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Background

Horse racing is an ancient sport whose origins can be traced back to circa 4500 BC. It is currently the second most popular spectator sport in the UK, coming only behind football. According to industry surveys’ approximately six million people attend the races each year in Britain alone.

However, to the average racegoer, little is known about the behind-the-scenes preparation that goes on to deliver these events.

“Sticking” to tradition with The Clerk of the Course

Before any racing can commence, The Clerk of the Course, responsible for track management and race day preparation at a racecourse must undertake a course inspection. This means that he must make an informed assessment on the state of the ground and then declare whether that ground is deemed “fit or unfit” for the horses to race on. Official going descriptions are measured on a scale from Firm to Heavy (very soft) with four points in between.  If the ground is unfit, the race will be called off. If the ground is fit, race day is on. Owners and trainers receive this crucial information to determine whether the ground conditions are suitable for their particular horse or horses before deciding whether to race.

Q: So, what important apparatus is used to perform this crucial task?

A: A simple traditional stick.

As recently as the late 1990’s, this manual task was carried out solely by pushing a stick into the ground at various points around the course to ascertain the course conditions. The Clerk uses the stick to analyse the surface in order to determine what “the going” is. It is inserted into the ground and conclusions drawn on soil type, dirt, density and the amount of moisture in the ground, all of which can affect a horse’s performance. Once determined, this crucial ground information is passed to horsemen and bookmakers. These statistics, together with information on breeding and past performances, bookmakers can then decide on their odds to offer racegoers.

TurfTrax – Delivering an odds-on favourite product

In November 2000 British racing’s regulator, The British Horseracing Authority (BHA) approached Cambridgeshire based company TurfTrax, to create a technologically advanced measuring device (stick), for the systematic and objective assessment of track conditions on British racecourses.

TurfTrax is a world leading, technologically advanced company focussed on improving both standards and data to enhance sporting and leisure events. The BHA also recognised the company’s expertise in soil physics/sports turf management which is the critical information passed to owners and trainers to make their decisions and then onto bookmakers.

Mike Maher, Founder and CEO of TurfTrax explains: “The Industry, has always used traditional sticks to understand track conditions. There was a lot of nervousness, apprehension and uncertainty about moving to a more advanced measuring stick. I knew that much research and testing lay ahead, not only to produce the correct device, but after years of using traditional methods, the industry would have to build up that position of trust in this product which we had been commissioned to design. However, this type of project had never been undertaken before and we were unsure as to the R&D costs. Being a young SME, it proved challenging to secure funding to sustain the project, so I was sign-posted to Finance East (FE) based in Ipswich to see if we would be eligible. I am pleased to say that Francis Kenealy and the Finance East team agreed!"

TurfTrax worked extensively for many years with some of the UK's leading soil scientists and in collaboration with Cranfield University. After design and extensive testing in the controlled environment of Cranfield's unique soil laboratory facilities, live on-course trials started in late 2001. Testing of the device involved device calibration at all 59 UK racecourses. Over 100,000 unique measurements were taken covering all ground conditions and these were compared and analysed against the subjective assessments made by the Regulator's officials and experienced course representatives.

After over five years in development the advanced measuring device was produced, and later was to become mandatory at all UK turf courses.

And the winner is: “The GoingStick”

Together with his collaboration with Cranfield University they launched The GoingStick. Miles away from the traditional stick, The GoingStick accurately measures the required statistics to record “the going” of the ground. The GoingStick accurately measures the penetration (the amount of force required to push the tip into the ground) and the shear (the energy needed to pull back to an angle of 45 degrees from the ground). These two measures taken in combination represent a scientifically based proxy for the firmness of the ground and level of traction experienced by a horse during a race.

The information is automatically stored in the GoingStick memory and an average of all readings can be provided instantly. The information can be downloaded and printed out from a PC using TurfTrax software.

A furlong ahead and galloping into the future

From March 2007, all UK turf racecourses were required to issue a GoingStick reading with their official pre declaration and race day Going report. It is now mandatory at all UK, French, German, American, Hong Kong and Australian turf courses.

