The Interview
Anthony CEO of Angel Capital
Crowd Vision successfully raises investment for growth
Anthony is the co-founder and CEO of Angel Capital Group, which includes London Business Angels, where he has the role of Managing Director.
Anthony has been involved with London Business Angels for over 15 years and took on the role of MD of LBA when it became part of GLE Growth Capital in 2002. He is also a co-founder and currently sits on the advisory Board of the UK’s first Enterprise Capital Fund, Seraphim Capital. He was Chairman of the British Business Angels Association (BBAA) from 2004 until 2012 and is President Emeritus of European Business Angels Network (EBAN). Anthony also sits on the Venture Capital Committee of the BVCA.
Angel Capital Group was created in 2009 to focus on helping high growth companies realise their potential through both knowledge and investment.
Their experienced management team are established leaders in the development of new angel-led early stage investment initiatives, while they are able to leverage nearly 30 years of investment experience through their London Business Angels network. From their headquarters in central London they work both nationally and internationally, providing access to leading-edge services designed to improve investment readiness, facilitate access to early stage investment, and create opportunities for the development of new early stage co-investment funds, with a key focus on the Angel investment market.
The team is supported by a board of leading international players from finance, Angel Investment, Venture Capital and Business.
Angel Capital Group is composed of three businesses:
Angel Capital Innovations has extensive experience in the early stage investment market and actively provides consultancy and manages innovative services, providing knowledge and mentoring for SME companies across Europe to achieve their high growth potential.
Angel Capital Ventures is uniquely able to address equity gap funding, bringing extensive experience in structuring and building early stage Venture Capital and co-investment funds, with a key focus on leveraging the Angel market.
London Business Angels is one of longest established, most respected and successful Business Angel Investment Networks in the UK. Since 1982 LBA has been connecting high growth small and medium sized enterprises with equity finance through our exclusive network of experienced business angel investors.
Q
What is the investment focus and strategy for the network?
Angel investing remains the most important source of equity finance for early stage high growth businesses in the U.K. London Business Angels (LBA), part of Angel Capital Group, is one of the oldest and most active angel networks in the U.K having been operating for over 30 years. LBA has a network of 140 business angels with over £50m available to invest. LBA investors are generally experienced, successful entrepreneurs, FTSE 350 Board Members and directors, city professionals and professional early stage investors.
Each year, LBA carefully select circa 45 innovative entrepreneurial businesses seeking equity capital between £100k - £2m from the circa 800-1000 business plans received. Business are evaluated on the strength of
their management teams, market opportunity, realistic terms, state of investment readiness and high growth potential with scalable propositions.
In 2011, LBA members invested over £3.5m alongside co-investment of over £7m into 17 early stage businesses in a range of sectors from cleantech to ecommerce and from Medtech to high value manufacturing. For example, early stage cleantech business Pavegen, led by 26 year old Loughborough University Graduate Laurence Kemball-Cook successfully raised £210k from LBA investors as part of a £350k round. The company had developed an off-grid technology which converts the kinetic energy from footsteps into electricity to be stored in batteries or used to power applications such as lighting and signage. More recently, LBA investors invested £490k as part of a £1.87m second funding round in early stage Coventry based imaging technology specialist, Lumejet. The company has developed a novel LED imaging technology that can provide high precision printed solutions for a variety of specialist markets.
Each year, LBA also launches an LBA EIS HRMC approved Roundtable Angel Fund which invests in 4-5 opportunities alongside LBA investors with identical terms. The Fund structure offers investors who wish to invest in a small portfolio of EIS qualifying companies an innovative way to acquire a portfolio of investments, while taking advantage of the personal tax relief of 30% offered by the Enterprise Investment Scheme as well as other tax advantages of the scheme.
LBA is now a syndicate partner of the £50m Angel Cofund following LBA members £643k investment into Loughborough based Phase Vision which was matched by £211k from Angel
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