News and coverage

EV is celebrating after scooping two awards at this year's Insider Lancashire Dealmakers Awards.

The event, attended by the region's dealmaking community, saw EV take Technology Deal of the Year for the latest fund raising in Medalytix Limited and Fund of the Year for the fifth consecutive year for Rosebud, which EV manages on behalf of Lancashire County Council.

RisingStars investee, Medalytix Limited, secured a further round of investment and attracted new investors to support the next stage of the company's development.

Jonathan Diggines, Chief Executive of EV, commented, "It's great to see the Medalytix deal receiving this award. Their retinal screening technology is world class. RisingStars has invested £600,000 in tranches, turning an idea into commercial reality".

Speaking of winning the Fund of the Year award, Richard Bamford, EV's Executive Chairman, said, "To win the award yet again this year is testament to the significant impact Rosebud continues to have in assisting the region's companies".

"The Rosebud investment team at EV has seen an increase in the number of applications received for both loan and equity funding from Rosebud in recent years and we're actively looking for investment opportunities from the region's SMEs at all stage of their development".

Nottinghamshire-based company, Doff Portland Limited ("Doff"), has secured a substantial investment package from a group of Midlands-based funding providers to support its ongoing development and working capital requirements.

The company, which is based in Hucknall, is an independent, family-owned business which was founded in 1946 by the father of the current Chairman. It is the UK's largest independent manufacturer of insecticides, slug pellets, weed-killers and garden products for use in both the domestic and agricultural markets, as well as a supplier of own brand products to a number of major UK retailers.

Equity funding was provided by EV, via the Coalfields Enterprise Fund and Turning Point Investments LLP with banking facilities provided by Yorkshire Bank.

Simon Ward, Investment Director at EV who manages its investments in the East & West Midlands from its Birmingham offices, commented, "We are delighted to be able to support Graham Whyatt and his team in taking Doff on to the next chapter of its history. As a significant local employer and an integral part of the community, we look forward to a productive partnership over the coming years".

Jonathan Diggines, EV's Chief Executive, said, "EV has been active in the Midlands for some time and this is expected to increase with the appointment of Simon and the recent opening of EV's office in Birmingham city centre. EV's funds specifically focused in the Midlands have increased substantially in recent months and we are already seeing an increase in the level of demand from companies located in the region that are looking for venture and growth funding". 

EV has recently been awarded several mandates for new funds bringing funds under management to c.£85 million with the capacity to invest up to £2 million in SMEs located across the UK.

As a result, an Investment Manager is required to join its EV Growth team to cover the Yorkshire and North East regions. The role will be Yorkshire-based with the need to attend EV's Manchester office as required.

The successful applicant is likely to be ACA qualified as well as being FSA Threshold Competent. He/she will have worked in the VC/private equity arena previously and will have an investment track record. The applicant will be a self-starter and an effective networker able to positively promote EV and its funds under management and build a strong base with regional intermediaries and deal referrers.

Applicants must also have the following key attributes:-

- Commericall aware with a sound level of judgment
- Sound project management skills
- Proven analytical and problem solving abilities
- Able to manage duties with some guidance from Fund Manager
- A sound communicator, both written and verbally
- Able to build good relationships with investees, clients and contacts
- Energy, enthusiasm and a keen interest in the SME space

This is an outstanding opportunity to join a growing and independent specialist fund manager.

Attractive package including benefits.

Interested candidates should send a copy of their full CV including their investment track record and details of current remuneration package to Deborah Moon at EV by email at dm@evgroup.uk.com or by post to EV's head office at PTMC, Marsh Lane, Preston, PR1 8UQ. 

There's reason to celebrate in the office this morning and party poppers have already been pulled!

Heather Lloyd, our Investment Administrator, is now engaged after her partner, Paul, went down on one knee and proposed over the weekend...thankfully she said "Yes".

Heather is apparently still recovering from the shock of it all!

EV Tech investee, Evgen has announced that is has entered into an Option Agreement to license, on a world-wide exclusive basis, a new pharmaceutical formulation developed by PharmaAgra Inc and Lalilab Inc of North Carolina, USA.

The license rights, which include all pharmaceutical and medical food applications, would enable Evgen to develop what its directors believe is the first shelf-stable sulforaphane composition for the potential prevention and treatment of a number of conditions, including early stage prostate cancer.

The cancer preventative benefit of cruciferous vegetables, such as broccoli, is widely believed to be due to a molecule called glucoraphanin, which converts to the bioactive molecule, sulforaphane. Whilst sulforaphane has been studied with regard to its mechanism in chemoprevention, it has hitherto been an unrealistic drug candidate due to poor stability.

