The Angel Investment Awards 2015 Recognise the Global Successes of the Future

 

 

Many of the world's most successful businesses began with angel investment. On Wednesday 1st July, over 300 leading players of the industry gathered together at the UK Business Angels Association Awards Dinner 2015, at the Tower of London Pavilion, to recognise the UK's most disruptive and innovative angel-backed businesses and celebrate the investors behind them.

 

 

Now in its 10th successful year, the UK Business Angels Association Awards event featured key addresses from Simon Calver, ex CEO Love Film, the Chair of Moo.com, Chemist Direct and who has now taken the role of Chair at UKBAA; and from Simon Devonshire, ex Telefonica and co-founder of the Wayra Accelerators, currently Entrepreneur in Residence for the UK Government who gave his insights on the challenges and opportunities for growth and scale-up.

Sponsors included Lloyds Bank, BBA, NESTA, Angel CoFund, Innovate UK, BVCA, BGF, Business Growth Service, Isle of Man Government, INNEON, Barclays, CIDG and Gust.

 

The Awards winners were announced during the evening by Kiki Loizou, Small Business Editor of the Sunday Times:

 

High Growth Team of the Year Award, won by LOVESPACE - the self storage specialist founded by Brett Akker, the entrepreneur behind Streetcar - now known as ZipCar.

Angel-VC Deal Of The Year Award, won by Gousto the recipe ingredients delivery subscription service

Best Investment In A High Growth Manufacturing Business Award, won by Oxford Space Systems a rising star in the UK 'new space' industry

Best Equity Crowdfunded-Angel Investment Award, won by Lightpoint Medical which has developed a new cancer imaging technology

Best Investment in Disruptive Tech Award, won by Arachnys Information Systems - the business data solution supporting due diligence

Best Women-Led Investment of the Year Award, won by Abundance Generation the UK's first regulated eco investment platform

Best Investment in Eco-Innovation 2015, won by Aeristech electric car supercharging & turbocharging tech specialists

Social Impact Investment of the Year Award, won by Aduna , Africa-centric superfood beauty pioneers supporting the livelihoods of rural communities in Sub Saharan Africa

Exit of the Year, won by Zoopla the UK's second largest property listing website which had successfully floated on the London Stock Exchange

Lead Syndicate of the Year, won by Angel Academe, the pro-women angel syndicate recognised for encouraging more women to invest, with a special focus on investing in women-led tech businesses

Angel Investor of the Year, won by Michael Blakey recognised for his longstanding experience as an active investor having invested in over 30 early stage businesses as well as his strong leadership role in supporting the growth of the angel market over many years,

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“The UKBAA Awards are a celebration of the innovation and global ambitions of disruptive early stage businesses in the UK. This year the quality and quantity of nominations is the highest ever, with even more entries from across the regions. ” Jenny Tooth, CEO of UKBAA said, “We were blown away by the talent and ground-breaking achievements of the companies who won each category.”

 

“ But what these awards really reveal are the amazing unsung heroes behind these businesses, the angel investors, supporting them, with not only valuable risk capital, but with business advice,  access to markets and customers to enable these entrepreneurs to be the global success stories of the future.''

 

''One of the most exciting trends we've seen through these awards is the increase in the number of successful entrepreneurs bringing their capital and expertise and investing into the next wave of high growth businesses.''

 

The panel of Judges comprised leading figures from national early stage investment scene, including:

 

Sarah Abrahams (Grant Thornton UK), David Aitken (Carbon Trust) Steven Barr (Manufacturing Advisory Service), Marion Bernard (London & SE Business Growth Fund), Bruce Colley (Innovate UK), Peter Cowley (Angel Investor of the Year 2014), John Garland (Isle of Man Government), Irene Graham (BBA), Tim Hames (BVCA), Richard Heggie (Barclays), Shalini Khemka (E2Exchange), Jenny Mcdowell (Lloyds Bank), Ian Merricks (Whitehorse Capital), Katie Mountain (Nesta Impact Investments), George Whitehead (Octopus Ventures).

 

 

Find out more at www.ukbaa.org.uk

 

 

See more photos at:  https://www.flickr.com/gp/ukbaa/50Sx2f

 

 

BGF invests £6.3m in Broadband Satellite Services

 

Global satellite communications business poised for further growth

 

BGF (Business Growth Fund) has invested £6.3m ($10m) in satellite and telecommunications investment company, Broadband Satellite Services Ltd (BSS). BSS will use the investment to accelerate its long-term growth strategy, further strengthening its position as a top tier distributor of satellite communications services to those requiring communications in remote environments where mainstream terrestrial networks are not available. 

Through its wholly owned companies Satcom Global and AND Group, BSS supplies services to military, maritime, aeronautical and offshore customers as well as media and aid agencies across the world. It is a key global distribution partner for major Satellite Network Operators (SNOs) Inmarsat, Iridium and Thuraya. In addition, BSS provides value-added services for customers including installation and technical support as well as a suite of in-house developed solutions to enhance the application of satellite services in different sectors.

BSS was formed in 2012 through the acquisition of Satcom Group and AND Group, and is now one of the world’s largest mobile satellite communications providers. The Group will continue to identify high-growth acquisition and investment opportunities in the Mobile Satellite Services market to further strengthen BSS’s offering.

