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Spotlight
Leisure and Medical Sectors Provide Strong Return for Beer Investors
In a countercyclical achievement, investors from the
Beer & Partners angel community have recently attained
up to 100% pa returns for two companies,
based in the Medical and Leisure sectors.
Investors introduced through Beer have seen a return of 83% on their investment into Fox Poker Club over 17 months. The club, which opened in September 2010 after securing fundraising of around £1m, is London’s only dedicated poker club with a full UK casino license. It was recently announced that Genting Casinos has acquired the business for an undisclosed sum, which is situated on Shaftesbury Avenue.
A syndicate of Beer investors participated in the last round of pre-IPO funding for Cambridge medical device business Sphere Medical. If these six angels sold at the flotation price, they have made a profit of 43% on their original investment in less than 5 months – 100% pa. Although angels tend to invest long-term, this project provided a quick, solid return to investors in a very short space of time.
Life Sciences is an area going from strength to strength within the angel community. Midlands-based associate Lawrence Fenelon was the driving force behind the fund-raising for Sphere Medical – a company attracting a great deal of attention in the Life Sciences world. Sphere has raised £14m from a share placing in association with its AIM float valuing the company at £34.05m. The company is developing a revolutionary new real-time system for monitoring blood gas levels (oxygen, carbon dioxide) and other parameters in critically ill patients.
Simon Heywood, London Life Sciences associate, says that investors may be attracted to the sector with hopeful expectations of a “less volatile investment future”. Share prices also held up well during the recession amongst good quality healthcare businesses. Simon soberly adds that this is somewhat logical, indicating the unavoidable truth that “people will always want and need treatment when sick”. Life Sciences is therefore an area unaffected by recession, similar to the believed immunity of the gambling industry. Dwight Makins, Fox Poker’s Beer associate, adds that it is “usually easier to make money in the ownership of gaming companies than from the games they offer. The increase in Social Network Gaming for low stakes and prizes will give more investment opportunities in the coming years, but that will come with increased risk as the popularity of the games offered will wax and wane.”
Bucking the trend of economic misery currently sweeping the globe, Beer is naturally looking forward as they begin to see signs of a pickup in new capital, with investment levels at higher levels than in any time over the last 12 months.
About Sphere Medical
Sphere Medical, based in Cambridge, UK, is a company completing the development of a range of monitoring and diagnostic products designed to provide significant improvements in patient management in a number of hospital specialities. Sphere Medical's products are expected to allow near real time measurement of blood gases, various electrolytes, glucose and drug levels with laboratory accuracy, at the patient's bedside. This information can be used in a wide range of medical applications and is intended to enable faster clinical decision making and consequently to improve the management of patients.
http://www.spheremedical.com/
About Fox Poker Club
Open since September 2010, the Fox Poker Club is London’s first poker club situated on the world famous Shaftesbury Avenue in the heart of London’s West End. Dedicated to all things poker, with a focus on delivering table action for all levels. The Fox Poker Club is named after Charlie Fox, a well-known figure of the British political and card playing establishment.
http://www.foxpokerclub.com/
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