Investors

[liller]

Hi, I was wondering if anybody had experience in finding 'angel investors'

I am looking to secure some investment to take my retail business to the next level and I am wondering if there are any alternatives to the bank or dragons den!!

I looked at a few of these angel investor websites a few years ago but didn't really trust them, especially the ones which want a payment up front to join the site.

Any advice would be appreciated! thanks

[liller]

blueg33 said:

Have you looked at some of the VCT's (venture capital trusts?). I am working with one at the moment and have secured £6m although its not for retail. What scale of ££'s are you looking at? Is your business plan robust?, have you got much equity in the business?

I'm looking to secure investment of between £50k and £100k so not a massive investment (well it depends on what you would call massive!)

I haven't updated the business plan since we opened for business initially but intend to do so, but yes, it's fairly robust and has succeeded so far.

I've not really looked into any method of funding as yet, just thought I would start hunting around for some advice.

Edited by liller on Thursday 11th October 16:39

[liller]

srebbe64 said:

I've been to a few pitching events with these guys. Not invested yet, but know a few who have:

http://www.angelinvestmentnetwork.co.uk/home

thanks. will check this out.

[liller]

blueg33 said:

I have a meeting with the VCt I am working with next week, depending on how much of a hurry you are in I could ask them if they do retail then? I know they do hotels and development.

£100k is relatively small (sorry, thats probably just because my sector needs quite a bit more than that)

yes, I imagine it is quite small fry for many of the big VC firms! Any leads/help would be appreciated though!

[liller]

thanks birkin and fella - some food for thought there. I think you are right, I should try to raise it myself any way possible before going down the investor route.

I haven't approached the bank yet as I felt that they probably wouldn't be up for lending that amount of money without some sort of security.

[liller]

has anyone had any experience of peer to peer lending? This type of funding/borrowing has cropped up a few times during my web searching.

[liller]

Funding Circle looks good - we don't meet the minimum criteria though. You need to have 2+ years of accounts filed at companies house and we have only been trading for 18 months.