An investment roundtable was held last week in Sheffield to discuss how the business community and politicians can continue to increase investment in Yorkshire’s fast-growing start-up and scale-up companies.
The roundtable, hosted by the Venture Capital Trust Association (VCTA), was attended by South East Sheffield MP, Clive Betts, and local government leaders from Sheffield City Council. Chee Hing Tan also joined as co-founder of Phlux; a Sheffield-based technology company. Chee Hing Tan described how, as a result of investment from VCTA member firms Foresight and Octopus, they rapidly expanded their offering and their team . He also shared with the round table the growth challenges they continue to face.
This VCTA investment roundtable was the first of a series to be held across the UK; where investment leaders will meet with figures from business, local government and Members of Parliament. The events are designed to give founders, local stakeholders and investors a better understanding of how they can work together to drive investment across the UK.
The VCTA is the industry body for the Venture Capital Trust (VCT) sector. VCTs provide a vital source of capital to innovative and high-growth small businesses. This funding, alongside hands-on support from experienced venture capital investors, provides growing companies with the resources and advice needed to expand, enter new markets and increase employment across the UK.
The 12 members of the VCTA manage more than £6bn, investing across diverse sectors from consumer businesses to industrial technology. The roundtable was attended by Chris Lewis, the Chair of the VCTA and Chief Financial and Operating Officer at Pembroke, Dave Hall, Chair of YFM Equity Partners and Justine Duggan, Head of Public Affairs at Octopus Investments.
MP for South East Sheffield, Clive Betts said:
“I will do all I can to grow the economy, delivering good quality jobs in Sheffield and across South Yorkshire. Investment firms can help drive this much-needed growth and I’m doing all I can to encourage their investment. It was great to meet some of the local companies who have expanded, through the aid of VCTs, and to hear about the VCTA programme to drive investment across the UK. Today we’ve begun to establish how investors and politicians can collaborate and I’m looking forward to seeing many more local success stories as investors help the next generation of start-ups expand and grow.”
Chris Lewis, Chair of the VCTA said:
“It was really helpful to meet local leaders in Sheffield and we are very grateful to Clive for making time to meet with us. The VCTA is proud of our work helping support young UK businesses, so it was great to discuss this impact and how we can build closer ties to build on this success.
Since 2016, our member companies have invested over £100 million in Yorkshire’s high-growth start-up and scale-up businesses which have created over 1,200 jobs in the region.
We have seen investment from VCTs enable start-ups to become global success stories. Today has provided us with a new path for how businesses, entrepreneurs and local stakeholders can work together to foster a new generation of these success stories.”