There must be an angel…
9 April 2015
Access to Finance specialist Jonathan Nelson believes that the traditional banking route is always the best one for businesses looking for investment.
However, when companies need to grow quickly and diversify their business at pace in order to take advantage of market conditions, traditional funding routes such as the high st banks, can’t always accommodate the size of funding request and risk that entrepreneurs present.
This is when alternative funding streams such as the Northwest Business Angels (NWBA) come into play. Although often more expensive in terms of cost per deal, in terms of lost opportunity, the traditional funders can ultimately prove more expensive.
NWBA is one of the UK’s most established angel networks and works with growing companies across the region that are seeking investments between £10,000 and £500,000. The network, which is part of the Business Growth Hub’s Access to Finance Service, has raised over £22m for more than 250 companies to date.
10ACIA is a local property development company that recently began working with NWBA and the Business Growth Hub. Formed in 2013, the company operates across Lancashire, Cheshire and Greater Manchester, and has a team of seven core staff along with a number of other skilled workers to handle bespoke and technical projects.
Jonathan worked closely with company founder David Price to find a funding solution that suited the needs of the business. The traditional banking route clearly wasn’t right for them and by exploring the various options available he was able to demonstrate a clear strategic fit with NWBA.
An angel investor has now injected £500,000 into 10ACIA, providing much needed additional working capital to allow the business to develop and deliver new projects across the region.
The funding will be used to finance a range of design, development and renovation projects and has helped to put the business in touch with more residential and commercial clients across the North West. Being part of the Northwest Business Angels network has added significant value to 10ACIA, helping to create new relationships with influential businesses such as Neville Johnson, the Manchester-based bespoke furniture manufacturer.
As David explains: “In the early stages, I had exchanged all my money for bricks and mortar and could only fund one project at a time. Working with Access to Finance and Northwest Business Angels has been phenomenal. They laid out a very simple path in front of us, allowing us to fund a number of projects simultaneously. It’s probably the most cost-effective form of finance available and has already set the business up for a period of sustainable growth.”
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