Four new investment syndicates are expected to invest €10m between them over the next three years largely in early-stage, indigenous enterprises, it was revealed at the first-ever conference of business angels in Ireland today.
The Halo Business Angel Network (HBAN), the national network for angel investing in Ireland, announced the establishment of the syndicates that will be targeting opportunities in the technology, telecommunications, life sciences and renewable energy fields.
They are Irrus Investments, Reddo Partners, The Technology Investment Group, and Clean Technologies.
The Inaugural Business Angels Conference, held in Dublin, brought together 75 leading investors, including some of Ireland’s most noted entrepreneurs.
Attendees included Sean Melly, managing director, Powerscourt Investments; Paddy Holohan, founder and CEO, Newbay Software; Sean O’Sullivan, investment partner, SOS Partners; and Paul Atkinson, partner, investment firm Par Equity. All of the attendees at the conference are potential angel investors.
“The angel capital industry is still at an early stage in Ireland but today’s conference will add significant momentum to its development. The new investor syndicates will provide support for early-stage firms, especially those in industries geared towards innovation, like information technology, medical devices and life sciences,” said Diane Roberts, national director, HBAN.
“To date, we have helped to secure angel financing for a number of early-stage companies in these sectors. In fact, we have already helped raise funds for more than 30 of these firms. However, from today, we’re looking to take a major step forward and actively increase the number of syndicates that are willing to invest in Irish early-stage enterprises.”
Delegates briefed on supports
At the conference – chaired by former RTÉ presenter, Mark Little – delegates were briefed on the support structures available to investors, the key criteria on which to base investment decisions, the growth in the number of available investment syndicates, and the best ways to diversify a portfolio of investments.
HBAN was set up last year as a joint initiative of InterTradeIreland and Enterprise Ireland and focuses on supporting companies that are seeking to raise financing of between €250,000 and €1.25m by linking entrepreneurs to individual investors or investment syndicates. It expects to link up to 100 early-stage companies to potential investors over the coming year.