Chief Executive of Evgen, Dr Stephen Franklin, said, "We are delighted to enter into this Option Agreement with PharmaAgra and Lalilab. Sulforaphane is one of the most promising natural products with a significant body of scientific literature relating to its mechanism of action, its safety profile and efficacy as demonstrated by in-vitro and on-vivo preclinical work. Despite this promise, clinical development of the molecule has been impractical due to its instability. We now believe we have addressed this barrier and have the appropriate intellectual property to advance this drug into the clinic".

Speaking on behalf of PharmAgra Inc and Lalilab Inc, Roger Frisbee, Co-President of PharmAgra Inc, said, "PharmAgra, Lalilab and Evgen share a common vision of the commercial potential of a stabilised sulforaphane. Combining our chemistry and manufacturing skills, together with Evgen's clinical development expertise, we are confident that we could be embarking on a drug development programme with a much lower risk of clinical failure that is typical for a new chemical or biological entity".  

EV Tech, the technology investment arm of EV, has hosted a pitch session for a number of Finnish VC-backed digital media companies, as part of a tour of the region arranged by Liverpool Vision to promote the region's wealth of trade and investment opportunities.

The three day visit, arranged as part of the ongoing Liverpool Software City programme of events, will see Chief Executives of the companies along with Finland-based VC investor, Vera Venture and the British Embassy Helsinki, touring the region's key digital media sites, including Manchester's Media City and North West Vision & Media, and meeting with the region's active technology VC providers.

The session, hosted by Julian Viggars, EV's Head of Technology Investment and Ashwin Kumaraswamy, EV Investment Manager, was attended by digital media companies, Helsinki-based HammerKit and Starcut Software. Each was given the opportunity to deliver its elevator pitch to the EV team and was, in turn, offered valuable advice on the availability of funding in the region, as well as feedback on key issues, such as presentational tecniques, concept application, building networks and future strategies for UK market entry.

Jonathan Diggines, CEO at EV, commented, "EV was obviously very keen to be involved with the tour. EV has had a dedicated early-stage technology offering in the North West since 2002. It has a number of investees operating in the digital media space and at various stages of development and as such, the investment team has a wealth of solid hands-on experience to share with the delegates".

 "Similarly, as a sponsor of the 2009 Liverpool Software City event, we want to continue to support the programme of events to promote the region as a centre of technology excellence. The region's technology sector continues to thrive and inward investment into the region, which I believe has much to offer, should be encouraged".

Julian Viggars, EV's Head of Technology Investment, said, "Our focus and experience is backing high quality start-up and early stage technology businesses in the region. The Liverpool Vision program has provided and will continue to provide excellent dealflow and inward investment opportunities".

EV has provided a second round of investment to New Era Aquaculture Limited to support the company's ongoing working capital requirements.

New Era Aquaculture specialises in the formulation, development, manufacture and distribution of innovative fish feeds. It also designs, installs and maintains distinctive aquariums for the corporate and leisure markets. Since its launch in 2004, the company has focused its activities on developing its product range and has invested heavily on its manufacturing facilities. EV's original investemnt, made in late 2008, supported the company's growth and allowed it to scale up its operation and increase its market presence, as well as install a live fish holding facility at its modernised premises.

Since EV's original investment, the company has enjoyed significant growth and has been awarded a number of contracts, including a three year contract with Merlin Entertainments Group to supply technical diets to all thirty of its SeaLife Centres across Europe and the USA.

The company now sells its product range to domestic and commercial customers throughout the UK and across mainland Europe, USA and the Middle East, having secured the contract to supply the feed to one of the world's largest aquariums, The Dubai Aquarium & Underwater Zoo, located in the Dubai Mall.

Jonathan Diggines, CEO of EV, commented, "We continue to be impressed with the technical expertise of the management team and it has developed an innovative product range for both domestic and commercial use. There are a number of exciting opportunities in the pipeline for the company and we look forward to continuing to work with New Era and supporting its growth and success".

Paul Taberner, EV Investment Director, said, "New Era is now exploiting the full benefits of the new manufacturing facilities installed during 2009 and we are pleased to be able to provide continued support as the business continues to expand".

Peter Mersh, Managing Director of New Era Aquaculture, said, "Exciting times lie ahead for everyone at the company as we really start to develop the opportunities that we have created over the last two years. We're obviously delighted that EV continues to support us. It gives us tremendous confidence for the future growth of the company".  

