Appointment to manage ?50m loan fund

RNS Number : 3265Y

Braveheart Investment Group plc

29 February 2012

 



29 February 2012

Braveheart Investment Group plc

Appointment to manage £50 million loan fund in Northern Ireland

Braveheart Investment Group plc ('Braveheart' or the 'Company') (BRH), the AIM-listed fund manager specialising in growth capital investments for business angels, high net worth individuals and family offices, announces it has been appointed to manage a £50 million Growth Loan Fund ('GLF' or 'Fund') aimed at supporting small to medium-sized enterprises ('SMEs') in Northern Ireland.

Braveheart has been appointed as the lead bidder in a consortium comprising itself, NEL Fund Managers Ltd ('NEL') and Clarendon Fund Managers Ltd ('Clarendon').  NEL operates from Newcastle upon Tyne and has a long track record in managing mezzanine loan funds. Clarendon is based in Belfast and manages various funds supporting SMEs in Northern Ireland.  

The GLF will operate on a matched funding basis: Invest Northern Ireland ('Invest NI'), the regional business development agency, has committed £25 million to the Fund, while a further £25 million is being committed by the private sector.    The Fund will be managed on a fully commercial basis and will be constructed as a limited partnership with a 10-year term, subject to extension.

Braveheart is a UK pioneer in investment co-funding of SMEs to establish and promote economic growth and job creation. The Company helped set up the Scottish Co-investment Fund in 2003, and in April 2011 announced its participation in the £50 million Angel Co-Investment Fund, to support SMEs in England and Wales. The GLF contract is a further advance in the Company's strategy of generating recurring, fee-based revenues through its fund management activities, in addition to producing capital realisations from its directly held investment portfolio.

Further details of the Fund will be released by Invest NI in due course.

Geoffrey Thomson, Chief Executive of Braveheart, said: "As we have noted to the market on previous occasions, our strategy going forward is to increase the fee earning side of our business whilst seeking optimal value realisations from our directly held portfolio, as and when appropriate.  The announcement we are making today is a direct result of that strategy:  this contract brings a high quality and visible income stream over a 10-year period.  It also establishes us in a new location. 

"We have teamed up with two respected fund managers whom we know well, and we are delighted to be working with them.  We look forward to working with Invest NI in delivering an innovative product in Northern Ireland."

Further information:

Braveheart Investment Group plc

Geoffrey Thomson, Chief Executive [e-mail]

Tel: [phone]

Seymour Pierce Limited

Freddy Crossley (Nominated Adviser) Paul Jewell, David Banks (Corporate Broking)

Tel: [phone]

Media enquiries:

Allerton Communications

Peter Curtain [e-mail]

Tel: [phone]

Notes to Editors

Braveheart Investment Group makes and manages investments in young, emerging British companies, specialising in building tax efficient portfolios for business angels, high net worth individuals and family offices. Braveheart was founded in 1997 by a small group of investors to encourage and syndicate investments in privately held companies that offered opportunities for significant growth. Fourteen years on, Braveheart is a public company with a demonstrable track record in technology investing, an established client base and various funds under management.  The Group has offices in Perth, London, Yorkshire and Jersey, and franchises in Dubai and Manchester.

Investments are made in unlisted companies where there is potential for significant growth through successful commercialisation of IP. Through close relationships with leading universities and innovation centres, Braveheart has access to a wide variety of emerging commercial opportunities at early stages. There are currently some 45 companies in Braveheart's diverse portfolio (includes all companies where the Group has a financial interest) and it has completed more than 90 deals.

Following the 2010 acquisition of Envestors Limited, the London based specialist corporate finance advisory business, Braveheart offers a unique and comprehensive suite of tax efficient products to high net worth investors.

For more information: www.braveheartinvestmentgroup.co.uk

 

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