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CURRENT OPPORTUNITIES
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Events Diary
(click on title for full event details)
London Investment Fair
London
8 November 2011
10am - 4pm
Investor meetings are also in the pipeline for the Midlands & Northern regions, in partnership with Eversheds, PKF and Gateley.
Please keep an eye on our Events Page for further information.
News
'SME Finance Clinics'
coming soon...
A new initiative from Beer & Partners...
Business owners and entrepreneurs are invited to attend a one to one informal discussion, with no obligation, to discuss options and ideas on how they may raise finance for their enterprise.
Held in the centre of Manchester, these clinics will be held on a regular basis starting from this Autumn. Please contact Oli Randell for further information:
Email randell@beerandpartners.com or call him on 07789 552 729.
Next Investment Fair confirmed for Tuesday 8th November
We are pleased to confirm that the third and final Investment Fair of 2011 has been booked for the 8th November.
For over 10 years, Beer & Partners have been running the Investment Fair, attracting up to 200 of our private investors and institutions wishing to invest between £50,000 and £2m. The doors open to our investors at 10am and close at 4pm.
If you know of anyone who might be interested in coming along to the Fair as an Exhibitor, please Click Here for further information.
If you would like to come along as an Investor, further details can be found on our website; please Click Here.
Beer Life Sciences Division
There is clearly a case for making space for life sciences related investments in an Angel investment portfolio. The Beer Life Sciences Division was set up in Spring 2011, with tremendous opportunities related to diagnostics, medical devices, drugs, IT, instruments and cleantech - to name a few areas.
We are finding investors who have deep connections and knowledge of the relevant industries and we are mixing them with those who simply like the sector because of the potential returns and the chance for the business to make a meaningful difference to people's lives. We are also seeing institutional investors investing alongside individuals and we are seeing Beer investors accepting active board appointments......
Please click here for further information
New Addition to the
Beer Associate Team
We are pleased to announce a new arrival to our team of associates...
Dr. Nick Housby PhD
Region: Thames Valley
Nick is an entrepreneurial SME Director and former CEO within the Bioscience field, equipped with a successful track record in launching, funding and managing companies at the forefront of technology.
He has an excellent track record in identifying the breakthrough Life Sciences of tomorrow and has played a key role in setting up a number of Life Sciences companies.
Nick is a regular invited speaker at national and international conferences, at universities on entrepreneurship, as well as appearances on TV and Radio and writing in the national and specialist press...
Click here to contact Nick
Associate Spotlight
Matthew Lawrence
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Matthew has spent the last eight years mentoring and providing funding and financial management services, to startup and high growth businesses within the Greater Midlands. A qualified accountant with a business background in manufacturing and distribution, he has experience in raising Business Angel finance, debt and grants for his own businesses, as well as startup, growth and turnaround finance for clients, ranging in size from 0 to 200 employees. He is an active member of our property finance team and over recent months has spent a good deal of his “spare time” researching the market North of Watford in anticipation of increased sector activity accompanied by a growing need for non bank finance to fund it.
Since January 2008, Matthew (who is an investor himself) has secured eight business angel investments for clients, whilst his directly managed investors have invested in a total of 10 of his colleagues deals. In the same period he has secured grant offers totaling in excess of £1.2m and assisted numerous private clients sourcing secured and unsecured commercial debt finance and providing part time financial management service.
For entertainment, Matthew heads for the outdoors. Possibly too old for rock/pop festivals he happily uses his teenage daughter as an excuse to attend, but he’s equally happy biking quiet country roads or walking the hills in good company...
- providing there is a well kept pint of real ale at the end!
Click Here to Contact Matthew
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RADICAL BREAKTHROUGH IN TURBOCOMPRESSOR TECHNOLOGY
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Sector:
Funds Sought:
Location:
Stage:
Ref. Number:
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Engineering
£500,000
London
Early Stage
51313
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The company designs and supplies low flow-rate air / gas compression equipment for a very wide range of industrial requirements. The company’s radically new technology is based on a unique compressor design, first developed at Imperial College London starting back in 2000, coupled to a sophisticated electric motor – also designed in-house. The core process is:
- simple, therefore cheap to manufacture;
- slow-running, therefore long-lasting and reliable;
- highly responsive and agile, unlike any other turbocompressor.
