About Us
The Fund
NEEMF is an innovative and unique venture capital co-investment fund which aims to generate and increase Business Angel activity in the North East of England.
NEEMF can match, on a pari passu basis, investments made by private investors or business angels who may not have sufficient resources to wholly fund the business or where they wish to spread the risk.
The investment range is from £25,000 to £150,000 in the first round with the capacity to aggregate up to £200,000 in a second round after nine months has elapsed. The total equity raised in the initial round must not exceed £350,000. Typical investment size is £75,000.
Investments will usually be in the form of ordinary and/or preference shares and will be made at the same time as the private investment. The legal process is aimed at keeping time scales and costs to a minimum.
It is fully accepted that there are high risks involved in making equity investments in early stage businesses and the Fund should fill a vital gap in the market place. The fund will reduce the risk for Business Angel investors by making matched government funds available on a commercial basis.
From a practical viewpoint the Fund has established:-
- A simple application process
- A quick assessment and decision making process
- Legal framework documentation
- Costs commensurate with the size of investments
The Early Growth Fund Initiative
The Department of Trade and Industry's Small Business Service has been responsible for establishing a number of Early Growth Funds. Since 2002 six funds have been established in various regions in England with the principal intention of increasing private equity investment in early stage, high growth companies.
In 2004 Entrust won approval to manage a new £2.5m Early Growth Fund for the North East region and formed North East Equity Matching Limited. The Fund was officially launched in June 2004 by Margaret Fay (Chairman of One NorthEast) and Rory Earley (Investment & SME Finance Director, Small Business Service).
Nigel Griffiths, Minister for Small Business said:
"Small businesses can often find it difficult to access smaller amounts of risk capital appropriate to their needs. This fund, supported by a £2.5m DTI investment, will help more firms bridge the equity gap. The Government is committed to helping more small businesses get the risk capital they need, which is why the Chancellor announced a consultation on Small Business Investment Companies. This builds on over £80m of Government investment in programmes we have already set up, such as the Regional Venture Capital Funds and the Community Development Venture Fund."