Headquartered in Newcastle, BSS has offices in Singapore, Bangkok, Tokyo, Phoenix, Brisbane, Perth, Athens and Moscow and employs more than 200 people globally.

Matt Widdall, BGF said: “BSS has a strong position in a growing market. Ian has successfully brought together AND Group and Satcom Global and created a team with extensive technical and market knowledge valued by SNOs and customers alike, securing a strong industry reputation for the Group. We are delighted to be working with Ian and his team as they look to further expand and strengthen the business.”

Ian Robinson, CEO, BSS: “At Satcom Global and AND Group we take pride in being one of the most innovative and customer centric players in the Mobile Satellite Services sector. This investment will enable us to continue with this focus as we strengthen our world-class service offering to maintain our market leading position. BGF’s investment enables us to make the next step in fulfilling the long-term growth strategy of BSS, allowing us to address additional growth opportunities and partnerships across key geographies and specific market segments. We are very excited to be working with BGF and look forward to ongoing collaboration as we continue to grow the business.”

The investment was led for BGF by Neil Inskip and Matt Widdall.

The advisers to the transaction were:

 

For Broadband Satellite Services

Legal – BHP Law

Financial – Haines Watts

 

For BGF

Legal - Watson Burton

 

Financial - Dow Schofield Watts

 

 

 

investUP insights: The 'Innovative Finance ISA' will transform crowdfunding

 

 

James Tuckett, Managing Director of investUP, shares his insights on the Innovative Finance ISA announced by George Osborne in yesterday’s budget.

 

 

The ‘Innovative Finance ISA’ will transform crowdfunding

 

The budget yesterday carried one absolute jewel, namely that an ‘Innovative Finance ISA’ will be launched next year in time for April. With the hallowed words Mr Osborne has transformed crowdfunding: ‘The Government will introduce the innovative finance ISA, for loans arranged via a P2P platform, from 6 April 2016 and has published a public consultation on whether to extend the list of ISA eligible investments to include debt securities and equity offered via a crowd funding platform'. Why does this matter? Well, for the first time, peer-to-peer lending will be sheltered from tax. And that’s not all. Also included are all other investment-based crowdfunded products; equity, debentures and peer-to-peer consumer.

The budget indicates that this will take place from April 2016, with crowdfunders being able to save using the new ‘Innovative Finance ISA’. The crowdfunding industry has long asked for a separate ISA, one which is not treated as the same asset class as the renowned and respected Cash ISA, or even to the more complex Stocks and Shares ISA. It is obvious that P2P lending has its very own risk and reward profile, and consumers need to understand these nuances. This is exactly why having a separate crowdfunding ISA is so important. This was at first expected to focus on peer-to-peer lending only, however this news that the ISA will cover every crowdfunding area is a bombshell. There’s a new saving scheme in town, and we’re coining it the crowdISA.

More information on what the Innovative Finance ISA means

 

Who will start using the crowdISA?

 

There is a survey by the esteemed P2P Association bouncing around which suggests that 62% of British savers would consider using crowdfunding as a mechanism to get returns. They would however need their returns to be tax free, something that should take place next year. In effect this idea of alternative finance being ‘alternative’ is about to change. With the incoming crowdISA there is swiftly becoming very little ‘alternative’ about this sector. Crowdfunding will go massively mainstream.

 

5 reasons why this matters

 

1.      Well firstly it will enable helping savers and investors choose how they make the most of their funds. Once an individual properly understands risks, personal choice in personal finance should be something everyone aspires to have.

2.      The new crowdISA would help retail consumers choose how they use their tax-free savings pot each year, allocating up to their £15,240 annual limit.

3.      If even a fraction of the circa £400bn+ of funds held by ISAs enter into the realm of crowdfunding, then we are looking at a truly monumental step in the development market, one will only help crowdfunding become a more mainstream choice for consumers.

4.      Savers broadly understand what ISAs are. The entry of crowdfunding into the big savings tool will transform the public’s awareness of crowdfunding. More investors will enter the market as a consequence, as will SMEs. It’s a true win-win for the sector.

5.      The crowdISA will further demonstrate how the UK is leading the world of fintech, innovation and alternative finance.

 

How will this impact the crowdfunding industry?

 

It is safe to say that this will spark a major growth spurt for the crowdfunding sector. The crowdISA would opening up choice for savers, reinvigorate the ISA market and give savers a higher return on their investments, all while allowing balanced diversification to take place through lending across 100s of different sites and companies. With savers also not paying tax on any returns, the rates crowdfunding can give will start to look even more attractive. Now bear in mind that figure we stated earlier that 62% of savers would consider using a crowdISA, that’s a huge game-changer for this industry. Money.co.uk recently discovered only 6% of savers had used peer-to-peer, showing the massive opportunity just waiting to be tapped. Crowdfunding may just be growing up.

 

What should interested investors remember?

 

There are great returns to be made through crowdfunding, however savers should not be tempted by attention grabbing interest rates. Instead a policy of diversification across crowdfunding sites, asset types and businesses is ultra-necessary. It is likely that the crowdISA will initially be used by those more comfortable and understanding of the risks involved. There is a place for savers who understand these risks, and therefore look to fully diversify and protect themselves versus any losses. Supermarkets like investUP are unique in that they enable savers to hold a crowdISA which works across every crowdfunding class, multiple crowdfunding sites and 100s of businesses. This time next year we will be saying: the ISA is dead, long live the crowdISA.