London-based Find Invest Grow (FIG), which matches students and recent graduates with experienced investors looking to support their ventures, is targeting £6 million for its first fund.

The FIG Concept Seed Fund will invest in FIG’s current portfolio of start-up businesses, nearly all of which qualify for the Enterprise Investment Scheme (EIS) or Seed Enterprise Investment Scheme (SEIS). It will also be able to access future deal flow.

Mark Hannington, director and co-founder of FIG, says, ‘We know there are individuals beyond the traditional angel investor, with the appetite to invest in our early-stage businesses. The fund will complement our network of angel investors by providing promising growth businesses with faster access to capital.’

A spokesperson for FIG tells GrowthBusiness that it can be easy to find a cornerstone investor for a venture, but a great deal of time can then be spent chasing down smaller backers. This fund should expedite matters by helping FIG to ‘top up’ investments to the amount required.

The fund will be managed by New Model Venture Capital (NMVC), a firm set up by FIG’s management team that received FSA authorisation in April 2012.

Adrian Clark, a director of NMVC, comments, ‘We expect to get investors’ money allocated and working very quickly.’

The fund will be chaired by Robin McIlvenny, an established angel investor and former banking executive. Other members of its investment committee include private equity adviser David Marshall.

The minimum investment in the FIG Concept Seed Fund will be £100,000 and investors will be able to qualify for EIS tax relief.