Mike’s company has gone from strength to strength. To complement the GoingStick his product range has expanded to include:

• GoingMaps – To accompany the GoingStick they provide owners and trainers with a detailed, accurate and up to date representation of the ground conditions
• TurfTrax Weather Systems - An easily accessible and accurate log of both historic and real time climate conditions enabling better informed turf management decisions
• TurfTrax Tracking - A world leading real time location system, accurately tracking and timing horses during their race. This works with leading bookmaker’s apps allowing racegoers to make informed decisions as to how their horse is doing in the race and whether they should “check-out” or not

All of TurfTrax’s technology is accredited by the BHA.

Used in conjunction, these products combine to produce unique and commercially valuable data sets for individual racecourses and specific race meetings.  Data is archived by TurfTrax creating a database of detailed historical information which can be used to assist in a variety of track management applications. 

A recent further development is WeatherTrax Live which made its debut at the iconic Royal Ascot fixture in 2020 and has since been rolled-out at Newmarket, the home of British Flat racing, Kempton Park, the Cheltenham Festival and at Aintree, host to the world’s most famous steeple chase, the Grand National.

Delivered via a dedicated webpage WeatherTrax Live streams accurate real-time weather data direct from the on-course weather station including rainfall, air temperatures, wind speed and direction and humidity alongside official going descriptions, GoingStick readings, Going Maps and rails positions.

Finance East (FE) were favourites to assist with TurfTrax’s growth plans

FE is The FSE Group’s regional funding organisation for the six counties of the East of England, providing an alternative source of term debt finance supporting high-growth businesses.

Francis Kenealy, Fund Manager at Finance East comments: “I first met Mike nearly 10 years ago and was really pleased to be able to help him secure debt funding for his business. Running a business is hard anyway but working within an industry that is quite traditional and somewhat untrusting of modern technology requires patience! Mike had the vision that the GoingStick was absolutely the right product for the job, in fairness as did the industry, it was just going to be a slow process to build the trust backed up with the results from trials. I was able to help Mike secure term debt finance so that TurfTrax could invest in the necessary development and trials to take the product forward and to prove its worth in the marketplace and to prove that the GoingStick really is the holy grail of data relied upon by owners, trainers and bookmakers. I am so pleased to see his range develop and to go from strength to strength.”

If you would like to find out more about The GoingStick, you can contact Email: Mike.Maher@turftrax.co.uk Tel:  01480 408970 or visit: https://www.turftrax.com/

To support their growth ambitions, London based Taylor & Hart has secured a total of £500,000 in loan funding from the Greater London Investment Fund (GLIF) this includes £250,000 in conjunction with the government backed Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CBILS).

Established in 2011 by friends Nikolay and Shane, Taylor & Hart began when a close friend approached them to design a custom-made engagement ring for his girlfriend. He was looking for something as remarkable and personal as his love. After careful sourcing, sketching, and plenty of secret meetings, Taylor & Hart’s first bespoke ring was created, beautifully unique and one of a kind. From there a dream shared by two friends took shape - to put the magic back into bespoke jewellery.

It is estimated that in the UK sales of diamond jewellery are circa £3bn, £600m of which is believed to relate to bridal jewellery, driven by 250,000 annual weddings. Over the years, Taylor & Hart has expanded across the world into a lively and devoted team of creative thinkers. But even though their business has grown into a widespread and diverse community, they have never let go of their commitment to meaningfully designed jewellery inspired by human connection.

Nikolay Piriankov, CEO and Co-Founder of Taylor & Hart commented: “Our commitment is to always offer a heartfelt and hands-on approach to bespoke engagement ring design. Shane and I have always strongly felt that jewellery is and always has been an expression of human stories. This loan from GLIF will enable us to provide cover for existing salaries and marketing costs to offset the reduction in sales growth arising from COVID-19 and to maintain our market position. In addition, we will also be able to recruit new employees to join our team and dedicate some of the money to increase our marketing strategy."

Kala Desai, Head of Funds for The FSE Group, who manages the £55 million GLIF debt fund on behalf of Funding London, commented: “GLIF supports innovative high growth businesses in Greater London. We were impressed by Taylor & Hart and their premium bespoke range of jewellery which fills a growing gap in the market. They have demonstrated commercial traction even in these unprecedented times, which is one of the key attributes for commercial success. We are pleased to be supporting them and look forward to the next stage in their journey."

Maggie Rodriguez-Piza, CEO at Funding London, adds: “We could see a clear strategy from Nikolay and Shane, to transform their premium jewellery business. However, it was apparent, the team needed additional capital to facilitate this transformation. With the investment from GLIF and the continued support from Kala and her team, Taylor & Hart, will soon be able to accelerate sales growth, recruit new team members and expand market strategy. We wish Nikolay, Shane and the team, the best of luck over the coming months."

