News

• The FSE Group, MEIF Debt Fund is now an accredited lender under the British Business Bank Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CBILS)
• Also announces New Head for Midlands Engine Investment Fund.

Accreditation will now allow The FSE Group to issue loans from the Midlands Engine Investment Fund (MEIF) Debt Fund backed by a CBILS guarantee.

Furthermore, following the launch earlier this year of a further £40million MEIF Debt Fund by the British Business Bank, appointed fund manager, The FSE Group, is now delighted to introduce the team managing the fund.

The additional Midlands Engine Investment Fund (MEIF) money provides loan funding between £100,000 and £1.5million to small and medium enterprises (SMEs) based across the whole of the Midlands area, to facilitate growth. This latest phase of investment addresses regional demand for alternative debt finance options and brings the number of MEIF funds to seven, with The FSE Group working alongside six other MEIF fund managers.

The FSE Group’s MEIF team is led by Andy Moss. Andy comes to FSE from Lloyds, where he has spent more than 34 years building a strong network in the finance community across the Midlands region. He has led teams across the SME sector, where he specialised in manufacturing and for the last 3 years, worked with large corporates.

Andy is joined by four fund managers and a fund executive, who are working to deliver investments to growing businesses across the whole of the Midlands region:

• Chirag Mistry is the newest member of the FSE team in the Midlands, having spent the last 13 years with Santander. Chirag is also a Sutton Coldfield Chamber of Commerce committee member and will be working with high growth businesses in the West Midlands, focusing on Worcestershire, The Marches, Coventry & Warwickshire and Greater Birmingham & Solihull. 
• Kerry Haughton is a Fund Manager who, before joining FSE, spent 14 years working in various commercial and corporate relationship banking roles for Thincats and RBS, both onshore and offshore. Kerry is working to support SME growth in the West Midlands, focusing on The Black Country, Stoke-on-Trent & Staffordshire as well as Greater Birmingham & Solihull, along with Chirag.

• Fund Manager, Paul Lynam, joined FSE after almost 37 years with HSBC, Paul is now applying his experience in the commercial banking sector to helping SMEs in the East and South East Midlands unlock their growth potential, focusing on Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire and Lincolnshire.
• David Price joined HSBC over 40 years ago, where he spent the majority of his banking career, working as both a branch manager and a commercial lending manager across several different sectors. He is FSE’s second Fund Manager for the East and South East Midlands, focusing on Leicestershire, Northamptonshire and other areas of the South East Midlands.

• The team is completed by Fund Executive, Harriet Saunders. After graduating from University of Bath with a Business Administration degree, Harriet spent time working in financial support roles, including as a Fund Administrator for Mercia Asset Management, before joining FSE earlier this year.

The FSE Group’s CEO, Paul Marston, said: “We are delighted to welcome Andy to FSE and our Midlands team. The FSE Group has been specialising in SME lending, with a particular focus on managing government and public sector intervention funds, since 2002. Andy’s commercial lending expertise, combined with his regional knowledge is a great fit and a welcome addition, which will be put to good use managing the team and supporting growing SMEs throughout the Midlands.”

Andy Moss, Head of Funds for the Midlands at The FSE Group, added: “The FSE Group is a niche lender with a unique approach, focusing on business potential, rather than security available, to help growing businesses reach their full potential. I am excited to be part of this dynamic team and look forward to leading the successful delivery of this latest MEIF funding.

Grant Peggie, Director, British Business Bank, also commented: “It’s great to see The FSE Group now have a full team in place to work on MEIF, headed up by Andy, who we look forward to working with. MEIF is still very much open for business, especially at a time when businesses are reaching out even more for financial support. We are pleased that The FSE Group also now join our other regional fund managers, BCRS Business Loans and First Enterprise as an accredited lender under the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loans Scheme.”

The Midlands Engine Investment Fund are 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 Government’s new Future Fund is now open for applications. Announced by the Chancellor on the 20th April, the Future Fund issues convertible loans to innovative UK companies with growth potential that are currently affected by Covid-19.

To be eligible, a company must find a lead investor and the Future Fund will match up to 100% of the lead investor’s contribution. 

The FSE Group, as manager of the £40m Cornwall & Isles of Scilly Investment Fund (“CIOSIF”), can provide lead investor funding from £50k - £2m to Cornish businesses.  With the addition of the new Future Fund alongside other matched funding, there is the potential to double the investment and provide all the capital to meet companies’ growth aspirations.

