Praetura Ventures, the Manchester-based investor that backs quality businesses in high-value sectors, has launched the Praetura EIS Growth Fund as it continues to see increased demand for capital and support from high-growth businesses.

As an ‘evergreen’ fund, the Praetura EIS Growth Fund is looking to raise up to £30m per annum. It will soft close twice a year and the funds raised will be deployed to support the growth ambitions of businesses in the North and across the UK. This will include early-stage businesses looking for smaller, seed-stage investments as well as capital and support for more developed businesses that are looking to scale.

David Foreman, managing director at Praetura Ventures, said: “We speak to entrepreneurs and business owners that are seeking investment every day of the week and we know there is a huge demand for capital and support, now more than ever. Many entrepreneurs are actively looking for an investment partner that can provide more than just money and work by their side as they plan for the future and navigate their way through the challenges presented by COVID-19.

“Demand is particularly evident in the North of England, and there are some really exciting businesses in sectors as varied as artificial intelligence and healthtech that are looking for support. This, coupled with the positive response we’ve received from our investors after successfully closing and deploying two EIS funds, truly demonstrates the size of the opportunity and ensures we’re well placed to provide that support.”

The launch of the Praetura EIS Growth Fund follows a record 12 months which saw Praetura Ventures respond to increased demand from its network of high net-worth investors and financial advisers by raising more than £22m to invest in entrepreneurial businesses.

This momentum from Praetura Ventures’ network and its appetite to invest meant the firm was able to deploy its record-breaking £15m maiden EIS 2019 fund in just seven months, which was shortly followed by the close of the £7m Praetura EIS 2020 fund.

The remainder of the firm’s EIS 2020 fund will be invested in a number of businesses over the coming months, after almost 70 per cent of the fund was deployed before the end of the 2019/20 tax year. It has already seen Praetura Ventures invest in high-quality businesses such as Patchwork, a rapidly growing healthtech start-up on a mission to solve the NHS staffing crisis, and Inotec AMD, a fast-growing medtech business that has developed an innovative device to heal and treat complex chronic wounds.

Alongside an injection of capital, the investee businesses receive the strategic support and guidance of the 25-strong team at Praetura Ventures, who work closely with the business leaders and management teams.

Jonathan Prescott, business development director at Praetura Ventures, added: “Over the past 12 months we’ve seen a huge increase in the number of advisers recommending our Praetura EIS Funds to their clients, and we believe this is down to the fact that we’re not just an investor of funds, but a strategic partner to our advisers and to our portfolio businesses. At a time when businesses are focused on resilience and growth against a challenging background, more and more advisers are recognising the important role venture capital and EIS can play in portfolio construction and financial planning.

“We also made a conscious decision to put the intermediary market at the heart of our thinking by creating a model that combines speed of deployment and diversity across our portfolio, in addition to making the most of the pricing opportunities in the North of England.”

Praetura was the first to back rapidly growing SaaS delivery management platform, Sorted Group, and in August 2019 participated in the £15m investment round led by Merian Chrysalis Investment Company, which made Sorted Group one of the North West’s fastest growing tech companies.

The firm was also the first to invest in AI and machine learning business, Peak, in 2016, and the business continues to go from strength-to-strength having recently raised £9.7m in an extended Series A funding round led by Praetura Ventures and MMC.

Specialist social impact lender, GC Business Finance (GCBF), has provided Senate Training with a CBILS-backed loan through NPIF – BFS & MSIF Microfinance, which is part of the Northern Powerhouse Fund (NPIF),

Alsager-based Senate Training was established 20 years ago by husband and wife Paul Keeling and Janet Keeling. The business operates a Global Security Operations Centre with 24-hour a day CCTV monitoring and alarm receiving for large premises such as corporate buildings, privately owned city centre areas and shopping centres. The firm also provides bespoke training for emergency incident management and business continuity, as well as risk consultancy services to protect businesses against crime, protests and terrorism.

The current lockdown measures imposed by Government have forced the training and consultancy arms of the business to pause for the foreseeable future. The NPIF loan using CBILS backing provided by alternative finance provider GC Business Finance has allowed the Senate Global Security Operations Centre to remain open, meaning clients’ CCTV is still under surveillance and 15 members of staff are still working.