This year, International Women’s Day (#IWD2021) falls on Monday 8^th March and what a good way to start the week!

In the early 20^th century, Emmeline Pankhurst founder of the suffragette movement, led marches and fought for women to have a voice and be equally heard like their male counterparts. Since then, women have proved that in this ever-changing and challenging world, they are helping to forge a gender equal environment where they are not intimidated by the challenges which they may encounter.

This year’s International Women’s Day theme focuses on “choosing to challenge” and striking this year’s pose, “a raised hand” could encourage everyone to commit to help forge an inclusive world.

Through skill and sheer determination, many women have earned themselves senior positions in a wide range of sectors including the defence and security sector. The FSE Group has supported many female founders to help them scale-up their businesses and reach the next level. We are proud of our success in supporting female led SMEs and across our funds, 24% of our portfolio companies have at least one female director.

Julie Silvester, Head of Commercial at The FSE Group comments: “Defence and Security is a key sector within the UK economy. We consider it highly important in terms of investment and many of our existing portfolio companies work within this sector. So, we are thrilled that more and more women are taking up high level positions within the field. We have a rich history in not only supporting female led SMEs but also having great representation of female leaders in senior positions within our company. Last year we were delighted to sign the Investing in Women Code, a commitment by financial services firms to improve female entrepreneurs’ access to tools, resources and finance. We appreciate that there is more work to be done and strive to build on our successes over the coming years.”

Ann-Marie Warner-Read, Defence Advisor at TriCIS Secure Integrated Solutions added: "As of March 2019, four of the five largest defence Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) in the US are being led by women. By nature, women tend to be problem solvers. It’s a trait that is important in whatever role a woman plays but can work to our detriment at times as it takes longer to reach the top. Often, I am the only woman in the room and I’m absolutely fine with that. Working in defence should be about bringing authenticity to the table and building credibility. If there are errors or problems, it’s best to acknowledge them and move on. My gender doesn’t matter, what matters is what I do with the opportunities given to me."

Ren Kapur MBE, Founder & CEO at X-Forces Enterprise and Board Member SME Lead at Enterprise M3 Local Enterprise Partnership, said:“It is absolutely brilliant to see the phenomenal presence International Women’s Day now has around the world and is testament to all the incredible work local communities are contributing to the greater worldwide platform of #IWD. Wearing both my X-Forces Enterprise (XFE) and Enterprise M3 LEP (EM3) hats, I am thrilled that within our own business communities, we are continuing to champion women empowerment and women in enterprise. I am proud to say that through XFE we have one of the largest cohorts of female entrepreneurs in the armed forces network, with 30% of our start-up businesses being female led. Also, one of my non-exec board role positions at EM3 makes up a rich diversity of representation, including women. There is still much to do as a society, but we are making such great strides and I strongly believe the future is bright for all when diversity is embraced.” 

About The FSE Group

At The FSE Group (FSE), we have a 20 year history of supporting high growth UK SMEs, especially in underrepresented areas of the UK. In that time, we have been proud to back multiple university spinouts from across the country.

Emerging trends in investment into spinouts

A recent Beauhurst report found that even though investment into spinouts increased in 2020, it was to a smaller number of spinout companies (269 in 2020 compared to 360 in 2019) implying an increase in the average investment size and suggesting that investment efforts were focussed on existing portfolio businesses rather than new deals.

However, the amount of capital invested in university spinouts in 2020 is still lower than the record number in 2018 (£1.11 billion compared to £1.3 billion). What are the reasons for this? A paper by Research England found that compared to conventional startups, university spinouts tend to have a longer time horizon to exit, which increases the variability of returns and requires several rounds of funding, some of which can be explained by the inherent DeepTech focus of university spinouts. This latter point is further corroborated by Beauhurst’s finding that the biggest sectors for university spinouts are Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Health, both of which are research and capital-intensive.

Spinouts clearly need long-term patient capital to fully grow and realise their potential, and this is reflected in the fact that spinouts tend to exit more than non-spinouts (10% compared to 7% in the wider SME population). However, investment into spinouts is heavily focussed on the Golden Triangle (Oxford, Cambridge and London), with over a third of investments made there, driven by funds local to each region, which has helped build a local ecosystem. To grow more spinouts from universities outside this area, they need investment from funds local to them, who have networks within their region to help create value for an SME.

