The Beer Investors Club will be run by former director of 3i, Graham Spooner.

Investee businesses may be in any sector and deal sizes will typically be between £500,000 and £1 million. There will be a bias towards companies planning a public flotation, some of whom may already be preparing for their initial public offering.

Membership of the Beer Investors’ Club costs £1,000 a year, and there is a minimum investment size of £35,000. In return for the membership fee, the club aims to limit risk for investors by ensuring due diligence is completed and deal terms agreed prior to investments being made. Investee companies will also be monitored on members’ behalf, says the club.

Spooner comments: ‘The big private equity players no longer invest in smaller companies and this “equity gap” has created an opportunity in a marketplace that’s seeing renewed vigour in the wake of the recent credit squeeze.’

Spooner adds that Beer & Partners receives more than 3,000 proposals a year from companies seeking funding.

Established in 1995, Beer & Partners has 1,300 high net-worth individuals and 350 institutional investors on its books. It works on behalf of companies seeking funding, which pay a flat fee plus a commission on any funding secured.