The region’s new angel network has proven the demand for local investment. Now the aim is to build it into a wider ecosystem that helps more businesses start and grow in Cheshire and Warrington.
Cheshire Business Angels has completed a strong first year, with 18 businesses from across the region pitching for investment and expertise to grow their ventures.
The network was established by Enterprise Cheshire and Warrington’s Growth Hub and includes up to 70 investors and high net worth individuals. It supports the area’s fast-growing small businesses, from healthcare and manufacturing to digital technology and beyond, by connecting them with experienced entrepreneurs who can accelerate their path to success.
Working with Xeinadin Accountants and Gorvins Solicitors, the network has held three investor events. Entrepreneurs pitch to investors and professional advisers in a Dragons’ Den style, then take questions and continue the conversation over lunch. Successful businesses move into formal investment discussions and, in return for an equity stake, receive strategic support as well as funding.
Together, the 18 businesses have asked for funding and support across the three rounds so far. The latest event, at the Park Royal Hotel in Warrington on 7 October, followed events in March and June.
Requests from the latest event came from:
- Breezemove, an AI-powered property transaction business, which sought £750,000 in a seed round to accelerate growth.
- Agreka Build, a construction materials firm, which sought £1.4 million for growth.
- Immunokey, a cancer therapy business, which sought £800,000 as part of its seed round.
- Ocuwell, which develops portable corneal assessment technology and software, and sought £1.5 million to support regulatory approval, commercialisation and international scale-up.
- QR Power Banks, which turns guest interactions into revenue, and sought £250,000 for product, digital platform and a sales engine.
- Uthful, which provides premium all-in-one nutrition for the over 40s, and sought £300,000 in a seed round.
- VYZR, which creates a verified fitness audience for gyms through in-gym screens and live activations, and sought £300,000 to scale, accelerate sales and develop its technology.
Businesses from the first two events included a premium energy drink brand, a wellbeing centre and an AI virtual adviser.
Steve Purdham, Chair of the Cheshire and Warrington Business Advisory Board, said: “Eighteen ambitious businesses pitching in our first year, asking for millions between them, tells us the demand is real. Cheshire and Warrington has the founders, the ideas and the investors. Our job now is to build the infrastructure around them, so that good companies raise their money here, and stay and grow here.”
He added: “This is the start of the journey, not the end of it. The Angels can be the front door to a much bigger investment ecosystem for the region, bringing in venture capital, private equity and international investors alongside local angels, and helping more people to start and scale businesses in Cheshire and Warrington. To get there we need backing at a scale that matches the opportunity, from Enterprise Cheshire and Warrington, from the new Combined Authority and from the next Mayor. I am keen to work with all of them to make it happen.”
Ahead of the fourth event in March, the organisers will launch a new online platform to improve communication, widen the pool of investors and help businesses prepare more effectively.
Mr Purdham said: “The platform is an important step. It will bring in more investors, make it easier for businesses to be pitch-ready and give us the evidence of what this network can achieve with more support behind it. If you are a business with growth ambitions, or an investor who wants to back local talent, please get in touch with the Enterprise Cheshire and Warrington Growth Hub. We want more of both.”
Businesses and investors can find out more information on the Enterprise Cheshire and Warrington Growth Hub website: https://cheshireandwarrington.com/growth-and-skills/growth-hub/.
