Britain’s Hot Talent 2014/15 A handbook of UK venture capital innovation Editors Chris Etheridge Mia Iwama Hastings Rory McDougall Managing Editor Tom Allchorne For additional information Tom Allchorne Email [email protected] 22 BVCA e: [email protected] w: bvca.co.uk Contents Introduction Foreword 4 Five facts about venture capital in the UK 5 Definitions of industry sectors 6 Company Profiles Chapter 1 Cleantech 7 Chapter 2 Digital & Consumer 19 Chapter 3 Finance & Business Support 53 Chapter 4 Information Technology 81 Chapter 5 Life Sciences 101 Chapter 6 Materials 113 Chapter 7 Media 121 Chapter 8 Medical 129 Chapter 9 Telecoms 151 Index Index by company name 164 Index by investor 169 Index by parliamentary constituency 186 e: [email protected] w: bvca.co.uk BVCA 3 Foreword Welcome to Britain’s Hot Talent 2014/15, the latest BVCA handbook showcasing some of this country’s most dynamic and cutting-edge young companies. In fact this is the second version of this edition, reproduced due to overwhelming demand and with a number of new star companies added. Britain has a long and proud history of entrepreneurship and the businesses featured here are a snapshot of some of the exciting and creative work being carried out right now. We have profiles of over 100 venture capital-backed companies from across the British economy – all are fantastic examples of what can be achieved with ingenuity, hard work and the right support. Venture capital has long been a backer of innovation, providing investment and expertise to start-ups and early-stage companies across the UK and helping to turn fledging ideas into market leaders. As a backer of entrepreneurialism, venture capital has played, and continues to play, a vital part in this country’s business eco-system, and it remains crucial to the future of the British economy. What is perhaps most startling about this book is the diversity on display, not only by sector but also geographically. Much attention is paid to London’s Tech City – and rightly so – but the UK is home to numerous clusters of excellence. In the BVCA publication Tech Country we highlighted a number of the most successful clusters in the country, such as Cambridge, Bristol, Aberdeen and Manchester. The sheer range and variety of talent on these shores must be championed and investment encouraged if Britain is to compete on the global stage. Investment, however, is only part of the story. Business require advice and expertise in order to grow and venture capital firms are ideally suited to provide these crucial ingredients, to work alongside company owners and management teams and to help them grow and expand. It is the job of the BVCA and the BVCA Venture Capital Committee to ensure these messages are heard far and wide, to enable a better understanding of what venture capital is and how it can support ambitious enterprises. We hope you find Britain’s Hot Talent both interesting and useful. Young, innovative British companies should be celebrated, and that is what we hope to do here. Tim Hames Director General, BVCA September 2014 44 BVCA e: [email protected] w: bvca.co.uk Five facts about venture capital in the UK One There are 90 venture capital investment houses actively managing venture funds in the UK. Two Venture capital funds managed in the UK currently back around 1500 companies, employing around 50,000 people on a full-time equivalent basis (FTEs) across the world. Of these, over 30,000 are employed in the UK. Three In 2012, BVCA venture capital members raised £428 million from UK and overseas institutional investors. Four Over the five years to December 2012, £1.8 billion was invested at the VC investment stage into 2000 companies. Five In 2012, the average amount invested at the VC investment stage was £796,000. Source: BVCA Report on Investment Activity 2012. e: [email protected] w: bvca.co.uk BVCA 5 Definitions of industry sectors Cleantech Life Sciences Alternate energy and agricultural Pharmaceuticals, biotechnologies, technologies, waste recycling, therapeutics compliance systems Materials Digital & Consumer Electronics, plastics, metals, fabrics, chemicals, new production methods Web and non-web based retailing, online marketing, social media Media Advertising, gaming, marketing, Finance & online video Business Support Financial services, process management Medical technologies, business intelligence Equipment, care and services Information Telecoms Technology Security, software, location based Software, hardware, semiconductors services, connectivity 66 BVCA e: [email protected] w: bvca.co.uk Cleantech cleantech Cleantech 4energy Backed by 4energy is a leading provider of innovative cooling and energy efficiency hardware and software to some of the 350 Investment largest global ICT businesses. Partners, British Gas, 4energy’s products and solutions reduce the Catapult Ventures, cooling requirements for electronic data centre and Environmental telecommunications equipment by up to 50%. Its Technologies Fund comprehensive management software and suite of hardware products enable customers to