A fund of £10 million set up by Cass Business School has made its first investment, in corporate reputation specialist Alva.

A fund set up by Cass Business School has made its first investment, in corporate reputation specialist Alva.

London-based Alva received £675,000 in the fundraising, with the Cass Entrepreneurship Fund investing alongside a number of business angels. These include Charles Lewington, MD of public relations firm Hanover and Andrew Vickerman, former head of communications at mining group Rio Tinto.

Alva, which was founded by Cass Business School alumni Alberto Lopez-Valenzuela and Richard Fleming, will use the funding to develop software that will help companies monitor their reputation in ‘near real-time’. A current service offered by Alva informs organisations of emerging reputational risks in their sector.

The business has been supported so far by the Peter Cullum Centre of Entrepreneurship at Cass Business School.

Peter Cullum, executive chairman of insurance group Towergate Partnership, is a major supporter of the Cass Entrepreneurship Fund, which has £10 million to invest in start-ups and early stage companies across the Cass Business School community.

Says Cullum, ‘I have been heartened by the quality of budding entrepreneurs to date. The key to any investment is not just a good idea, but a clearly executed business plan and Alva certainly has this in spades.’