Ralph Singleton, Head of Funds, Cornwall at The FSE Group said: “The announcement of Rishi Sunak’s Future Fund is great news for the local economy as it will allow us to deliver even more investment into Cornish businesses at a difficult time. As well as this extra financial investment, we continue to provide our ongoing expert support to help our investee companies realise their growth ambitions.  We encourage any interested businesses to contact us to discuss this exciting opportunity further”

For further information please contact Brent Treloar – Business Development Manager at The FSE Group – 01872 306663 / brent.treloar@thefsegroup.com

A London based, food brand, has secured a £600,000 expansion loan from The Greater London Investment Fund. Adonis, an exciting, young brand in the health foods sector, aims to create a new generation of snacks that are: keto, plant based and low sugar.

Launched in 2015, Adonis was born from the founder’s interest in providing a healthy alternative to typical artificial and sugary afternoon pick me ups. The company has created a range of snacks that people can rely on to give them what they need: health, the right nutrition and a great taste. Their products suit people’s everyday lifestyles and are plant based, natural and keto to help people keep their focus and avoid unnecessary sugar.

With a rise in the amount of people taking an interest in what they eat, Adonis has seen a growing demand for their products. This has resulted in popular retailers as well as everyday and niche stores stocking their products. You can currently find their tasty snack bars in Wholefoods, Planet Organic, Ocado, Sainsbury’s as well as retailers in Germany and Austria. The loan will be used to hire new sales and marketing staff, to enter new food markets and to further the company’s technical development.

Ingo Braeunlich, CEO at Adonis said, “It is important to have normal snacks for normal people on normal days. Not everyone runs a marathon and needs instant sugar spikes, in fact many people are tired and unfocused after sugary snacks. Healthy low sugar snacks are definitely the future when looking at the needs of office workers and the wider urban population. Snacking is a market with very high growth, and we think it is key for any brand to be part of a solution rather than part of the problem. This funding will allow us to expand the team, push innovation and launch modern, healthy, and functional low sugar snacks. Plus, funding is a key element to success when expanding abroad.”

David Booth, Senior Fund Manager at The FSE Group, commented, “We are delighted to assist Ingo and his team with their expansion plans. The company has grown quickly with a firm focus on marketing and brand awareness. We were impressed by the team’s commitment to their chosen market and the commercial traction delivered to date.  We look forward to supporting them on their journey and wish them all the very best for the future”

Maggie Rodriquez-Piza, CEO at Funding London, added, “It is our pleasure to support businesses which have the wellbeing of customers at the heart of their mission. A start-up with an incredible potential for growth, Ingo and his team have proven they are ready to conquer new heights. We are thrilled to accompany the team in their journey of expansion.”

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.

For more details about the Greater London Investment Fund visit: www.glif.co or to speak to a Fund Manager contact David Booth: David.Booth@thefsegroup.com / 07786 912674

TOWER Cold Chain Solutions, equity client of the Thames Valley Berkshire (TVB) Growth Fund, which is managed by The FSE Group, has closed a major new funding initiative, leading to a successful exit for TVB Growth Fund.

The deal, which is worth £6m+, has been led by TOWER’s major shareholders, Just Arne Storvik and Tor Erland Fysken, and backed by Investec.

Theale based TOWER provides environmentally friendly, cold chain packaging solutions to the pharmaceutical industry. The company has been receiving support from FSE since 2016 when it secured its first TVB Growth Fund equity investment. The Growth Fund also led a syndicate of follow-on investment of £1m in 2017, to further support the company’s growth.

At the time of the initial investment, the company had 7 employees. Investment from the TVB Growth Fund, alongside other investors, has enabled the company to grow to 23 employees, with representatives in key pharmaceutical hubs across the globe. This figure is expected to grow further as the business uses its latest funding to expand its fleet of rental containers by 400%.