The funding will also support the company’s efforts to diversify its offering to include online training, as it looks to develop virtual classrooms. This could potentially allow for Paul and his team to open back up their training revenue stream in what would typically have been their busiest time, April through November.

Paul Keeling, CEO at Senate Training, said: “Our business has been adversely impacted by the crisis, with the current lockdown measures meaning that two significant revenue streams have suddenly dried up. However, we still have a duty of care to protect our clients from existing and evolving threats, so it was imperative that our Security Operations Centre continued to operate on a 24/7 basis.

“Matt and the Team at GC Business Finance had a refreshingly different approach to the methods used typically by High Street Banks. They gave consideration to exactly how we had been affected by the Conronavirus crisis and focused on understanding our business and its potential. The facility provided by them will help us to navigate this extremely challenging period, and support innovation in terms of the design and launch of a portfolio of digital learning products.”

Matt Robinson, Fund Manager at GC Business Finance, said: “Senate Training is a reputable business with impressive scale, and we are proud to support Paul and his team at a time of dire need. GC Business Finance is committed to helping companies in the North West that have felt the impact of the coronavirus, and we would encourage business owners to consider applying for funding if they require financial support during these unprecedented times.”

Sue Barnard, Senior Manager at British Business Bank said: “In the current climate, it is essential that funds are deployed as quickly and efficiently as possible to ensure the safety of so many impacted businesses. It’s encouraging to see GC Business Finance complete yet another NPIF loan backed by CBILS , and we hope this funding will make a huge difference to Senate Training in these difficult times.”

Clare Hayward MBE DL, Chair of Cheshire and Warrington LEP said: “It’s fantastic to see Senate Training adapting their business to deal with the current challenges Covid-19 presents. The government schemes are a new form of finance and the LEP would urge all businesses to explore their eligibility, using services like the Business Growth Hub. Gaining an NPIF loan backed by CBILS is testament to the work of Paul, Janet and the rest of the team and will ensure they can continue successfully and be in the best possible position moving forward.”

GCBF is committed to supporting North West-based SMEs, providing CBILS loans to those that have been adversely affected by the coronavirus. This scheme builds upon GCBF’s existing range of loans across the alternative finance market, including Microfinance from the Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund, as well as Start Up Loans on behalf of British Business Bank. GCBF is positioned to lend to businesses that otherwise couldn’t access funding from mainstream lenders in a fast and responsible approach to lending.

CBILS provides facilities of up to £5m for smaller businesses who are experiencing lost or deferred revenues, leading to disruptions to their cashflow. Delivered by the British Business Bank, through 40+ accredited lenders and partners, CBILS will support the continued provision of finance to UK smaller businesses during the Covid-19 outbreak.

The Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund project is supported financially by the European Union using funding from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) as part of the European Structural and Investment Funds Growth Programme 2014-2020 and the European Investment Bank.

FW Capital has been allocated an additional £40.6m from the Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund (NPIF), taking its new total to £142.6m.

FW Capital was appointed in 2017 to manage NPIF – FW Capital Debt Finance to support businesses through two funds focusing on the North West and the Tees Valley & Cumbria.

The money from the British Business Bank will see North West NPIF fund increase by £30.6m to £81.6m and the FW Capital’s Tees Valley & Cumbria NPIF fund rise by £10m to £61m.

Since 2017, FW Capital has invested more than £50m into 170 businesses across the North and created over 600 jobs. It has expanded to a team of thirty in offices across the North.

The funding is designed to drive innovation and growth and can support the needs of a broad range of sectors as businesses navigate the current challenging trading environment.

Both the NPIF – FW Capital Debt Finance funds provide loans of between £100,000 and £750,000 and offer businesses capital that can be used to adapt and grow throughout the Coronavirus pandemic. Investment can be made in new equipment, premises, staff, systems, product lines and a wide variety of other uses.

Gary Guest, Fund Director at FW Capital North West, said: “Since 2017, hundreds of jobs have been created through NPIF – FW Capital Debt Finance.

“The positive feedback from British Business Bank about our support for SMEs has been welcomed and this additional allocation of funding is testament to its confidence in our provision.

