The South West Angel and Investor Network (SWAIN) connects private investors, or 'Business Angels', with companies looking for investment. SWAIN specialises in helping small and medium sized companies to find equity finance, and assists private investors in the South West to search for investment opportunities in businesses with growth potential.
SWAIN is an independent not-for-profit company which specifically addresses the shortage of risk capital available to small and medium sized companies. SWAIN is focussed on deal sizes ranging from £50,000 to £750,000, which are typically too small to be considered by the majority of venture capital institutions.
SWAIN is exempt from the provisions of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 and therefore acts as a facilitator and not as an investment advisor. All Investors are always strongly recommended to take professional advice before making any investment related decisions.
SWAIN's principle area of operation is in the South West of England with activities and completed deals extending to London and Liverpool.
Our introductions are made through three channels:-
By individual notification (email and telephone)
By the circularisation of Opportunity Outlines
By presentation at a quarterly Introduction Forum
In all cases, having made the initial introduction we leave entrepreneurs, investors and their respective advisors to negotiate terms.
SWAIN works with external advisors and entrepreneurs to guide companies through an Investment Readiness process to ensure that the opportunity is presented in an appropriate and attractive way. SWAIN works with external advisors and entrepreneurs to guide companies through an Investment Readiness process to ensure that the opportunity is presented in an appropriate and attractive way. Existing relationships with a number of partner organisations can provide funding support as companies prepare to be introduced.
The SWAIN Team
Philip Tellwright
Managing Director
Philip Tellwright offers an unrivalled and comprehensive understanding of finance raising (particularly risk capital) and of the financial challenges facing growing businesses as they seek to build value for their shareholders and stakeholders. Over the past thirty years Philip has held senior finance related positions with a variety of successful organisations based in the South West and has been instrumental in their success with activities ranging from Venture Capital (3i plc) through Corporate Finance (Hazlewoods Corporate Finance) to manufacturing (Inch’s Cider – successfully sold to Bulmers). Most recently Philip was instrumental in the creation of SWAIN and from this platform has since built the most successful regional Business Angel Network in the UK.
Although an accountant by profession, Philip’s main strength is his creative approach to developing and delivering value creating support to client businesses. At SWAIN he has inspired and built an evolving and creative team which has raised over a hundred rounds of investment for almost eighty entrepreneurs who have then gone on to raise total finance of approximately £65,000,000. Despite SWAIN’s growth and expansion, Philip continues to work personally with many SWAIN clients and continues to derive great satisfaction from closing a deal.
John Wakefield
Chairman
John is Head of Corporate Finance at WH Ireland Limited in Bristol. He has over twenty years’ experience of advising emerging and mid-cap quoted companies, including involvement in over 50 flotations on the Official List and AIM as well as numerous fund raisings, takeovers and corporate restructurings. He was for four years a member of the London Stock Exchange’s AIM Advisory Committee. John graduated in Law from Oxford University in 1976 and subsequently qualified as a solicitor with City Law firm, Cameron McKenna, before entering stockbroking in 1985 with Williams de Broë Plc. John was a founder director of Rowan Dartington, which was formed by a management buyout in 1992, wher he was Head of Corporate Finance until its acquisition in 2006 by Blue Oar Plc.
Steve Dilley
SWAIN Associate
Steve is a Chartered Accountant and was a Director with Solomon Hare Corporate Finance and Smith & Williamson Corporate Finance in Bristol for over 15 years.
He has been advising SME's on raising finance for business and has advised on over thirty completed MBO deals, innumerable business plan, and venture capital and development finance for businesses in the South West in a wide range of industries. Steve also had spells in industry working in companies involved in engineering, equipment rental and biotechnology.
Steve assists entrepreneurs to develop both their projections and their proposal to investors and is qualified to assist in collating information in preparation for the due diligence process.
Kevin Wood
SWAIN Associate
Kevin has gained a wealth of experience during a long and successful career in marketing, sales and sales management positions with organisations such as ICL, Digital Equipment Corporation and Sun Microsystems. Kevin has used that knowledge to inform his work in a sales development and consultancy role, bringing his passion for effective planning and quality delivery to bear on the sales development he provides for clients. Clients include; Cisco, Vodaphone, Dimensions Data, EMC, BBC and ITN.
Kevin has significant experience in IT, media and telecommunications and small and early-stage businesses. His areas of expertise include: management and execution of change; definition and introduction of effective and efficient sales process; planning and organising; people development and development of compelling “value propositions”.
Kevin evaluates any technology businesses approaching SWAIN – utilising his knowledge to spot those with high potential.
Roger Wilkins
SWAIN Associate
Roger is an Accredited Business Adviser and has been a Director of a number of IT companies mainly in the South West and South Wales serving as either Technical Director or Consultancy Director for Sanderson Cotswold, Civica and Talgentra. Roger also served as a founding shareholder and Director for a High Growth start-up operating in the Finance sector, Credit Services Europe Limited, for which he helped raise in excess of £1million of start-up capital including a mix of grant and Angel funding through private individuals and an Angel Network.
Roger has significant experience in the IT requirements of large corporate businesses, having been involved with companies such as Singapore Telecom, RHM and Allied Bakeries. Having founded or being involved in the founding of several new businesses he is equally at home in the SME sector. His areas of expertise include management and implementation of new systems, including managing the impact on staff; the design, mapping and introduction of effective and efficient delivery processes; and people development.
Roger, together with Sue Marchant, formed Cool Ventures to deliver support to new and established businesses in the South West, with the focus being on entrepreneurial growth businesses, especially those with high growth aspirations.
Sue Marchant
SWAIN Associate
Qualified as a Chartered Management Accountant in 1999, Sue has held a number of senior financial management positions within commercial organisations such as Safeway and the RAC where she gained significant experience of management accounting, business & financial planning and investment appraisal. As Financial lead on a BP/Safeway joint venture, Sue was instrumental in growing the organisation from start-up to £350 million in 3 years.
Sue has financial and commercial management experience across a number of industries. She has also worked with hundreds of SMEs spanning many different sectors and industries.
Sue is passionate about helping businesses overcome their fear of numbers and helps translate the company vision into meaningful financial projections and developing KPIs to measure progress towards these forecasts.
Sue is an experienced Non-Executive Director and until the recent changes in the NHS structure was Vice-Chair of NHS South Gloucestershire Board.
Sue, together with Roger Wilkins, formed Cool Ventures to deliver support to new and established businesses in the South West, with the focus being on entrepreneurial growth businesses, especially those with high growth aspirations.