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Funding deal aids brewery group‘s ongoing expansion
The south‘s fastest-growing new pub and brewery company, The Upham Group, has secured a substantial new funding deal from NatWest.
The company, which launched with its first pub acquisition in May 2013, already owns 12 pubs and inns across Hampshire, Berkshire, Sussex, Dorset and Wiltshire, and employs around 400 staff.
The Group is centred around Upham Brewery, which crafts real ales in the grounds of an Upham farmstead near Winchester. The Brewery supplies more than 450 stockists with its staple ales Punter, Tipster and Stakes, as well as seasonal special ales.
Now the business has secured £6 million of funding from NatWest to support its plans to acquire additional pubs and upgrade some of those already in its portfolio.
A desire to be at the centre of the community is the driving force behind one of the Group‘s latest acquisitions, The White Hart in Overton. The Group has also just added The Mill at Gordleton, a popular restaurant-with-rooms, to its portfolio. Other projects in the pipeline include the addition of accommodation and covers at The Running Horse in Littleton, outside Winchester. The Group is also seeking planning permission for luxury log cabins at The Thomas Lord in West Meon.
Until now the Group has been entirely funded by equity. The three-and-a-half year revolving credit facility now agreed with NatWest is the first time it has taken on debt.
From left: NatWest‘s Chris Priest and Victoria Read with Robb Harris of The Upham Group at the Group‘s brewery
Financial director Robb Harris said: “For NatWest to be supporting us like this is quite an endorsement for our model and strategy. We are a comparatively small business with big ambitions and this funding will
Open data entrepreneurs urged to apply for funding
The new EU-funded Open Data Incubator for Europe (ODInE), which involves the University of Southampton, is calling out to startups across the UK and Europe to apply for a place on its new programme, with the chance to secure up to €100,000 of grant funding.
The incubator programme has places for 50 startup businesses over the next two years.
ODInE is being delivered by the Open Data Institute (ODI), University of Southampton and six other European partners, and has received €7.8 million of funding from the EU‘s Horizon 2020 funding programme.
New startups will be recruited every two months on a rolling basis.
Elena Simperl, associate professor in electronics and computer science at the University of Southampton, said: “ODInE is unique in that it gives companies the freedom to work on open
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data projects that matter to them and to the society, using any technology, for no equity – a rarity in the accelerator marketplace.“
ODInE has so far supported 18 companies, nine of which have now graduated from the scheme. Together these companies have secured over £4m in funding and investment since joining and employ over 70 people.
ODInE is aimed at small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) building a business around open data. Interested startups should register via:
www.opendataincubator.eu
The selection team will prioritise those who work on ‘things that matter‘.
Gavin Starks, CEO at the Open Data Institute, said: “ODInE offers startups access to the latest open data and business expertise, with funding that can make a real difference.“
enable us to keep momentum, buying more pubs, creating more jobs and generating more sales for the brewery. In turn, we hope to generate more funds for us to continue to invest. It becomes self-fulfilling.“
NatWest relationship director Chris Priest said: “The business has already managed to raise a lot of capital and has built a good solid base for us to support the next phase of its growth.“
Harris added: “Right from the start the NatWest team has shown interest and enthusiasm for the company.“
Region‘s PE-backed SMEs show strong employment growth
Private equity investment in SMEs can be linked to a marked increase in employment, according to a survey conducted by NVM Private Equity. The survey of NVM‘s portfolio of 36 unquoted private- equity-backed SMEs looked at the trends in recruitment following investment.
SMEs account for over 59% of private-sector employment and the Association of Investment Companies (AIC) recently reported that 80% of 257 SMEs surveyed saw an increase in employment following private-equity investment in the period from 1997 to 2013.
Key findings from NVM‘s South East-based portfolio companies working in the business services, industrials and technology/IT sectors, include:
• Businesses collectively experienced 51% growth in staff numbers since NVM first invested.
• The majority of employees were recruited for sales and marketing, support,
management and technical roles.
• Most companies still source staff via recruitment firms, advert placements, job centre or recommendation. No firms surveyed use social media.
• All businesses surveyed plan to recruit more staff in 2015 as a result of organic growth and expansion.
• 23% of staff recruited were aged 18-24, with some entering the business via graduate and apprentice schemes.
• The average pay increase across businesses was 3.2% – well above the rate of inflation (0.5% as at December 2014).
• The majority of businesses expected pay levels to increase over the next 12 months.
• 91% of staff recruited work in full-time positions.
NVM tends to invest at a later stage in a company‘s development, with SMEs receiving between £2 million and £10m of private-equity funding mostly for management buyouts or development capital.
THE BUSINESS MAGAZINE – SOLENT & SOUTH CENTRAL – JULY/AUGUST 2015
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