analyse their thermal footprints and adjust air flows and temperature gradients. Customers can use real-time data to improve operations across a network of sites, save energy, and make space for new infrastructure by removing excess cooling equipment. Formed in 2005, the company is headquartered in Nottingham and operates throughout the UK and across Europe, China, India, Africa and North America. Key Management Pat Tindale – Chief Executive Officer and Founder Website www.4energy.co.uk e: [email protected] w: bvca.co.uk BVCA 9 ACAL Energy Backed by ACAL Energy is a developer of fuel cell systems, modules and consumable chemicals for a range of 350 Investment uses including stationary, residential and automotive Partners, applications requiring more than 1 kW of power. Its Enterprise Ventures, innovative designs deliver substantial cost savings I2BF Global Ventures, in fuel cell systems and performance improvements Northstar Ventures, in PEMs (Proton Exchange Membrane) that will Parkwalk Advisors, accelerate the adoption of PEM Fuel Cell technologies in key markets. Porton Capital Limited ACAL Energy was founded in August 2004 to research and optimise Dr Andrew Creeth’s invention for addressing the inherent technical limitations of the cathode side of membrane based fuel cells. Dr Creeth has been working in the field for more than 20 years and has synergised recent advances in chemistry with a process developed in the 1950s. The company has demonstrated that the technology has the potential to address hugely significant issues that are preventing the commercialisation of this new energy technology. ACAL Energy is based in the North West of England and also has facilities in the North East of England to have access to state of the art fuel cell testing and support equipment. Its current laboratory and commercial facilities have continually expanded to accommodate the company’s in-house chemistry development team and engineering resources. To support its own facilities, ACAL Energy has R&D collaborations in place with a number of the UK’s leading centres for research on fuel cells and its related technologies, including The University of Newcastle Upon Tyne, The University of Manchester, and C Tech Innovation Ltd. Key Management Andrew Creeth – Chief Technology Officer and Co-Founder Website www.acalenergy.co.uk 10 BVCA e: [email protected] w: bvca.co.uk Anesco Backed by Anesco is a national energy efficiency solutions company dedicated to helping businesses, local Scottish Equity authorities, housing associations and homeowners Partners, reduce their carbon emissions and energy costs. Zouk The company provides a comprehensive energy service, from audits through to recommendations, installations and capital funding plans and was one of the first to be approved as a provider under the UK government’s Green Deal scheme. Founded in 2010, Anesco works with customers across a broad spectrum of industries and has managed some of the country’s largest and most complex energy efficiency projects, helping to raise over 10,000 people out of fuel poverty. Sustained growth is also seeing the company create jobs at every level and within the communities in which it operates. With its groundbreaking ESCO Model, offering a holistic approach for organisations looking to improve their energy efficiency, and its innovative maintenance and monitoring service for renewable installations, AnescoMeter, it has quickly become a leader in its field. Key Management Adrian Pike – Chief Executive Officer Website www.anesco.co.uk e: [email protected] w: bvca.co.uk BVCA 11 Arvia Technology Backed by Arvia Technology span out of The University of Manchester’s world-class research centre in 2007 with MTI Ventures, a unique technology that uses adsorption coupled with Park Walk Advisors, electrochemical regeneration to destroy a wide range Sustainable Technology of toxic and non-biodegradable organic contaminants Investors Ltd from aqueous effluents. The technology can be applied to a number of different sectors, such as the water and hazardous chemical industries, but currently Arvia is applying its efforts to the nuclear industry where the technology is being used to destroy inventories of radioactive oils and solvents. Since its launch in the nuclear sector in 2012, the technology has attracted large amounts of interest, resulting in a number of international projects. Key Management Mike Lodge – Chief Executive Officer Website www.arviatechnology.com 12 BVCA e: [email protected] w: bvca.co.uk Breathing Buildings Backed by Breathing Buildings is the UK’s leading low-energy ventilation company, a spin-out from Cambridge Low Carbon University that is changing the world of natural Innovation Fund, ventilation. Berti Investments, MMC Ventures Through a research programme at the university, a new low energy ventilation concept was developed. This concept was patented in 2005 and Breathing Buildings was set up by Dr Shaun Fitzgerald to develop the concept into an easy-to-install system and provide the resulting e-stack product range to the industry.