Nexus Investments, a division of Harry Hyman’s Nexus Group, announced an update following the launch of its EIS Scale-Up Fund (“the Fund”) in July 2018.
Fund launch update
The Fund Manager has already reviewed a number of exciting opportunities for first deployment of funds from the Scale-Up Fund, on the basis of a successful first completion in September. As well as a number of its existing portfolio companies, these include, but are not limited to, companies scaling up in the physiotherapy / post operation sector; gluten free food; augmented reality; education/video tech; and SaaS (software-as-a-service) technology platform spaces.
Commitments to the Fund have started well in the short time to date, drawing attention from a range of investors seeking to benefit from the sector specialisation and hands-on approach that Nexus Investments provides as well EIS reliefs.
Hardman & Co Research note published
An independent and positive research report on the Scale-Up Fund has been published by respected City research house, Hardman & Co. This provides a comprehensive overview and insight into Nexus Investments set-up and investment process and is now available to view at the Hardman & Co website. The report draws attention to three key criteria that Nexus Investments applies to selecting investments:
- People: Nexus is particularly looking for ‘mission-driven’ founders – Nexus expresses a very strong preference for this over managers that have simply been brought in to run a business. The ideal criteria are a high-calibre academic, someone with experience in the sector in a major company, or someone who has previously built and sold a business.
- Business plan: The ideal plan needs to be both exciting and deliverable, in contrast to the many unrealistic business plans that Nexus rejects every year. The business needs to be scalable, most likely scaling into new markets or by adding new distribution. Nexus seeks to identify companies that have the capacity to develop into a £20m-£50m business, which corresponds to the range in which successful small businesses are most often sold, and hence have potential to generate a 10x return if achieved.
- Industry-specific insight: This is the specific application of a macro trend that may be supportive to the business. Core sectors in which Nexus specialises are Data, Digital, Education and Health, where UK early-stage companies can become global leaders:
Providing hands-on, practical advice to some of Britain’s brightest founders: national press coverage
Nexus Investments places special emphasis on providing business and strategy advice to early stage companies. This enables them to quickly win the respect of much larger incumbent players in their sector, and to scale up more quickly as a result.
- A good example is click-and-collect company HubBox, which received investment via Nexus Investments in 2016. Since 2015 it has built up a nationwide network of over 4,000 collect points, with over 150 integrations achieved for leading retailers.
- Another example is TRUEinvivo, a University of Surrey spin-out which received investment via Nexus Investments in 2018. TRUEinvivo has developed a radiation detection system for cancer care that aims to save lives, money and offer a better quality of life to patients. At its helm is one of the UK’s most respected “women in innovation”, Dr Shakardokht Jafari.
- The first of a three-part interview with Nexus Investments Managing Director Matthew O’Kane has been published in GBI Investments providing insights into how Nexus supports and helps its portfolio companies grow.
Nexus Investments will be hosting another round of breakfast / lunch events in September for prospective investors, advisors and IFAs to learn more about the Fund, its aims and the entrepreneurial landscape in the UK more generally.
Click here to find out which Fintech Companies are Likely to Benefit from EIS Updates.
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