CyCell dials up Envestors for growth funding

RNS Number : 6387S

Braveheart Investment Group plc

04 December 2012

 



4 December 2012

Braveheart Investment Group plc

Mini-phone firm CyCell dials up Envestors for growth capital

Envestors Limited, the award-winning private investor network dedicated to helping investors source dynamic companies in need of growth capital, has closed an equity fundraising round for the specialist mobile telecoms company CyCell. Of the £1 million total raised, almost half came from the Envestors network.

CyCell provides low cost, easy-to-use, credit card sized mobile phones for young children, the elderly and corporate B2B applications. The company has developed a miniature mobile phone that can be customised with 4, 8 or 12 buttons that instantly connects to pre-programmed numbers. With an embedded SIM card and a long battery life, phones are individually printed to a choice of design and colour.  Users can connect to friends, emergency services or any pre-set number at the press of a button.

The phones are easy to use and designed to appeal to the very young and the elderly, to families and sports people, as well as having corporate and B2B application. The company operates as a fully functioning MVNO (a mobile network using someone else's network) offering customer ownership, subscription services and recurring revenues. The company has entered into a commercial collaboration with Age UK as its first marketing partner and is looking for others.

Pictures of the coloured and fun phones can be found at www.cycell.com

Bill Darley, Chief Financial Officer, CyCell, said: "We were delighted to work with Envestors on this fundraising round.  Our existing shareholders were keen to ensure that the shareholder base remained within the private investor community and the reach that Envestors has into the Isle of Man and the Channel Islands has been very helpful and provided the mainstay for this round.  We are pleased to welcome six new shareholders  from Envestors.  The quality of the investors we have met through Envestors has been high and some have already proved invaluable in providing new potential channels for us."

Bob Taylor, Founder Director of Envestors, said: "CyCell is a classic example of great British innovation. The company attracted strong investor interest over the summer and with formal engagement from Age UK coming in recently, the round rapidly became oversubscribed. When my children go away on trips now, they definitely leave the smart phones at home and take their "OwnFones" ^TM instead."

Envestors is a wholly owned subsidiary of Braveheart Investment Group plc ('Braveheart' or the 'Group') (BRH), the AIM-listed investment management group specialising in venture capital investments and investment services to business angels, high net worth individuals, family offices and public sector organisations.

Pictures of CyCell phones are available from Bill Darley - details below.

Further information:

Envestors Limited

Bob Taylor, Director [e-mail]

Tel: [phone]

CyCell

Bill Darley [e-mail]

Tel: [phone]

Braveheart Investment Group plc

Geoffrey Thomson, Chief Executive [e-mail]

Tel: [phone]

Merchant Securities Limited (Nominated Adviser and Broker to Braveheart)

Lindsay Mair Catherine Miles

Tel: [phone]

Media enquiries:

Allerton Communications

Peter Curtain [e-mail]

Tel: [phone]

Notes to Editors

Envestors Limited

Envestors enables investors to source dynamic unquoted companies in need of growth capital.  Comprising high net worth private investors, family offices, funds and venture capital sources, its network has helped over 65 companies raise in excess of £25 million, the majority of opportunities attracting taxation benefits under the Enterprise Investment Scheme (EIS).

Services to companies include intensive preparation for fundraising, initial due diligence and screening, facilitating corporate fundraisings through in-demand investor presentation events and face-to-face meetings with potential investors, and placing of non-executive talent.

Envestors was awarded the "Private Investor Network of the Year" at Investor Allstars in 2009 and again in 2011 and is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Braveheart Investment Group plc.

www.envestors.co.uk

Braveheart Investment Group plc

Braveheart provides financing and associated advisory services for small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) as follows: 

For the company looking to raise money, we provide:

·     Equity capital.  This form of financing is typically long term and is usually appropriate for fast growing businesses or early stage companies.  We will consider equity financings where our individual investment, or the investment we arrange, would normally be a maximum of £2m although we are happy to participate in larger financings as part of a syndicate;

·     Debt finance.  Short to medium term and for companies with cash flow to service the loan.  Our unit size for this type of finance is up £1m and we will usually provide junior debt which is unsecured but linked to an equity instrument;

·     Corporate finance advice on all aspects of raising money, strategic development and corporate governance.

The money we invest comes from a variety of sources (see below) and is sometimes linked to particular geographical locations.

To the investor, we provide a one stop shop service to those in one of the following groups who are looking for exposure to SME investments:

·     High net worth (HNW) individuals looking to build tax efficient Enterprise Investment Scheme (EIS) and Seed EIS portfolios;

·     Family offices and private sector institutions;

·     The Public sector.

Investors can choose between investment types ranging from self-build portfolios, to a full fund management service.

We have offices in Perth, Yorkshire, London, Jersey and the Isle of Man and associate offices in Manchester and Dubai. 

www.braveheartinvestmentgroup.co.uk

 

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