EV Tech investee, Plant Impact plc, a global developer of technologies that improve crop productivity, has announced that its technologies have again received industry acclaim, with its pioneering INCA product being nominated as a finalist for the category of "Technical Product of the Year" at this year's Grower of the Year awards.

INCA, a calcium absorption aid that targets calcium nutrition in plants, is a bespoke product that Plant Impact has developed from its own proprietary patented CaT technology. In trials, CaT delivered calcium to plants up to 50 times more effectively that traditional calcium products, with fewer applications and less input. Extensively tested throughout the world on a broad spectrum of crops, CaT has secured sales in 24 countries.

INCA alleviates the problems casused by calcium deficiencies encountered by growing crops that suffer environmental stress, caused by drought, heat and cold conditions and physiological diseases incurred in the ongoing development of the fruit. The technology enables calcium uptakes and retention in the tissues of plants that do not absorb calcium naturally under normal growing conditions.

The annual Grower of the Year awards are organised by Haymarket Events and run by respected industry titles that include Horticulture Week and Grower magazine, in association with ASDA, the Horticultural Association and the National Farmers' Union.

Additionally, Plant Impact has announced that it has secured recognition from the UK Government as an innovator in the field of food security following international development with its sphere of activities extended to Brazil. Key technologies include the unique amine fertilizer (PiNT) and the Company's CaT technology products.

Plant Impact CEO, Peter Blezard, commented, "I am immensely proud that such a prestigious panel of judges from our industry have seen fit to recognise INCA by short listing us for this award. It further demonstrates that our focus on marketing CaT technology is providing the agricultural industry with an efficacious and commercially beneficial new delivery system that assists in the yield gap the world requires. CaT is beneficial  for consumers, growers and distributors. We are already selling INCA in 24 countries and will be extending the current field trial programme to increasingly involve third party contract research organisations to independently technical data in our quest to further develop our global markets and sales".

He added, "We also appreciate such enthusiastic support from the UK Government and are determined to make a significant contribution towards alleviating global food security concerns by helping to ensure that the quality and marketable yields of fruit and vegetable products reach levels that enable the demands of an ever-rising world population to be met, whilst, at the same time, contributing environmentally friendly technologies that reduce nitrogen consumption to limit the detrimental impact and extent of climate change".

EV, the independent venture and growth fund manager, has provided a second round of investment to Thermilate (Europe) Limited.

Thermilate, based in Huddersfield, manufactures and distributes a range of pioneering thermal insulations and protective paints, coatings and building products for internal and external uses for domestic, commercial and industrial applications. Its growing product range is specifically designed to save energy, reduce costs and lessen environmental impact, adopting the latest nano-insulating technologies, applying innovative formulae devised by the company's research & development team.

EV's additional funds will enable the company to pursue a number of opportunities. During 2009, the company entered into a number of new trading relationships to supply thermally-efficient coatings in the UK and overseas. Thermilate is now in advanced discussions with major retailers and paint manufacturers to further expand its distribution.

Jonathan Diggines, CEO of EV, said, "This investment meets EV's criteria - we initially invested in Thermilate at a very early stage of the company's development, to help it launch its product range in the UK. The management team has since achieved substantial growth, but there is plenty more to come from Thermilate's environmentally-friendly and energy-saving products".

Wayne Thomas, EV Investment Director for the deal, commented, "It was key to our investment decision that Thermilate developed its range of thermally-efficient coatings and building products based on the company's proprietary intellectual property. Burgeoning global demand for reduced carbon usage means that many organisations are now looking at alternative sources of building and related materials - and this is Thermilate's clear market opportunity".

Ash Ashfaq, Managing Director of Thermilate, said, "We are delighted that EV has shown further commitment to our business. We are already trading very healthily and with the additional investment, we are accelerating the immediate implementation of plans for growth, through development of our organisation, especially our marketing & sales and technology infrastructures".

EV's CEO, Jonathan Diggines, has joined forces with other leading regionally-based private equity practitioners to form The Manchester Private Equity Group, recently launched by Pro Manchester.

The group's objective will be to promote Manchester as a centre for private equity excellence and to attract further venture capital providers and entrepreneurs to the region. The voice for the industry, the British Venture Capital Association, has also agreed to join up with Pro Manchester to develop and support the initiative and its Chief Operating Officer, Andrew Graham, has confirmed he will join the group.

John Ashcroft, Chief Executive of Pro Manchester, commented, "Private equity funding is a key issue for economic development with emphasis on seed capital, pre-revenue and multi-stage funding for entrepreneurs, SMEs and future Gazelles for Growth. We have a key role in working with the NWDA and other organisations to ensure funding flows into the North West region". 

