Here we feature the latest news on equity investment in Wales.
Cardiff-based software start-up Configur has raised £714,500 from private investors in its latest funding round, including £500,000 from two former Apple employees.
Serial entrepreneurs and investors, Phil Mohr and Puli Liyanagama, have invested £500,000 in the firm which is targeting a £10m valuation within the next 12-18 months.
The investors have a wealth of experience in starting, scaling and selling digital companies. They founded social media marketing technology company Comufy in 2009, which was later sold to King, the games developer behind Candy Crush Saga, in 2014. They then went on to found digital marketing firm Data Tiger, which they sold to Apple in 2018. Having worked at Apple for three years, the entrepreneurs now have an investment portfolio of over 30 digital businesses.
Alongside Mr Mohr and Mr Liyanagama , Configur has been backed by Roland Rudd, founder and chairman of public relations firm Finsbury, Tim Farazmand, a veteran of the private equity industry, former Labour Trader Minister and Chairman of LetterOne, Lord Mervyn Davies and a number of other influential private investors.
Data platform Configur was founded by Marco Oliver and Josh Evans in 2019 with the aim of making data accessible and manageable for all businesses, no matter their size or sector.
Having already grown by more than 50% since the start of 2022, the business is on track for over 200% growth by the end of the year.
The latest investment round, which follows seed funding in October 2021 where £220,000 was raised, will allow the business to rapidly scale up its operation to support increased sales and reach.
Most Read
On investing in Configur, Mr Mohr, said: “While there are data tools in the marketplace aimed at data scientists, there is a real gap in the market for a platform which allows anyone within a business to use data. Marco and Josh have really captured this gap with Configur. It’s a great product with huge potential and there is a strong and knowledgeable team behind it. The business has achieved great growth already and with this funding, it has a real opportunity to capture the 海角视频 market. I’m delighted to be supporting the business and look forward to seeing what the future holds.”
Co-founder, Mr Oliver, said: “When we launched Configur in 2019 we did so with the aim of wanting to simplify and empower data driven decisions across businesses. The product is being used by clients across 12 sectors, which showcases the requirement and desire for a platform like Configur, to enable businesses of all shapes and sizes.
“The funding is fantastic, but the wealth of knowledge that comes with it, in the form of Phil, Puli and the other investors, is something you can’t put a price on. This funding will allow us to rapidly scale up our operation and increase sales and reach, both in terms of territories and sectors. We’re excited that such prominent investors can see the potential in the business and we’re truly grateful for their support.”
British Business Bank
The value of equity investments into small firms Wales has hit a record high.
According to the British Business Bank’s latest annual Small Business Equity Tracker the value of announced equity deals in Wales rose by 44% in 2021 on 2020 to £83m. This was despite the volume of deals falling by 22% on the previous year, indicating a rise in deal sizes.
Momentum has continued into 2022, with £26m of disclosed equity investments into smaller businesses in the first quarter of the year.
Don’t miss
Across the 海角视频 equity investment in smaller firms increasing by 88%, reaching a record level at £18.1bn, nearly double that of 2020. The number of deals also increased by 17% to 2,616. The value of deals in Wales presents less than 0.5% of the 海角视频 total.
The definition of a small firm is less than 250 employees and either a turnover of less than €50m or balance sheet total of less than €43m.
The bank, which is the economic development bank of the 海角视频 Government, has also reviewed the top 20 海角视频 hubs for equity investment over the past three years, with Cardiff placed 10th.
The Welsh capital has an average of £34m of equity investment per year, with software the largest sector by number of deals. Swansea is ranked 19th, with an average of £7m of equity investment. The largest sector by number of deals was business & professional services.
London’s share of the 海角视频’s equity deals increased to 49% in 2021, up from 46% in 2020 but the report showed clear evidence of strong clusters of deal activity outside of London.
Susan Nightingale, 海角视频 network director, Wales at British Business Bank, said: “A record year for equity investment in Wales demonstrates real evidence of the resilience of the Welsh financial landscape.
“Overall investment value has risen significantly, despite deal numbers being down, suggesting that some substantial deal values have been completed, led primarily by a burgeoning technology sector that is growing at pace. Having Cardiff within the top 10 equity clusters for 海角视频 deal activity further demonstrates its attractiveness for innovative and high growth companies.”
Development Bank of Wales.
The Development Bank of Wales has ramped up its investment activity, including equity to support firms across the economy with nearly £110m in its last financial year.
The bank, which provides debt and equity funding to SMEs and is wholly-owned by the Welsh Government, made 519 investments with an average deal value of £210,276, into 460 Welsh businesses during the year ending March 31, 2022.
Just over half of investments (51%) were awarded to existing customers. Total investment was £109.1m, an increase of £3.6m on the previous year. Equity investments made up 10.6% of the total (£11.58m).
Co-investment in 2021-22 reached £64.1m, an increase of £4.1m on 2020-21 as the Development Bank continues to focus on working with the private sector to maximise the flow of private capital in Wales. £30.3m of the co-investment was for tech ventures.
The investor base held by Angels Invest Wales (AIW) grew to 299 and there were 92 individual angel investments during the year totalling £3.3m compared to £2.6m in 2020-21. Through co-investment, AIW had a total cumulative impact of £8.6mm – including £1.65m in match-funding by lead Angel investor syndicates. 10% of investors registered with AIW are women.