Member Article

Investment syndicate becomes one of the top three ‘angel’ groups in the UK in its first year

Conviction Investment Partners (CIP), the UK based global syndicate of high net worth individuals, has now raised over $30m for early stage, fast growing, B2B tech business in the UK and Europe.

The syndicate was launched as an innovative investment scheme, which is a strategic alternative to the traditional model of Venture Capital (VC) funding.

• Led by successful investors Andrew Jenkins and Jeremy Middleton CBE • Raised circa $30m of capital YTD (November 30th, 2018) • Notable exit as one of its investments, iZettle, was purchased by PayPal for $2.2bn generating exceptional returns to CIP investors
• A basket of 10 high growth businesses and specialist funds under investment

The syndicate, Conviction Investment Partners, offers ‘Just in Time’ finance to a select number of fast growing companies. Rather than providing large blocks of expensive capital upfront, the ‘Just in Time’ model invests smaller amounts of money each year, subject to the company hitting the pre-agreed growth targets. This means that founders of companies are typically diluted much less than if they were funded through a traditional VC model.

It also means that syndicate investors can take smaller initial positions and add to them when and if the investee companies continue to meet the set metrics.

The CIP syndicate invests primarily in high-growth early stage companies that employ the Cloud to build disruptive Software as a Service (SaaS) based models.

Recent investments, throughout 2018, include Oradian, a cloud-based banking platform for financial institutions in frontier markets, Zumper, a full-service lettings portal designed for the US residential market, and Akkroo, a SaaS enabled Event Lead Capture solution built for B2B organisations that regularly exhibit at trade shows and exhibitions.

Conviction Investment Partners has also invested into the Dawn III fund, which raised £165m to invest in B2B tech firms and is planning to make a significant investment into the new Dawn Opportunities fund.

The Conviction Partnership is led by founding shareholder Andrew Jenkins, who has invested in disruptive technologies for 10 years, most notably Mimecast, which is now Nasdaq listed at over $2bn.

Andrew is supported by Jeremy Middleton CBE, Managing Director of successful private investment company Middleton Enterprises Limited, and co-founder of home emergencies repairs business HomeServe plc, now a FTSE 250 company valued at over £3bn.

Andrew Jenkins said: “The innovative way in which Conviction Investment Partners assesses opportunities and makes investments has delivered exceptional returns and supported businesses that need a pipeline of capital investment. The ‘Just in Time’ financing method delivers the capital that an investee business requires for the next 12 to 18 months of growth and involves bespoke terms on which recipients of cash can deliver to pre-agreed targets. Mutual benefits have now been achieved for both the founders and investors.”

Jeremy Middleton CBE, said: “To have gone from a standing start to one of the top three ‘angel’ groups in the UK, indicates the demand for investment, the determination of companies to deliver results and the appetite for smart bespoke investment opportunities.”

He added: “The size of our investments is now growing as more people join the syndicate and the potential for returns from the new Dawn Opportunities fund is being carefully assessed.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by News Gathering .