As we begin to think about taking a break over Christmas we wanted to end the year with an update on ACG news. Whilst we have all been working in a challenging climate, we are delighted to report that ACG has had its best year ever which is really something to celebrate. We would like to thank all of our members, partners and of course all of the exciting business that we have worked with for helping us to achieve this.
Our group of over 60 angel investors are making a huge contribution to the economy here in the East of England as they help to give companies across the region the opportunity to develop and grow.
Over the last 12 months we have seen an incredible 45 companies pitch for investment, which has been boosted by the implementation of our online platform. We have been blown away by the quality of some of the pitches this year and it has been a pleasure to work with these innovative founders and to hear their stories. 18 of these companies received investment from the Anglia Capital Group members. Cleantech, Agritech, Biotech, Food and SaaS were amongst the most popular sectors.
The UK Business Angels Association reported that during 2020, many angels stopped investing in new companies and instead turned to supporting their existing portfolio companies through the crisis. This observation was certainly matched by our members too. But 2021, as with the rest of the UK, has seen new companies are back on the agenda and has resulted in our record year.
12 of the 18 companies supported this year were from within our region, another two were outside of London. We will continue to prioritise companies from outside of London, with particular emphasis on the East of England, as we pride ourselves in supporting under-represented regions.
Investment Update
In 2019 our group did £973,000 of investment. 2020 saw a slight dip, with £939,000 of investment. We are so proud to say that 2021 has blown any previous year out of the water as our members, made investments totalling £1,635,000!
Since ACG’s first investment into Rainbird in mid-2015, we have invested a grand total of £7,363,000 into 44 companies. Those companies, as an aggregate have raised over £48 million.
Pitching Events 2022 We have all missed our in-person events this year but have been delighted by the ability of the group to adapt and get involved with our online events. We have set a calendar of events for 2022 which will include a mixture of online and in-person events. We’re hoping to hold an in-person event in Norfolk and Suffolk in March next year.
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