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GEIF VENTURES LAUNCHES £2.5m CO-INVESTMENT FUND A new investment fund, whose primary role is to match the investments made by Business Angels into early-stage companies, has been launched by Cambridge based company, GEIF Ventures (part of the NW Brown Group). The £2.5 million fund, created with investment by the Small Business Service, will be able to mirror investments made by Business Angels into promising early stage businesses, up to a ceiling of £200,000, helping bridge the 'equity gap' faced by many young companies. Although separate, the fund will operate alongside the Great Eastern Investment Forum, one of the country's foremost early-stage investment networks. Early-stage companies from England that both present to Forum members and attract investment will be considered for mirror funding from GEIF Ventures. "This is a major step forward for the early-stage investment community," says Nigel Brown, Chairman of NW Brown Group, who adds: "In the current economic climate, Business Angels are playing a crucially important role in supporting entrepreneurship. However the present 'matchmaking' model, adopted by most UK Business Angel networks, does not mobilise the full power of angel investing*. "If investing through business angel networks is to thrive they must add more value to the investment process. Co-investing, as demonstrated by many American business angel groups, is by far and away the most powerful way to deliver this." The new funding vehicle gives SMEs an additional injection of early-stage capital, ensuring that businesses have the cash to grow. Investors themselves will feel a greater level of security as their risk is shared and their investment power is increased, allowing them to spread their capital and add management skills to a larger portfolio of companies. As access to the fund is achieved exclusively through the Great Eastern Investment Forum, new investors are welcome to join and access the GEIF dealflow, as well as to introduce investment opportunities of their own. Companies seeking early stage capital are also encouraged to apply for an introduction to GEIF investors and GEIF Ventures. For more information on GEIF Ventures, please contact Max Bautin at GEIF Ventures on 01223 357131. * American Business Angels invest between £15-25bn into early stage companies per annum, whereas their UK counterparts provide between £0.5 and £1bn out of which less than £50m is sourced through business angel networks. (Source: "Benchmarking business angels", report by EC, 2003)
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