24th September 2007 - Article by Connect Midlands

CellAura Technologies Ltd, Pacemaker UK Ltd and Sutton Media Ltd have been confirmed as finalists in the Connect Midlands £5 Million Investment Challenge.

The Challenge, sponsored by BT Business, offers up to £5 million in equity funding for high-growth and technology businesses. It is backed by Catapult Venture Managers Ltd, East Midlands Early Growth Fund (managed by E-Synergy) and supported by the East Midlands Development Agency (emda) and GINEM.

Based in BioCity, CellAura is a newly formed spin out company from the University of Nottingham which provides innovative screening products for the drug discovery industry. Sutton Media Limited has developed a system for displaying theatre size posters with outdoor advertising and Broxtowe-based Pacemaker UK Ltd has developed a material for pre-school children’s toys.

The three firms reached the final by entering the Challenge online and completing the online assessment tool, ‘The Gauntlet’, developed by Doug Richard, formerly of Dragon’s Den. Acting like a virtual investor, The Gauntlet seeks the crucial information that investors need and ensures that the business is investment ready.

They were named in a shortlist of just 20 businesses in August and have since delivered a “pitch” to a panel of real investors to ascertain its suitability for potential equity funding through the Challenge. They are now just one of 7 finalists from the East Midlands and will learn their funding fate when the winners are revealed on October 10th at Kilworth House Hotel, Leicestershire. If successful, they will then be given the opportunity to enter into private negotiations with the Challenge backers.

Mick Mcloughlin, BT's regional director for the East Midlands said: “Having started the process way back in April, we have seen a huge variety of exciting businesses come to our attention. The great diversity of the applicants and the consistent quality of them is a very positive sign for the region as a whole.”

Now in its second year, the £5 Million Investment Challenge is operated by Connect Midlands, the not-for-profit network for investors, high growth and technology businesses in the region. In its inaugural year, up to £1 million of equity funding was available to the region’s businesses, but due to its success, the pot was increased to £5 million for this year’s Challenge.

Isabell Majewsky, director of Connect Midlands said: “The standard of applicants in this year’s Challenge is phenomenal. It was hard enough trying to get down to a shortlist of 20 from the hundreds of applications we received, so you can imagine the difficulty we had in selecting the finalists. I look forward to the awards evening on October 10th with great anticipation.” 

Rob Carroll, managing director of backers, Catapult Venture Managers said: “Last year we had some very strong candidates, many of whom went on to receive equity funding as a result. This year the field is again strong. There are some companies that have learnt from last year’s valuable feedback from the panel and re-entered with stronger proposals, and a host of companies that we had not been aware of until now. The Connect Midlands Investment Challenge really does help to unearth some of the hidden gems within the region and plays a vital role within the economy.”

More information about the Connect Midlands £5 Million Investment Challenge can be found at www.connectchallenge.org.

Terms and conditions apply - Catapult Venture Managers Ltd and E-Synergy (fund manager to the East Midlands Early Growth Fund), are authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority. Any investment made from the Investment Funds will be in the form of a commercial venture capital structured investment on which the Funds managed by Catapult Venture Managers Ltd and E-Synergy will be expecting a return.

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For further information, please contact:

Chrissie Walker or Greg Simpson Rachael Taylor

BCS Public Relations Connect Midlands

Tel: 0115 9486901 Email: R.Taylor@lboro.ac.uk

Email: chrissie@bcspr.co.uk or greg@bcspr.co.uk

Notes to Editors

CellAura Technologies Ltd from Nottingham

CellAura Technologies provides innovative screening products for the drug discovery industry.

http://www.cellaura.com

About Connect Midlands

Connect Midlands is a not-for-profit network, linking high-potential technology businesses and entrepreneurs with the business training, finance, management and customers they need to succeed. www.connectmidlands.org.

The Challenge is supported by the European Regional Development Fund.

About Catapult Venture Managers Ltd

Catapult Venture Managers Ltd (Catapult) was formed in October 1999. The Chairman of Catapult Venture Managers is Mich Stevenson, an East Midlands entrepreneur.  The Board also includes two non-executive directors, John May and David Lambert, both experienced venture capitalists, and the Managing Director is Rob Carroll

The Catapult Venture Managers team is able to introduce companies to business contacts and professional advisers across the Midlands. www.catapult-vm.co.uk.

About East Midlands Early Growth Fund

The Fund was officially launched by emda (the East Midlands Development Agency) in November 2006 and is managed by venture capital fund manager E-Synergy Ltd.  It aims to help the region’s start-up and early stage businesses by addressing the ‘equity gap’ which restricts young businesses from accessing growth funding. The Fund will invest in high-growth businesses seeking between £20,000 and £200,000 of equity finance.

East Midlands Early Growth Fund was approved by emda’s Board in December 2005 and following a competitive tender process, E-Synergy was appointed in September 2006 to manage the fund.  For further information, visit www.earlygrowthfund.com.

About GINEM

Supported by East Midlands Development Agency (emda), Growth Investment Network East Midlands (GINEM) is a not for profit organisation with the aim of stimulating growth through private equity investment in the region. www.ginem.co.uk.