EV Tech investee, ACAL Energy Limited, has today announced that it is leading a collaborative project to build the world's first installed system using FlowCath^® fuel cell technology in a practical application.

The project represents an investment of £1.9 million and has been awarded funding by the Technology Strategy Board. It will see a fully operational demonstration of a FlowCath^® fuel cell unit installed at Solvay Interox's large industrial site at Warrington, Cheshire and will be a major step on the commercialisation road map for this innovative technology.

Joining ACAL Energy as partners on the project are Solvay Interox Limited, Johnsone Matthey Fuel Cells, UPS Systems plc, the Centre for Process Innovation, the University of Southampton and the Manufacturing  Engineering Centre at Cardiff University.

ACAL Energy and its partners will develop and operate a suitably sized, low cost FlowCath^® fuel cell unit to provide continuous electrical power to a remote environmental monitoring system within the chemical manufacturing plant. The project commenced on 1 December 2009, with the build and installation taking place in the second half of 2010. Ultimately, fuel cell systems utilizing FlowCath^® will be a clean and economically sensible alternative to diesel and gasoline generators in stationary and transportation applications requiring 1kW to 200kW of electrical power.

ACAL Energy's FlowCath^® technology replaces the platinum catalyst on the cathode in a proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cell with a low cost, durable liquid chemical. This will significantly reduce the overall platinum content, as much of the platinum in conventional PEM fuel cells is used in the cathode. ACAL Energy has developed a family of proprietary chemical compunds that deliver the same level of fuel cell power density as today's platinum cathode systems. Further increases in power density are forecast in the future. The technology also significantly reduces the balance of plant costs by eliminating the need for hydration, pressurization, seperate cooling and other expensive mechanical sub-systems commonly found in conventional PEM fuel cells.

"Field demonstration of our FlowCath^® technology is a very important milestone for the company", said Dr Sb Cha, Chief Executive Officer of ACAL Energy. "This application requires the unit to run 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and will be an excellent example of the robustness and reliability of our low cost fuel cell technology. We are delighted to be part of a world-class project team and are grateful to the UK Technology Strategy Board for its support".

EV has recently been awarded several mandates for new funds, bringing funds under management to c. £85 million with the capacity to invest up to £2 million in SMEs located across the UK.

As a result, three new positions have arisen within its existing EV Tech team; an Investment Director and an Investment Manager are now required to cover the North West and Yorkshire regions, as well as a Fund Administrator to be based in the Yorkshire region.

INVESTMENT DIRECTOR

Candidates for the Investment Director role will have previously worked for a technology VC house and will have an investment track record. They are likely to have a science-based first degree and MBA and/or ACA qualification as well as being FSA Threshold Competent. The role will largely be based at EV's Manchester office.

INVESTMENT MANAGER

Candidates for the Investment Manager role will have a science-based first degree and could have a background in technology transfer, corporate finance, technology analysis or previous spinout company experience. Experience in working on medical products/innovations would be advantageous. This is an entry role into technology VC investing and will be based in the Yorkshire region.

In both cases, applicants must have the following key attributes:-

- Financially and technically competent
- Commercially aware with a sound level of judgement
- Sound project management skills
- Proven analytical and problem solving abilities
- Able to manage duties with some guidance and/or technical assistance from Fund Manager
- An effective networker able to positively promote EV and its funds under management and build a strong base with regional intermediaries and deal referrers
- A sound communicator, both written and verbally
- Able to build good relationships with investees, clients and contacts
- Energy, enthusiasm and a keen interest in the early stage technology space

FUND ADMINISTRATOR

The Fund Administrator will provide support to the EV Tech investment team in all areas of financial management and control, in particular, to ensure the efficient planning and execution of day-to-day administrative functions of the investment team within the business. The role will involve collection of data, maintaining databases, report writing and basic accountancy / fund management work. Candidates must have strong Execl modelling skills and ideally have an accountancy qualification. Relevant experience in the financial services sector is not a requirement but would be useful. The role will be Yorkshire-based.

This is an outstanding opportunity to join a growing and independent specialist fund manager.

Attractive package including benefits.

Interested candiates for all positions should send a copy of their full current CV (and where relevant, a copy of their investment record) and details of current remuneration package to Deborah Moon at EV by email at dm@evgroup.uk.com or by post to EV's head office at PTMC, Marsh Lane, Preston, PR1 8UQ.