Business Angels
Business angels are individuals who invest directly in private companies in return for equity and possibly a seat on the board. Business angels tend to invest in areas where they have personal experience, so they bring both financial capital and sector experience to a young company.
There are a number of business angel networks in London, including:
London Business Angels is a wholly owned subsidiary of Greater London Enterprise Ltd. They offer an introduction service for London-based innovative entrepreneurial businesses seeking growth capital between £100,000 - £750,000. They have a network of over 150 Business Angels with a total of £50 million available for investment.
Typically, the network raises £2-3 million of new equity each year for early growth SMEs. We also have a £4.8 million match fund called London Seed Capital (LSC), which invests alongside Business Angels. In addition, we have recently launched a six monthly rolling EIS Tracker Fund to invest alongside LSC investments. Click here.
OneLondon Business Angels Network (OLBAN) is a not-for-profit subsidiary of the Greater London Enterprise Group. The Network has access to around 100 London-based business angels but is not specifically focused on the life sciences sector. Click here.
British Business Angels Association (BBAA) is a not-for-profit company, which is sponsored by major financial institutions and supported by the DTI. Click here.