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'Face to Face Investment' - There is no doubt that meeting entrepreneurs face to face is the best way for investors to get a genuine feel for the management team and the investment opportunity. This month we have... Click here to read full Stop Press

Our Investment Fair in March is set to be another success with many companies already signed up. We still have some places available, click here for more information. If you are one of our registered investors and haven’t confirmed your attendance yet, then click here to do so. A look back at 2010 provides... Click here to read full Stop Press

A new year and a new format for our Stop Press. Our reputation in the Business Angel market seems to be that we offer the best deals in a no frills way. We remain dedicated to ensuring that the quality of deals we present to you remains high but thought it about time that we refreshed our presentation of these opportunities to you... Click here to read full Stop Press

Our final Stop Press for 2010 contains opportunities to invest in five very different companies – an indoor ski and snowboarding centre, a diagnostics company with plans to float in 2012, a gaming app for smart phones, conversion of waste plastics back to diesel and an event staging company. We’re sure that these will provide an aid to your digestion over the festive period.

There is no doubt that early-stage companies are continuing to struggle in their search for development capital. Bank lending remains scarce and does not look set to improve in the New Year, and yet even before the effects of the Credit Crunch were first felt, unsecured debt was not readily available to early stage companies.

Business angels are emerging as the most attractive source of development capital for early stage businesses and appetite seems to be growing – with 17% more new investors joining us so far this year than in 2009.

The Government has now published its underwhelming response to the green paper on financing a private sector recovery- disappointing if they want private enterprise to lead a recovery and obviously no understanding that many of today’s powerhouses like Google, Facebook, Vodafone and Skype etc were funded by business angels at the start.

The response covering Business Angel Investment can be summed up as promises to appoint taskforces, review and deliver measures which are wide of the much needed assistance to increase much needed investment in early stage companies.

As the recession lingers on and tentative small business owners bed down for another winter of inactivity, discerning entrepreneurs are seizing the opportunity to expand, while their competitors are sleeping.
Recession has long been a breeding ground for innovation, providing opportunities for the most enterprising individuals. Set apart by their creativity, confidence and foresight, and combined with the propensity to take risks, entrepreneurs are the pioneers who shape our society’s future.

 There is a growing trend amongst US business angels to offer start-up companies convertible loans instead of providing first-round equity funding. UK business angels investing in pre-revenue companies are also offering finance in the form of convertible loan stock, although the trend is less significant than it is in the US.

The Government (HM treasury and BIS) launched a new Green Paper at the end of July “Financing a Private Sector Recovery”. The paper seeks to support a recovery, led by sustained expansion of the private sector and explores a broad range of options to support business stability and growth to enable access to a more diverse range of sources of finance.

The Budget, bad news as it was generally, did provide a very clear signal that this Government is intending to encourage support for new business entrepreneurs and investment generally and specifically through Entrepreneurs Relief and retention of EIS, whilst cutting the waste of £2bn on Regional Development Agencies and £190m on Business Link.