This design of compressor, trademarked ‘TurboClaw’, excels in a range of customer requirements where established compressor types are unsatisfactory. The company is initially focussed on applications with the highest potential growth, which are in the clean / low carbon areas of the transport and energy sectors. The patented technology has been successfully engineered and proven for several applications:
- air management systems for fuel cells: the market for one application alone is 250,000 units p.a.
- tiny electric superchargers for small (1L) car engines; market of several million p.a.
- regenerators for diesel particulate filters for industrial diesel engines: EU-mandated by 2014.
- multi-stage industrial compressors for energy recovery at big industrial concerns.
The company now seeks investors as it commences commercialisation of its proven technology.
Contact: Angus Milne - 0207 329 4884 - milne@beerandpartners.com
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FINAL £55,000 FOR WEST END PRODUCTION OF
'GREAT EXPECTATIONS'
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Sector:
Funds Sought:
Location:
Stage:
Ref. Number:
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Arts / Leisure
£1.3m
Scotland
Startup
51346
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This opportunity offers investors potentially significant returns from the London Première of Great Expectations by Charles Dickens, being staged in Dickens’ bicentennial in 2012. Once commitments reach £500,000 of the £1.3m sought, the Producers can secure all contracts; commence design process; initiate marketing and pre-bookings. To date, £445,000 is committed.
- Pro-rata returns in perpetuity of production run
- Full recoupment of capital in 18 weeks at 65% box office capacity
- Recoupment plus 39% return in 18 weeks at 85% box office capacity
- West End revenue growth for 7th consecutive year
- Plays saw biggest growth 09/10 (see SOLT report)
- Complimentary seats for first night and party
The stage play has not been presented in the West End before and is anticipated to be extremely popular with domestic and foreign audiences, schools and theatre lovers. With an option to extend the run if successful; some West End productions generate vast returns for investors.
With industry-leading management, creative teams and cast, this unashamedly theatrical production has already been proven with both audience and critics in a regional production.
Investment is via loan with recoupment; minimum guideline investment £25,000.
Contact: Robin Rowland Hill - 07977 982 874 - hill@beerandpartners.com
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MAJOR WELL-ESTABLISHED PROPERTY COMPANY SEEKING FUNDING TO PURCHASE A BROWNFIELD SITE AND ENHANCE EXISTING PLANNING CONSENT TO INCREASE VALUE
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Sector:
Funds Sought:
Location:
Stage:
Ref. Number:
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Property (Mixed use)
£1.8m
North Home Counties
Development with planning
51426
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This award-winning property company seeks investors to fund the freehold purchase of a vacant 13.5 acre site close to the A1M in Stotfold, Bedfordshire (previously a government Development and Research Unit).
The site has an existing planning consent for B1, B2 and B8 development to include the replacement of 5 residential dwellings.
The company plans to add significant value by gaining consent for a care home on part of the site, and for residential or other higher-value uses on the remainder. The company’s appraisal assumes a project term of 36 months, with capital returned in 22 months.
A leading care home business has already offered to acquire 2 acres (subject to planning) for £1.2m, and interest has been expressed by operators for other uses on the site including a Children’s Nursery, Garden Centre, retail outlet and pub.
The investment is backed by the land’s capital value with existing consent. Based on successful project completion, initial capital would be returned to the investors with a first-priority return of 10% IRR, plus a 50% share of profits.
Mid-case project profit (after priority return payment) is £2.15m, representing 75% profit on cost, and a project IRR of 60%.
Contact: Dave Flockhart - 07815 931 414 - fllockhart@beerandpartners.com
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PROPERTY DEVELOPMENT: FIRST CHARGE SECURITY
- UNDER 50% LTV
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Sector:
Funds Sought:
Location:
Stage:
Ref. Number:
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Property (inc. Developing)
£500,000
North West
N/A
51291
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Our client, a property developer, has purchased (cost £250,000) a large residential property, for conversion into 8 high spec 2 bedroomed apartments in a popular Liverpool suburb. Pre application planning discussions were positive and full planning application has been submitted. Expected GDV is £900,000. The client requires £200,000 to finance development costs and is offering 12% pa with first charge security for an expected period of 12 months.
The directors have developed a number of other residential properties in the area since 2009 all of which have been fully let and refinanced. It is their intention to retain these flats and return funds to the lender by refinancing with Lloyds TSB, who have expressed a willingness to undertake this. If circumstances should change, sale of just 3 of the eight units at predicted values, would provide more than sufficient funds to repay the loan required.
