Match the fund manager a pitch with a twist event write-up

August 6th 2021

Members and guests gathered at Rockliffe Hall and @home, for the first hybrid Tees Valley Business Club and first in-person event since 27th February 2020. The evening was joined by Melanie Ellyard, senior manager of the British Business Bank alongside six businesses and fund managers, as well as Stella Hall, director of Festival of Thrift.

Chair of the club Jane Reynolds MBE welcomed members back and said:

“I’m delighted to see so many of you in the room, we’ve spent 18 months online and we are so pleased to welcome those back in-person and online. We are thrilled to be back at Rockliffe Hall and partnering with British Business Bank once again.”

Jane introduced Melanie Ellyard from the British Business Bank and the businesses providing dummy pitches for finance.

Melanie began by thanking the whole team behind the business club and spoke about the role of the British Business Bank and their objectives. She went on to discuss the impact of the British Business Bank and stated that they have provided £8 billion pound of finance support to 93,000 businesses across the UK with over 180 delivery partners.”

Melanie explained that the evening would take the format of a ‘live event’ as a quasi investment committee with a ‘twist’ whereby members and guests witnessed dummy pitches for finance, without knowing which fund they are looking for or who they approached. Members decided which fund they thought would be best be suited to and matched the business with that fund.

David Todd, Press on vinyl – FW Capital’s SME
David explained that the company was a new starter and the only vinyl press on plant in Teesside. They have recently moved to a state of the art facility at Tees AMP, creating 100,000 records a month and they were looking to access £300-350k to order new machines.
Correct fund manager - FW Capital

Neil Guilder, Nova Pangaea
Nova Pangaea converts discarded plant biomass into a variety of valuable biochemicals and biofuels. Having received 19m investment already, they were looking for a further £2.4m to enhance technology and employ staff.
Correct fund - Mercia

Kully Brooks, Nordic Product and Services Ltd
Back in 2017, Nordic recognised a growth opportunity and decided to provide bespoke training to the organisation to break the skills gap. They were looking for £250,000 funding to help with staffing, equipment and working capital.
Correct fund - FW Capital

Mark Wilcockson, representing Teesside Elevators
Teesside Elevators needed access to £100,000 to invest in future growth plans.
Correct fund - BEF

Dai Haywood, Micropore Technologies
Micropore Technologies explained they were looking to receive further funding to support their growth.
Correct funder - Mercia

We heard from Simon Crabtree from Mercia who said: "There is more and more opportunity, if you want to chat, we're more than welcome to - please just get in touch."

Joanne Whitfield from FW Capital also joined the stage and discussed the funds they have delivered in our region, which currently stands at £18 million.
"If you want to grow or if you want help with your recovery, please come to see us."

Jane thanked the organisations and said: “The activity gave us the opportunity to understand the funds, even if the funds aren’t important to your business to pass on to others. Great opportunity, thanks again.”

Next up, Festival of Thrift director, Stella Hall joined the stage and announced the return of Festival of Thrift on Saturday 25 and Sunday 26 September 2021 in Kirkleatham. After taking the event online in 2020, the celebration of sustainable living will be back welcoming up to 40,000 visitors.

Stella Hall said: "We're about to launch our young people's podium, to allow young people to speak of the things they are passionate about."

Jane closed the evening and said:

“We took the decision to go online and we weren’t certain whether it was going to be a success. Talking with the board we decided to give it a go and in April 2020 we had our first @home event where 60 people joined online, at a time where most people were working from home. We kept going and each month we achieved 90/100 online guests.

“We are so thankful and pleased for the support and help. One thing we’ve learnt from online events is how successful the break out rooms were and speaking to members and building new relationships, which is what the business club is about. We would suggest to go into our in-person events and talking to people who you do not know and then at the end talk to people who you do know, it’s the best balance.”

Jane thanked the business club board, Emily, Lisa, Angeline and introduced new director, Sharon Starkey, MD of Resolution. Sharon has worked with the club for seven years and has dedicated her time to do an outstanding job for the club and is the right person to join the team.

We look forward to our next hybrid event held at Wynyard Hall on the 23rd September.