Are You Investment Ready?
Raising finance from external sources is a well known route for companies wishing to fund rapid growth. But how do you make sure that your pitch for investment funds nets you the right partner and the right amount of money for the right shareholding?
Getting some basic points right can help your company to make the most of itself and get a better deal from any potential investor. The Investment Readiness Programme is a specialist tool from Finance South East (FSE) designed to help you do just that.
Many businesses will seek to raise finance from external sources at some point. Whether the funding you require is for commercialisation at the pre-start stage, for an established company to expand into a new market, or anywhere in between, you should ask yourself: am I investment ready? That is, do your business plan and financial projections – in terms of both content and presentation – provide potential investors with what they want to see?
Getting the attention you deserve
Attracting funding is a complex matter, and private investors, venture capitalists, corporate financiers and fund managers are often overwhelmed with approaches. Taking steps to ensure your proposal receives the attention it deserves is vital, and getting the help of experts who know what funders are looking for is now an option for businesses operating within the Enterprise Hub Network.
Finance South East’s Investment Readiness Team can provide an objective assessment of your business to help you maximise your chances of securing the funding you need, when you need it. By offering a thorough appraisal of your business plans, providing detailed feedback and recommendations, and working with you and your Hub Director to execute them, we can ensure that your business achieves the best possible result. What’s more, this service is free to companies referred through the Enterprise Hub Network.
A joint approach
If your business is ready to undertake the Investment Readiness process (i.e. you can provide a business plan, financial history and projections for assessment), you can be referred on to the programme by your Hub Director. Following submission of your plans, you will meet with a dedicated funding advisor who will:
- provide a critique of the viability of your business proposition
- develop an action plan of the changes required to maximise the chance of success
- offer advice and guidance on how to improve presentation of your business plan
- outline the potential funding options available
- prepare a funding strategy, which may involve a funding ‘package’ made up from several sources
Following the feedback meeting, your Funding Advisor will work with you and your Hub Director for up to six months to implement the action plan and help your business become investment ready before you move on to approach potential funders.
Following Investment Readiness, Finance South East offers a Fund Finder service which provides introductions to relevant funding sources. There is an initial fee of £400, followed by a success fee dependant on the sum raised.
A lighter option
In addition to the full Investment Readiness service, Finance South East also offers a shorter Investment Preparation service exclusively to businesses within the Enterprise Hub Network. This service involves a one hour consultation to discuss your business idea and provide verbal feedback and advice.
Investment Preparation may be appropriate if your company is not yet ready for the full Investment Readiness process and you need to work further on your business plan and proposal before undertaking the service in full.
Improving your chances
In themselves, the Investment Readiness and Investment Preparation services are not designed to secure funding, indeed, there is no guarantee of funding success, but they will improve your chances and ensure your proposals get the appropriate level of consideration.
In fact our internal statistics show that nearly half of businesses who complete Investment Readiness go on to raise finance. This compares extremely favourably with wider fund raising statistics, where one in 10 companies are successful in raising Business Angel finance and only one in 100 manage to raise venture capital funding.
For more information about accessing either service contact your Hub Director.
Contact: Ally Charles
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