In recent years, many universities have built vibrant ecosystems boosted by programmes to support graduate enterprise and science parks geared towards SMEs, which encourage collaboration with the university.  Research intensive universities tend to have their own linked funds, but this leaves a large number of other institutions without easy access to funding for their SME community.  In 2019, the government announced the launch of 20 University Enterprise Zones (UEZs) in universities across England, to provide support and funding to university connected startups.

Our experience with spinouts

FSE’s first fund, the South East Seed Fund, was developed in conjunction with 11 universities across the South East with public and corporate funding. Since the launch of that fund the FSE Group has continued to invest in university linked businesses with its other regional SME funds and through its angel network. 

On average, 20% of spinouts have at least one female founder, and only 6% of spinouts have an all-female founding team. FSE is proud of its success in supporting female led SMEs, and across our funds, 24% of our portfolio companies have at least one female director.

Some examples of FSE’s investments in university spinouts are:

UltraSoC - FSE first began funding support to this project in 2004 when the concept behind UltraSoC Technologies was initially conceived at the University of Kent. At that time, FSE provided funding from the South East Proof of Concept Fund for research into an optoelectronic debug support interface for embedded System-on-Chip's (SoC's). The South East Proof of Concept Fund (SEPoC) was managed by FSE on behalf of six South East based universities and was financed by the Higher Education Innovation Fund to increase the levels of commercial innovation within the academic knowledge base.

During the SEPoC grant, the University of Kent spun out the ‘project’ into a company that became known as UltraSoC Technologies Ltd. FSE continued to advise on business planning and funding strategy development. In 2006, FSE provided UltraSoC with a PoCKeT loan, which was designed to facilitate the transfer of knowledge from universities into industry, Funds were used to develop a prototype software tool for the electronics industry in collaboration with the University of Essex as well as market research and maintenance of the IP portfolio. UltraSoc subsequently took its first institutional equity investment from FSE managed South East Seed Fund alongside a specialist fund connected with the University of Essex in 2008.  From there followed further IP development, a leading customer base and international private equity investment.

UltraSoc was acquired by Siemans in 2020 to provide a comprehensive solution for their semiconductor industry customers including manufacturing defects, device failure, functional safety, and malicious attacks. 

Codices Interactive Limited (Codices)  – was founded in 2018 by Tim Edwards and Fern Pombeiro at the Falmouth Launchpad Entrepreneurship programme. Through the FSE managed Cornwall and Isle of Scilly Investment Fund (CIOSIF) the company secured equity investment in 2020.

Codices works with brands and influencers to create live interactive shows on Twitch, a video live streaming service which is a subsidiary of Amazon. By using Codices’ tools, broadcasters can build, engage and monetise their audiences through player-driven entertainment. The Twitch platform has proved a great success with over 3 million unique active streamers and over 15 million daily active users.

The business continues to go from strength to strength, most recently having won awards and connected people across the UK during these difficult circumstances with the global COVID-19 pandemic.

Glas Data – Rob Sanders and Colin Phillipson, founders of Glas Data, recognised that data fragmentation issues within the agricultural sector existed and saw how it restricted farmers, processors and retailers.

Referred from Falmouth University’s Launchpad (with MA Entrepreneurship) course, they approached FSE who were delighted to be able to invest in the agri-tech company as part of a larger funding round.

Their technology is developing rapidly, allowing farmers to collect real time data on everything from weather and animal health to load cells and a vast array of sensor devices. With so much data & technology now available, the challenge is how to make it accessible and easy to understand. The clear visualisation of data analysis makes real-time decision making easy from any device. Glas Data now employs seven people, with more recruitment to follow.

In Summary

Some university spinouts in the UK have been successful and raised considerable sums of capital, when compared to international counterparts. Between 2013-17, spinouts from Cambridge raised over $2.2 billion, compared to $1.84 billion for spinouts from Stanford, or $906m for spinouts from MIT. However, there is still a long way to go, and UK spinouts that can compete on a global scale are few and far between. As a comparison, MIT has supported 26,000 businesses who generate a turnover of $2 trillion, far beyond UK universities.

