A city finance group is showing its confidence in Birmingham’s next generation of businesspeople by launching an angel programme aimed exclusively at young people.
Seven Capital is inviting budding entrepreneurs in their teens and twenties to make contact in a bid to turn their business ideas into reality.
Seven is prepared to invest up to £200,000 in each new venture, with the aim of commercialising good ideas.
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The company, which is part of a much larger group operating across a variety of sectors, is prepared to plough up to £2 million into the project each year.
“We want to attract any local young people in their late teens and twenties who may have a very good business idea and concept and don’t quite know how to bring that to fruition or to the market,” said Seven Capital development director Andy Robinson.
“We are prepared to put a considerable amount of money behind young people.
“On average we’re looking to get ten of these young people each year, so that is up to £2 million each year we are prepared to invest.
“We are setting aside several million pounds to back this new start-up fund, so lots of people can benefit.
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“We are keen to support local young people and by adding our expertise and experience in many sectors, we have we believe the potential to create some fantastic new businesses and empower the ambitious entrepreneurial young people in Birmingham.”
Mr Robinson said the programme would welcome all kinds of ideas and those selected could benefit from the expertise offered by both Seven Capital, and the global group it belongs to.
The Colmore Row-based company is part of the Stanwell Hospitality Group, headquartered in Sydney Australia.
It is an investment development company in the real estate sector with a specialism in hospitality.
It also eyes opportunities to invest in other businesses not in the real estate sector from a private equity point of view. Described by Mr Robinson as “a very active expansionist business”, it owns the Park Regis and Leisure Inn hotel brands and is currently building a new 275-bed Park Regis in the former Auchinleck House in Birmingham.
The company also has a strong pipeline of residential conversions of large office buildings, including the 20-storey former office building No1 Hagley Road. Consent has been obtained to turn the redundant building into 267 apartments.
Mr Robinson said: “We have an ideal platform to help those young people bring these ideas to fruition.
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“It may be something that fits in with the business of the group or may be a completely different sector.
“We are open to all sorts of ideas of business and concepts.
“There is no limit on the sector or idea, so we are calling for people to contact us with their ideas and business plans and who knows we could be helping the next Mark Zuckerberg bring their ideas to fruition, right here in Birmingham.”
He added: “If we get someone who presents an idea which meets the criteria we will put up to £200,000 behind them to get that business idea, that concept in a commercialised manner so it forms a proper business.
“We know the how to do bit and if you put that with a great idea it could be a fantastic opportunity.”
Mr Robinson said Seven Capital would also be looking to benefit from ideas it invests in, though the precise details of how that would work were not set in stone.
l Any young people seeking to attract investment for their business ideas should email Andy Robinson at andy@sevencapital.com.