Chris Pollard, Chief Executive at TOWER, said: “At the time TOWER met FSE it was less a start-up, more a small company believing it had the opportunity to become a great deal bigger and more profitable. TVB’s investment and FSE’s associated support was of enormous significance for two reasons: first, because we needed cash to invest in new stock, but second, and perhaps even more importantly, it represented a real validation of TOWER’s prospects and undoubtedly played a part in generating confidence amongst both customers and investors. Beyond that, the part played by Julie Silvester as a Board observer cannot be underestimated, bringing an extra dimension to the corporate governance of the business. I am extremely grateful to FSE, particularly Julie and our fund manager, Kiko Duffy, for the part they played in enabling this latest step forward for TOWER.”

Julie Silvester, Head of Commercial at The FSE Group, which manages the TVB Growth Fund on behalf of Thames Valley Berkshire Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP), added: “We are delighted to have been a part of TOWER’s journey to a successful business on the cusp of exponential growth and we wish Chris and the team every success in the next part of their journey. The TVB Funding Escalator is all about supporting companies with the potential to impact on the regional economy, promoting job creation and economic prosperity, and we look forward to helping more businesses achieve this.”

The proceeds from the sale of The TVB Growth Fund equity investment will be recycled into new investments or loans to support companies in the Berkshire area. TVB Growth Fund is part of Thames Valley Berkshire Funding Escalator, an initiative funded by Thames Valley Berkshire LEP to support businesses in Berkshire. The escalator, which also includes an expansion loan scheme and a trade finance loan scheme, provides eligible companies – from start-up to established – with debt and equity funding between £25,000 and £300,000 for activities that will deliver high-growth and employment opportunities.

A touch-free, physical-digital payment platform helping charities, retailers and publishers drive engagement with customers, is the latest business to receive investment from the Greater London Investment Fund (GLIF) via The FSE Group.

Camden based company, Thyngs Ltd, delivers innovative solutions that use frictionless smartphone technology to help its clients drive new forms of consumer engagement that are fit for a digital, cashless, COVID-19 world. Thyngs helps brands develop and monitor their offline marketing by turning any product, packaging, or advertisement into an interactive point-of-sale, without the need for human intervention.

Thyngs use simple, built-in smartphone technology, like QR code and Near Field Communication (NFC), for experiences to work across 3.5bn smartphone users worldwide, without an app. Its software negates the need for restrictive card terminals, giving clients the flexibility to take payments on-the-go using any physical object, whilst also using trusted tap-and-go payment providers such as Apple Pay, Google Pay and PayPal.

The current environment around Covid-19 is proving challenging for many businesses. Fortunately, Thyngs is well-positioned to help support its clients as they see an increasing demand for touch-free, cashless solutions that continue to work at-home. Outside of the current pandemic, Thyngs solutions can be anything from gaining digital loyalty points when buying a coffee, to giving directly to charity by tapping a unique fundraising badge.

Charities are being hit particularly hard this Spring, with cancelled face-to-face fundraising events, plummeting donations and fewer volunteers, at a time when many will be experiencing an increase in demand for their services. Thyngs are helping them stay connected with donors in new and safe ways, encouraging at-home fundraising material and amplified online collection efforts. In partnership with a donation management organisation, Thyngs has introduced the opportunity for any business to support one of up to 18,000 charities by transforming their product’s packaging, such as groceries, into instant donation points for consumers to engage with at home.

The £250,000 GLIF loan will be used to increase the sales and marketing operation as well as further develop the technology and purchase associated hardware.

Dr Neil Garner, Thyngs Founder and CEO, says: “It is great to be working alongside Jerry and the GLIF team with a loan that has come at an extremely important time. Thanks to the loan, we will be able to accelerate our growth plans and continue to help businesses adjust to the immediate and long-term changes this tough pandemic has highlighted we need to make. Businesses and charities will be searching for safe, touch-free contactless solutions to move forward sustainably, and we will be able to offer them cost-effective and robust solutions.”

Jerry Donohue, Senior Fund Manager for The FSE Group, which managed the £55 million GLIF debt fund on behalf of Funding London, comments: “With a strong management team and an offering which delivers USPs unmatched by the competition, Thyngs is well-placed to take advantage of the growing market for smartphone customer engagements and transactions. We look forward to continuing to work with them as they look to grow the business across the UK and beyond.”

Maggie Rodriguez-Piza, CEO at Funding London, adds: “Developing a powerful value proposition and discovering a way to turn challenges into opportunities is what the Thyngs team excel at. We are extremely delighted to support the team’s expansion by creating much needed job opportunities during the pandemic.”

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.