7th October 2010
HBAN Investor Syndicates placed €1 million into equity-ready firms last quarter
Investor Syndicates have up to €10 million to invest
Angel investor master classes in Dublin & Cork will highlight the potential of syndicate based investing
Private investors prove ‘critically important’ to emerging Irish companies
7 October 2010 - Over €1 million of investment has been placed into emerging Irish companies in the last quarter by HBAN Investor Syndicates, the angel investment joint initiative of InterTradeIreland and Enterprise Ireland, it was revealed today as HBAN announced two master classes for private investors in Dublin and Cork (starting 8th & 9th November). www.hban.org
Diane Roberts, National Director of HBAN Investor Syndicates, said: “private investor syndicates are playing a critically important and effective role in boosting indigenous enterprise developments - particularly as other avenues of investment are more difficult to access due to economic conditions.”
HBAN’s investor master classes will highlight the benefits of private angel investors working together in syndicates to support equity-ready businesses in the technology, life sciences and clean technology sectors. These are growth areas where HBAN investor syndicates are already strongly engaged.
“The downturn has created significant opportunities for private investors where they come together as syndicates to invest in emerging companies. These are emerging firms with intellectual property ready to be commercialised or already on the market. Many are already in receipt of state backed enterprise funding or they will be at their next funding round which further enhances their prospects,” said Diane Roberts.
Four of HBAN’s investor groups currently have up to €10 million in hand to invest in promising new businesses over the next three years. The €1 million invested in emerging companies by HBAN Investor Syndicates last quarter will fuel the growth of three firms in the software sector in fields including software licensing, location based services and interactive merchandising. Dublin based software firm InishTech was one of the firms where HBAN investor syndicates contributed €275,000 to the funding round.
Ireland is catching up on international trends where syndicates of private investors have become a well established source of capital for innovative companies.
The European Business Angels Network (EBAN) estimated that in 2009 there were some 75,000 private investors across over 300 syndicates with over €3 billion invested in emerging companies. (Source EBAN 2009 Activity Report).
“The costs of starting a company are less today than they were some years ago and private investors can create an exponential growth effect with their funding. Investments are also providing value for money as valuations are reflecting economic conditions. Investing in early stage companies is also considered to be an attractive prospect by many investors following the fall in stock market and property values,” said Roberts.
Margaret Hearty, InterTradeIreland Director of Business Programmes and Services said: “Investor syndicates provide very meaningful support for early stage firms, especially those in industries geared towards the information technology, medical devices and life sciences sectors. Emerging companies face considerable challenges in sourcing such funding and we are committed to supporting high potential firms in becoming investor ready and increase their changes of success. Syndicate based investing in particular has a powerful role to play in launching and growing these firms, many of which will become global success stories, creating jobs and helping to stimulate economic recovery and growth. ”
HBAN was set up last year and focuses on supporting companies that are seeking to raise financing of between €250,000 and €1.25 million by linking entrepreneurs to individual investors or investment syndicates.
The HBAN master classes take place on 18th and 19th October and are open only to private investors who are seeking pre-screened business investment opportunities. Venues and registration details are available at www.hban.org
This is an international programme for Business Angels looking to invest in the early stage investment market. Sessions for private investors aim to improve your ability to evaluate deals, value companies and be ready to invest. The content is based on best practices and experiences from 11 European informal investment markets and encourages interactive learning from the pool of knowledge provided by facilitators.
A former investment banker and top UK expert in business angel investing, Sally Goodsell will brief potential investors on various investment methodologies. Investors will also hear about the support structures available in Ireland, the key criteria on which to base investment decisions, the growth in the number of available investment syndicates, and the best ways to diversify a portfolio of investments.