FSE believes there is a funding gap to provide investment for developing commercial scale across a wider number of Universities. This requires specialist fund management skills to understand the particularities of spin outs, how to make the best use of the innovation available, the funding landscape and the objectives of the universities themselves. We believe that more UK universities should come together to share expertise and build a sustainable funding model to support spinouts across the country.

We are committed to supporting eligible, ambitious, innovative, high growth and scalable SMEs to help fuel their growth ambitions, as an essential part of helping the UK’s economic bounce back.

Words by Julie Silvester, Head of Commercial at The FSE Group.

London based Kokoon, a leading digital health technology business specialising in personalised audio coaching proven to promote better sleep, has secured a £430,000 loan from The Greater London Investment Fund (GLIF) which includes £250,000 in conjunction with the government backed Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CBILS).

Many environmental factors can contribute to restless nights, varying from reduced sleep patterns to full on insomnia, anything can trigger it: noisy neighbours, family worries or financial concerns. Currently, more than half the population have experienced more anxiety, isolation and screen time during the pandemic, having an increased effect on sleeping patterns.

Tim Antos, Kokoon’s CEO and Co-Founder was no stranger to a poor night’s sleep. Struggling with insomnia for many years he attended sleep clinics in a bid to find better sleep. Tim realised that sleep clinics provided fantastic support but tended to be inaccessible and inconvenient for most, so he set out to make the knowledge and insights he had gained at these clinics, available to the public and he decided the best way to do this would be via a consumer-friendly product which uses audio to slow a busy mind. He got in touch with Richard, a highly skilled Electronic Engineer and together they set about designing and producing a non-pharmaceutical, digital “go to” product which would enable people to get a better night’s sleep.

Founded in 2013, they launched Kokoon; intelligent, interactive headphones which use audio, proven to be effective in clinical trials to help improve and encourage sleep. Audio from their app ranges from personalised CBT coaching tailored and based on an individual’s sensor data through to soundscapes, relaxing music or audio books.

Working with and drawing on expert advice from sleep scientists, these comfortable easy to wear headphones lull the wearer to sleep at night with their favourite audio. Being linked to a smartphone app, it will also monitor and record important sleep data patterns. The intelligent software lowers the sound once asleep to avoid disturbance. Should the wearer awaken during the night, the audio then recommences to encourage sleep. Upon waking refreshed, the app will provide insights and coaching specific to the individual, helping them to understand their sleep pattern enabling them to make necessary adjustments to further improve their sleep.

Tim Antos, Co-Founder and CEO of Kokoon commented: “Richard and I wanted to create a product which would help democratise sleep science. Nearly 2/3 of the population are reporting poor sleep and it’s become an issue for nearly 1/3 of the population yet very few of us can justify a visit to the sleep clinic. We wanted to make the established science and techniques of the sleep clinic more accessible and convenient to all.  This growth loan will allow us to recruit 5 new employees in the early part of 2021 whilst the CBILS element allows us to retain existing staff to continue working from home fulfilling current sales orders. There will also be a strong focus on new product development. As well as the widely available original Kokoon over ear headphones, our in-ear bud product is on pre-order and we wish to further promote this whilst continuing to develop our product offering.”

Paul Shadbolt, Senior Fund Manager for The FSE Group, who manages the £55 million GLIF debt fund on behalf of Funding London, commented: “GLIF supports innovative high growth businesses in Greater London. We were impressed by Kokoon’s products which have demonstrated commercial traction which are key attributes for commercial success. We are pleased to be supporting them through the opportunities and challenges of the pandemic and into their next phase of growth.”

Maggie Rodriguez-Piza, CEO at Funding London, adds: “Kokoon has developed an innovative and affordable solution to a problem which seriously affects one third of the population. We are delighted to help Tim and Richard and support the excellent operation they have built, to fulfil current demand and to underpin future growth.”

GLIF is a £100m initiative to help address the SME finance gap in Greater London, promoting economic growth through enterprise and an inclusive and sustainable economy. £55m of debt funding is available, via loans between £100,000 and £1m, to early-stage and established SMEs looking to scale-up and realise their growth ambitions. GLIF is financed through the European Investment Bank (EIB), European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), London Waste & recycling Board (LWARB) and Funding London’s Legacies.

The Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CBILS) is managed by the British Business Bank on behalf of, and with the financial backing of, the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and industrial Strategy (BEIS). Deadline for CBILS applications has been extended to 31 March for UK businesses.