South West tech start-ups to be engine room for development and monetary innovation

Tech start-ups in the South West have a crucial function to play in guaranteeing that the UK economy recovers post-coronavirus through the provision to digital transformation options.

This belief, held by prominent Bristol-based tech investment bank ICON Corporate Finance, will be broadened on at a complimentary webinar for start-ups in the area, and follows hot on the heels of Economic Secretary to the Treasury John Glenn’s announcement that an independent “FinTech Strategic Review” will be established to make sure UK FinTech has the resources to grow and be successful.

The webinar, hosted by ICON in association with Burges Salmon, is occurring next Wednesday (29 July) from 3-4pm. It is created to assist South West business owners successfully catch the attention of investors including Endeavor Capitalists and Corporate Venture Capital funds.

With FinTech organisations in the Bristol and Bath region alone worth ₤ 192m to the UK economy according to FinTech West, and tech companies in Bristol providing a combined turnover of ₤ 7.9 bn in 2019, tech companies are playing an increasingly prominent part in enhancing the South West’s economy.

Featuring prominent service leaders from Bristol consisting of Nick Sturge MBE, former Director of The Engine Shed, and SETsquared Bristol – the world’s leading university organisation incubator – and Fliss Berridge, Director and Co-founder of payments business Ordo, the seminar will offer a roadmap to successfully protecting financing in the existing unstable world economic environment.

The line-up consists of Monica Shupikai Simmons, Director at ICON who will supply an overview on the investment procedure, Sarah Kenshall, who leads Burges Salmon’s cross-departmental FinTech practice and will concentrate on IP problems, and Alex Lloyd, Senior Citizen Associate in Burges Salmon’s business team, who will resolve Term Sheets.

Commenting on the occasion Monica Shupikai Simmons, Director at ICON, said: “The unmatched uncertainty in 2020 has turned start-up fundraising on its head. Numerous early stage business are left questioning how they can continue to grow their organisation when access to capital is relatively less available.

“Some VCs are definitely more mindful, however others have taken another tack, they are trying to find strong financial investment chances as they have actually effectively missed a quarter of capital release. A portion of their funds is supporting their portfolio companies, but they still have a wall of money that they require to invest, or face returning it to investors in their fund. The seminar will assist South West tech start-ups open these pots of funds.”

Monica added: “Whilst the investment bar may be greater, it’s a great time to go to market to bring in high quality investment. This begins with an effective technique to record a financier’s attention.”

Nick Sturge, MBE, who will moderate the occasion, included: “Smart South West tech entrepreneurs require to do something about it to maximize a market where there is a clear appetite to purchase organisations that have the potential to alter the way we live or do service for the better.

“Services that lose out on the webinar might be kicking themselves just a couple of months down the line. This is a golden opportunity to get an ‘experts’ view on how to access financing and comprehend the steps required to interest financiers nationally and internationally.

“In a new world order, where choices can and are being made more swiftly, those businesses that get the procedure right might be the ones that scale up and speed up growth rapidly, while other equally dazzling organisation might quickly fall by the wayside, just due to the fact that they got the procedure incorrect. Now is the time to take action.”

Fliss Berridge, Co-founder of Ordo, who will offer attendees with an insight into Ordo’s journey to investment, included: “Today, good companies that recognize a requirement in the market and find an innovative option to solve will be in demand.

“In Ordo, we recognized a requirement for immediate, low expense and secure payments, and invoice and payment tracking, which is exactly what we provided. That was only part of the story. Discovering the right investment partners was essential to making it possible for quick development and potential, and beyond that, discovering tactical partners with whom we could promote a shared helpful relationship, who have a beneficial interest in our success, proved vital … this creates an incentive to collaborate, making it possible for both parties to get to the next level.

“Funding is all about understanding what the investor requires, so that you can provide the confidence that you have the ability to provide. Providing validation, timelines and proof of your small wins along the way shows genuine worth to your investors and can make all the distinction in getting the offer done, which is why downplaying the procedure from the inside out is so crucial.”

ICON believes that digital improvement across all industry sectors has ended up being the most important priority for organisations in the aftermath of Covid-19. ICON anticipates this will drive future growth, financial investment in and appetite for acquisition of tech business worldwide.

A recent ICON study of a few of the most active UK M&A purchasers showed that there has actually been no drop in cravings for acquisition in the tech sector in 2020, which stays high, with crucial areas for growth anticipated to be in FinTech, Cloud, Managed Providers, HealthTech, CyberSecurity, Expert System, Maker Knowing and Business Software.

From workplaces in Bristol, London and San Francisco, ICON’s multi-lingual teams have brought clients access to deals throughout Europe, Africa, the US and Asia. Working with international tech business and as a fundraising partner with top private equity, venture capital and CVCs, ICON deals with a few of the world’s most successful companies.

To sign up for the totally free webinar entitled Fundraising: The Great, The Bad and The Ugly, see ICON’s website