Arrow Business Communications has geared up for a period of fast growth and M&A activity following a strategic investment by Growth Capital Partners (GCP) that sees both parties hold a 50% shareholding in the business. Arrow has completed seven acquisitions in the last six years and almost trebled in size, moving from its mobile roots to a broader based business communications supplier. The company is now on the hunt for larger acquisition opportunities to bolster its hosted, data and IT services portfolio. Arrow CEO Chris Russell commented: “This deal is
Read more →
How will Brexit impact startups and scaleups? Almost 75% of high-growth businesses in the UK were hoping for a remain vote with tech startups overwhelmingly opposed to Brexit – but the vote didn’t quite turn out the way many expected it to, especially the politicians! As we go through this period of uncertainty the real impact of Brexit on SME and Growth businesses is guesswork at this point. Here at 4 Oceans the real question we are asking is about startups and scaleups and whether they may lose access to finance and
Read more →
Maven has completed the MBO of Indigo Telecom Group, investing alongside fellow private equity manager YFM Equity Partners, to acquire the business from parent TTG-Global Limited. The business will benefit from a £12m funding package to accelerate growth, including additional funds to support a buy and build strategy. This transaction continues a strong period of recent investment for Maven, having already completed private equity investments in 2016 across the technology, support services, healthcare and specialist manufacturing sectors for client funds. Recent investments include: backing the MBI of document management specialist Prime Document; supporting new
Read more →
One of our latest clients, Fix Radio Ltd, is holding an evening networking event to get to know potential investors, sponsors and advertisers. The company is currently raising £250,000 via and SEIS and EIS Share offer to establish the first UK Commercial radio station tailored to Tradespeople in the Greater London Area at first. There are over 3M Tradespeople in the UK with over 650,000 located in the London area and a survey by independent market research firm Lieberman commissioned by the company confirms that there is a very clear demand
Read more →
A new study by a leading lending platform has revealed that one in six (16 per cent) small and medium sized enterprise (SME) owners seeking finance say they have been turned down by a mainstream lender. Nearly a third (31 per cent) of SME owners reported that their inability to secure finance terms with a mainstream lender meant they had lost out on a business deal or investment opportunity. As a result, this has led to greater interest in alternative finance – including forms such as property finance, crowdsourcing, invoice finance
Read more →
Investors, especially TMT Investors, are presented with more opportunities than they can realistically filter: so how do you make sure you stand out from the crowd and get the attention you really deserve from them? One of the burning issues for growing TMT businesses is securing funding, but how on earth does an entrepreneur get an investor’s undivided attention amid all the other white noise. At 4 Oceans Capital we have helped numerous young and growing tech companies get access to Seed funding and beyond into Series A and B rounds.
Read more →
Chinese technology and investment group Cocoon Networks is launching a £500 million London-based venture capital fund aimed at investing in UK and European tech startups. Cocoon Networks, which has the backing of China Equity Group, one of the first investors in to Baidu, China’s answer to Google, and Hanxin Capital, which specialises in cloud computing and bio tech investments, will look to invest in tech companies whose products and services show promise and potential for growth in the Chinese market. The fund will look to invest in tech companies across
Read more →
Even great entrepreneurs with great businesses frequently find themselves facing rejection from investors who don’t offer a clear or credible explanation, why? This is a serious condition which can be fatal to your startup. If you’re sure you have checked all the boxes; team, product, market, financials, traction, problem, competitive advantage etc. etc. then it’s likely that your pitch failed for one or more of the following reasons: You just presented badly. Anxiety often results in the real entrepreneur being left outside the meeting room while an unconfident, uncharismatic and unpersuasive robot
Read more →
Keeping investors happy is key for the running of any business and meeting with current and prospective investors will end up being a big part of an Entrepreneurs life, but what are the key tips to communicate effectively? Clearly everyone’s different and managing numerous investors with differing personalities, expectations and requirements is a big job and needs to be taken seriously. An Entrepreneur has to keep investors involved so they feel a part of the business and more likely to support it with future plans. Here are some tips based on my personal experience both
Read more →