Contact: Matthew Lawrence - 07725 589 136 - lawrence@beerandpartners.com
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EXPANSION CAPITAL FOR ONLINE WOMEN'S FASHION RETAILER AS INDICATORS DEMONSTRATE UPWARD TREND IN EXPLOSIVELY PROFITABLE SECTOR
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Sector:
Funds Sought:
Location:
Stage:
Ref. Number:
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Internet / Retail
£200,000
London
Startup
50810
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Founded in 2010 to exploit a niche in the luxury online retail fashion market for professional 28-44 year old women, the Company started trading with minimal investment in February 2011.
The strengthened management team is now seeking further investment to take the business to break even and good returns in this highly profitable sector. Trends in conversion rates, sales orders and customer capture started modestly. But these figures are now showing a dynamic incline:
- Increase in repeat customers, whereas the cost of customer acquisition is declining.
- Differentiated by highly sought-after brands, some of which are unique to the site.
- Very competitive pricing, low-cost operations, innovative customer offerings and an experienced supply chain network.
- The Company is on the cusp of exploiting its positioning to capture and dominate this distinct market segment.
Investment of £200,000 is sought for an attractive equity stake in the business, with potential for investor role. Funds will be used for seasonal stock purchases, PR and marketing and business development. Management anticipates the most likely liquidity event for investors would be via trade sale of all or a part of the business to a larger business.
Contact: Uti Thakkar - 07957 330 468 - thakkar@beerandpartners.com
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IN-REVENUE V-COMMERCE PROVIDER, WITH MARKET LEADING TECHNOLOGY & BLUE-CHIP CUSTOMERS
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Sector:
Funds Sought:
Location:
Stage:
Ref. Number:
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Digital Media / Technology / Business
£500,000
North East, London & South East
Expansion
51269
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With current annualised turnover of £1.25m, The company provides V-Commerce (lead generation and e-commerce) through its market leading, proprietary video platform and player. By correctly matching content to related products and delivering an audience, the company is connecting existing e-commerce revenue streams (£50bn in UK in 2010) to the TV and Video entertainment industries.
With clients including Argonon Group, PokerStars, Burberry, Telegraph Media Group, Universal and NEXT, the company requires investment to capitalise on new contract opportunities.
Passed operational breakeven, the company is nearly five years old, employing 20 staff and is based in the North-East, with offices in London and Brighton. The executive team has strong leadership and senior experience at Apple, IBM, and a number of media and technology companies.
The current round is being led by a major VC based in the North-East, which has committed £300,000 follow on investment at a pre-money valuation of £2.7m. New Angel Investment of £110,000 has also been committed, with the company looking for further investment of up to £200,000 to close the round and provide working capital to grow the company, with the aim of providing an exit within 3 years.
Contact: James Leay - 07814 434 092 - leay@beerandpartners.com
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TOP-UP GROWTH CAPITAL FOR FAST GROWING ESTABLISHED DIGITAL ASSET TRACKING COMPANY
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Sector:
Funds Sought:
Location:
Stage:
Ref. Number:
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IT / New Media
£1m
London
Expansion
51293
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Founded in 2007, this company's revolutionary cloud-based, managed services platform connects Content Providers and Content Distributors. The Company scrubs and reconciles complex reporting data from distributors on behalf of its clients. It manages contract terms and availability of content and integrates fully with its clients’ core financial systems. It also creates and distributes management reporting, becoming an indispensable analytics and forecasting tool.
No enterprise software company has had a faster adoption rate; 6 of 7 major film studios and 2 of 3 pay cable nets, with many others in the sales pipeline. As the Company comes ever closer to becoming an industry standard, it also comes closer to being a prime acquisition target for major technology ERP’s, such as SAP and Oracle. Currently trading strongly towards break even this year, the investment sought will also enable greater focus on global roll-out and the targeting of new business verticals.
With a lead investor in place and the first tranche of monies pledged, a top-up of £1M is now sought to expand marketing activities, grow the sales team and add some functionality to the product range. The most likely exit is a trade sale, targeting a 3-year timeframe.
Contact: Uti Thakkar - 07957 330 468 - thakkar@beerandpartners.com
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