundary Capital funds.

The AngelPlus fund is an evergreen fund designed to give investors access to a portfolio of early stage technology and life science companies.  Participants will invest alongside the experienced investment team at Boundary Capital and benefit from their unique ‘Venturer’ model, where experienced operators choose to directly support the management teams Boundary Capital invests in, whilst also directly investing into those businesses.

Investors will have access to private advisory reports on the latest opportunities, receive co-investment rights, as well as benefiting from the EIS/SEIS tax incentives. Furthermore, Boundary Capital has enhanced is Deal flow capability through being the founder member and only fund of AngelExchange, the sole private clearing house of leading angel clubs, crowdfunders and early stage incubators.

The AngelPlus Fund follows on from Boundary Capital’s previous three funds, which includes success stories like Desktop Genetics who has raised over $2m from leading international growth investors and CertiVox, a disruptive security software business that raised $8m of Series B strategic investment.

Dan Somers, Managing Partner at Boundary Capital adds: “It’s exciting times at Boundary Capital, we have strengthened our team, helped form the AngelExchange and have now launched the AngelPlus Fund. We want to change the way early stage venture investing is done and we have put the structures in place to achieve it.”

Visit www.boundarycapital.com.

Foresight Group invests £4.0 million into fast growing ecommerce business FFX Ltd 

Foresight Group (“Foresight”) has invested £4.0 million to support growth of Folkestone Fixings Limited (“FFX”) with funds from Foresight VCT, Foresight 2 VCT and Foresight 4 VCT.

FFX is a multi-channel supplier of high quality hand tools, power tools and accessories, fixings, fasteners and general building products. Headquartered in Folkestone, FFX supplies contractors, building firms and the DIY sector. Initially founded as a traditional ‘bricks and mortar’ supplier at its Folkestone site, FFX launched its ecommerce channel in 2009 and has since grown rapidly.

Experienced sector entrepreneurs Patrick Ker and Tim Horrell have also invested and joined the business in executive positions and will work alongside the incumbent management team to drive growth. George Adams is joining the company as Chairman. Adams has held multiple senior positions in the building products sector, including the Chairmanship of Screwfix while at Kingfisher plc..

The investment follows a period of strong growth for the business, which has doubled revenues in the last three years.  The experienced management team are looking to continue the growth through introduction of new product ranges, improved marketing and expansion into a new 60,000 sq ft distribution centre.

James Livingston, Director, Foresight Group, commented:
“We are excited to invest in FFX alongside the experienced and entrepreneurial management team. The business has a strong market position and has delivered rapid growth. We look forward to working with management to further expand and diversify the business.”

Tim Horrell, Present Executive Chairman, Folkestone Fixings Limited, commented:
“Once we’d been approached by FFX we knew this was the right platform, so it was a matter of making sure the deal happened. Working with Foresight was very straightforward; it was a pleasure negotiating with sensible, pragmatic backers. We are very excited by the potential of this fast-growing business.”

World leading provider of cloud based business valutaions BixEquity announces the UK Launch of its new accountany office product 

Enables accountants and business advisors to harness BizEquity’s patented technology to more effectively service business-owner clients and enhance their consulting and planning offering
 
BizEquity, the world’s leading online provider of business valuation knowledge and big data, announces the launch of its new dedicated Accountant Office product for accountants and business advisors.
 
The Accountant Office product provides accountants and business advisors with a dedicated platform which harnesses sophisticated algorithms and big data knowledge. This enables them to provide their clients with real-time insight into the fundamental question about their business, what is it worth? The product costs less than one-tenth of the typical £5000 price tag and can be completed in fewer than the typical 4-6 weeks it takes traditional offline business valuation firms to do the same process.
 
Accountants and business advisors will benefit from a comprehensive set of business valuation tools to better inform business-owning clients. This helps to show their ongoing value and expands their offering beyond tax planning and audit services.
 
Traditionally the business valuation process has been done offline, with costly and time-consuming processes. BizEquity is transforming this market and the Accountant Office product will enable the 300,000 accountants in the UK, as well as accountants and business advisors across the US and Singapore to capitalise on this significant market opportunity.

BizEquity has already signed agreements with 80 financial institutions globally, such as leading wealth management firms, financial advisors and international banks. This includes US Metro Bank, Dynasty Financial Partners in New York, and one of the UK’s largest wealth management firms. The company has valued more than 29.4 million businesses worldwide to date, with revenues ranging from £25,000 to £250 million. BizEquity has been granted seven patents for its revolutionary cloud- based and big data-enabled platform.

Investments in the global FinTech sector tripled from £2.61billion in 2013 to £7.87 billion in 2014. BizEquity is an excellent example of this fast-paced expansion and is one of the fastest growing big data products on the market today. The business valuation market offers significant opportunity with 200 million businesses worldwide. Currently over 98% of these businesses fail to value themselves annually, largely due to the time and cost constraints. Business valuation is an emerging practice area that accountants are adding to their service offerings to better serve their existing client base.
 
Michael M. Carter, Founder and CEO of BizEquity, commented:
 
“Accountants are vital advisors for all business owners across the UK.  Unfortunately, today most accountants are viewed solely for their tax planning practices and not for their business advisory capabilities.  Through Accountant Office, BizEquity is able to put the power of big data and cloud based valuation in their hands to offer this service more effectively and efficiently, enabling them to demonstrate their value through a more comprehensive offering.”
 
BizEquity’s Co-Chairman Clarence Davis, the former COO of the largest accounting association in the US, AICPA, said:
 
“In many cases accountants are the last line of defense and knowledge for many small businesses. Business valuation is the most important question for most business owners to know and through Accountant Office, BizEquity makes it easy.”