The business bank and Regional Growth Fund-backed Angel CoFund has now been in operation for two years and supported 38 businesses.
To coincide with the second year of its investing, the syndicate-pairing fund has released a number of statistics relating to its investing.
With 38 businesses funded so far, some £14 million of direct investment from the Angel CoFund has been made alongside £51 million from business angels (see infographic below).
Speaking exclusively to GrowthBusiness, George Whitehead, chairman of the Angel CoFund, says that they have become one of the most active funds in the country from a standing start.
‘Our results clearly demonstrate that angel investing and entrepreneurship is thriving in numerous sectors and right across the UK,’ he adds.
‘A key objective of the Angel CoFund was to raise the game of angel investing and although I recognise that we set the bar high for the quality of business propositions and angel syndicates we back I remain impressed by the size of the rounds achieved, the diversity of the businesses backed and most importantly their extraordinary potential.’
The Angel CoFund has so far made ten follow-on investments and holds an average stake of 9.8 per cent in each business. It has made one exit so far, securing a 3x multiple, and has closed most deals in the software sector – followed by financial services and medical equipment.
More on the Angel CoFund:
- Fund hits one-year mark with 18 deals worth £24 million
- Five angel networks to lead £50 million fund
- Angel CoFund makes first five commitments
Back in December 2012, the Angel CoFund rounded off a year of investing by revealing that it had supported 18 companies and allotted £24 million of capital.
Investments made by the fund, of between £100,000 and £1 million, have an upper limit of 49 per cent of any round.
Other developments for the fund this year have included a move to extend investing across the UK. Having previously been regionally focused, the Angel CoFund decided to take a broader investment look.
Commenting then, Whitehead said that the fund was only ‘scratching the surface’, and that opportunities to unite with other angels would grow.
Businesses to be backed by the Angel CoFund and the angel syndicates it partners include JustInvesting, a private equity exchange for early-stage ventures, and YPlan, an event booking smartphone application.
By evaluating its two-year investment efforts, the Angel CoFund is backing entrepreneurs with an average age of 42, and partnering with angels who have an average age of 50.