“With this extra allocation of funds, we can continue to help Northern businesses achieve their commercial objectives by making sure they can access the finance they need to grow at a time when the demand for funding is greater than it has ever been.”
Joanne Whitfield, Fund Director at FW Capital North East, said: “We are very pleased to have been given this further allocation of funds, which will allow us to continue to help SMEs trade through this turbulence and work towards their ambitions for the future.

“FW Capital is a long-term growth partner with local teams across the patch ready to offer pragmatic support to our investees. This is particularly relevant given the difficulties currently facing many businesses.

“The extra allocation of funds will allow us to support more clients in this way and to continue to help create and safeguard jobs for our region.”

Grant Peggie, Director at British Business Bank, said: “The Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund plays a vital role in supporting the Northern economy. We have helped innovative business access the vital funding they need to grow, and FW Capital have had a huge part in the Fund’s success to date. This extra injection of capital at this challenging time will enable FW Capital to to support even more of the North’s growing small businesses .”

Operating from the British Business Bank’s Sheffield head office, the Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund provides a mix of debt and equity funding (£25,000 to £2m). It works alongside ten Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEPs), the combined authorities and Growth Hubs, as well as local accountants, fund managers and banks, to support Northern-based SMEs at all stages of their development.

The Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund project is supported financially by the European Union using funding from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) as part of the European Structural and Investment Funds Growth Programme 2014-2020 and the European Investment Bank.

The £400m Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund (NPIF) has remained active despite nationwide uncertainty, completing 61 deals worth over £14m since the beginning of 2020.

The Fund, which provides a mix of debt, equity and microfinance up to £2m, has continued to invest in small businesses across the north of England and is still very much open for business

NPIF’s Microfinance fund managers which include GC Business Finance, MSIF, Business Enterprise Fund (BEF) and Finance For Enterprise are all accredited lenders of the government’s Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CBILS) with a number of loans already being approved. This includes a £100k loan to support Altrincham-based Consensus Workspace and a £100k loan to enable Scarborough based Spectrum Cleaning Solutions to diversify its offer by launching a new ecommerce platform.

These deals build on the significant impact that NPIF has already had on ambitious companies to date across 10 northern LEP areas. Since its launch in March 2017, fund managers have invested over £162m into 601 businesses, bringing in an additional £167m from the private sector.

The sectors seeing the most impact from NPIF are manufacturing, tech, digital, creative and life sciences.

Roger Marsh, OBE DL, Chairman of NPIF Strategic Oversight Board, Chair of Leeds City Region Enterprise Partnership (LEP) and Chair of the NP11, said: “The Covid-19 pandemic has radically altered the world in which businesses operate and targeted financial support has never been more important to ensure those companies, especially SMEs, which are the lifeblood of our economy, survive and thrive.

“Now is a time of exceptional challenge to businesses, with access to finance and cashflow among the chief concerns many businesses have. I’m pleased to see the positive impact that NPIF is continuing to have across the North and encourage companies looking to innovate, diversify or scale-up – particularly to support the UK’s response to Covid-19 – to explore the support available.”

Ken Cooper, Managing Director at British Business Bank, said: “Small businesses are facing unprecedented economic circumstances, so it is great to see that our fund is stepping up to the challenge of supporting them during this difficult time. We have been impressed by the response from all of our Fund Managers who are working hard to ensure local businesses can access vital funding, including from the CBILS, whilst also helping those companies that have already had NPIF funding.

“Although we’re now in a very different business environment, NPIF remains open for business, and will continue to make investments.”

The £400m Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund was launched in 2017 by the British Business Bank using funding from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), HM Government and the European Investment Bank. NPIF forms a key part of the British Business Banks’ objective to help reduce regional funding disparities and encourage economic prosperity in the North of England.

NPIF works with 10 Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEPs), Combined Authorities and fund managers to provide microfinance, debt and equity finance to businesses across the North West, Yorkshire and Humber and Tees Valley regions.

The funding options include microfinance between £25,000 and £100,000, debt finance between £100,000 and £750,000 and equity finance up to £2m.

The Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund project is supported financially by the European Union using funding from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) as part of the European Structural and Investment Funds Growth Programme 2014-2020 and the European Investment Bank.

For more information about Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund, please visit www.npif.co.uk.