Octopus completes investment in Anglo European Group

Octopus Investments (‘Octopus’), a fast-growing UK fund management company with leading positions in several specialist sectors including smaller company investing, has today announced the completion of an investment in Anglo European Group Ltd (‘Anglo’), one of the UK’s largest suppliers of specialist steel sections for window and door reinforcement.

Anglo was founded in 1990 and is managed by Paul and Chris Sullivan. Since 1990 it has grown to become a market leader in its specialist areas. Anglo’s ‘cut to size’ proposition, which helps window manufacturers to make significant savings on reinforcement, differentiates its offering and has enabled the business to establish a high share of its market. Anglo now works with approximately 400 customers and delivers exceptional levels of service to its diverse client base. In April 2014, Anglo acquired Marybern Rolled Products Limited, a competitor located in North Wales, which provided the company with additional manufacturing capacity and storage.

The investment sees Paul and Chris Sullivan release some of their equity to Octopus. CEO Paul Sullivan will become the majority shareholder in Anglo, while Chris Sullivan, currently Operations Director, will reduce his stake in the business. Peter Toland, previously CEO of Autologic, a leader in aftermarket automotive diagnosis also backed by Octopus, will become Chairman of Anglo.

Octopus and Peter Toland will now assist Anglo in pursuing its expansion strategy, enabling the company to reach more customers both in the UK and abroad.

Paul Sullivan, CEO of Anglo, said: “This significant investment will allow Anglo to provide greater support for our customer base, while the appointment of Peter Toland as our new Chairman will be invaluable to our firm, given his significant business expertise. Octopus has an exceptional track record of backing companies like ours to help achieve success through organic growth, and we are delighted with the support they have provided as we seek to meet our ambitions for the business in the near future.”

Grant Paul-Florence, head of the Intermediate Capital team at Octopus, said: “Anglo is an established and market leading business with an experienced management team, a unique market position and strong growth prospects. We are looking forward to working with Paul, Chris, Peter and the team as they take the business forward and move into the next exciting phase of development.”

Octopus was advised by WKCF (financial due diligence), Shoosmiths (legal) and AMR (commercial). Anglo was advised by Peter Bibby of AB Corporate Law, Bolton (legal) and Cowgill Holloway (financial advisers).

Edward Keelan and Joe Hartman led the deal for Octopus, with support from Clara Hansen. Edward and Clara will join the Board.


Cheltenham based Angels4Angels have led a six-figure EIS investment into pioneering aviation company - Intercede Ventures Limited

• In association with the University of the West of England (UWE), Intercede Ventures Limited (IVL) has developed a unique instrument for measuring the surface condition and drag factors on aircraft and other aerodynamic surfaces.

• IVL’s unique aviation instrument will bring fuel cost savings, other efficiencies and reduction of the aircraft operators’ carbon footprint.

Graham Mimms - Intercede Ventures Limited, Managing Director comments, “We are delighted to welcome the support and financial expertise that  Angels4Angels brings to our project, enabling us to focus our efforts on further product development and marketing our carbon footprint reduction systems to international markets. Through our collaborative working relationship with the international aircraft cleaning manufacturer Chemetall – Intercede Ventures will commence marketing its airline carbon footprint reduction aircraft surface management service in 2016 though Chemetall’s global distribution network.”

Leading the investment into Intercede Ventures Limited is Angels4Angels (www.angels4angels.co.uk), a group of investors led by Cheltenham  businessmen David Cribbin and John Caines. The group provides an effective and free service to individual investors seeking high returns from backing early stage businesses.

“We look for exciting business opportunities led by passionate entrepreneurs and backed by incredible lead investors,” said David Cribbin, who co-founded Angels4Angels after his own highly successful business career enabled him to invest in small businesses. “Intercede Ventures is exactly the sort of business in which we are keen to invest. Their proposition is unique and will add real value to those aircraft operators adopting it. The founding directors of Intercede Ventures have well over 100 years of experience in the airline industry at senior managerial and director level.

Their understanding of, and contacts in the industry further strength the potential of the business.“ Chris Cook, Associate Solicitor in Harrison Clark Rickerbys’ (www.hcrlaw.com) Corporate team, led the transaction. He comments: “It’s great to once again work with Angels4Angels on another promising deal for investors. Intercede Ventures already has an established foundation to work from, and with investment has plenty of potential for growth and to strengthen its position in the marketplace.”



Innovate Finance joins FinTech delegation on trade mission to Switzerland


Innovate Finance, the independent membership organisation representing FinTech, today announced it is joining a delegation to Switzerland this week as part of a FinTech trade mission organised by UK Trade & Investment (UKTI). The two-day mission on the 4th and 5th of November addresses investor and partner audiences in Zurich and Geneva. Its aim is to promote the UK’s innovative FinTech sector, attract investment and boost business opportunities.

Switzerland is currently ramping up its FinTech initiatives with the launch of new incubators to help start-ups such as SIX Group and Fusion. The country is also developing expertise in “robo-advice” for wealth and asset management, and cyber security. The mission will give local institutions and investors a chance to meet with firms that are developing technologies in the FinTech space including distributed ledger technology and data analytics for risk and portfolio management in asset management, banking and insurance.

Among the FinTech start-ups selected for the trip are Innovate Finance members Bankable, Clear Macro, Credits, Feature Space, Live Data Set, Origin, Percentile, Prophis and Sybenetix. As well as supporting UK firms looking for investment and customers, the event is part of an initiative by UKTI to also attract talent and FinTech firms to London.

Commenting on the significance of the mission Lawrence Wintermeyer, CEO of Innovate Finance and London Tech Ambassador said: “The UK FinTech road show in Switzerland will offer innovative UK-based FinTech companies an opportunity to meet potential investors and partners from major institutions in Switzerland. As the world’s leading FinTech hub, the UK has the talent and expertise to transform the future of the global financial services sector. We are looking forward to showcasing our FinTech members on this mission and helping them to raise their visibility among institutional players and investors.”
 
Britain’s FinTech market generates £20bn in annual revenue and over 44,000 people work in the sector in London alone – more than both Silicon Valley and New York. A recent report from William Garrity research showed over 10 percent of global FinTech investment has gone to the UK this year and start-ups based here have pulled in more than the rest of Europe combined.