Introduction to SWAIN

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 supported by the South West Regional Development Agency (SWRDA) and the South West Business Links which specifically addresses the shortage of risk capital available to small and medium sized companies which has become known as the 'equity gap'. SWAIN is focussed on deal sizes ranging from £25,000 to £750,000 and this concentrates our energy on opportunities, which are 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 operates throughout the South West region incorporating the counties of Wiltshire, Gloucestershire, former-Avon, Somerset, Dorset, Devon and Cornwall.

Our introductions are made in a variety of ways:

	Our core process combines circulating a Summary to all of our active potential investors as well as listing the Summary as an Opportunity on our website (for an initial period of three months).
	In addition to the above, some businesses may be offered the opportunity to present at a Forum. We run a series of Local forums at which up to six companies give short presentations about their business to potential Business Angels.
	We also regularly update our website for new opportunities to all those Angels on our Network.
	We provide details of any progress past and present SWAIN companies have made, including "Good News Stories" via our newsletter "Deal Zone".
	We charge modest membership fees to both our Investors and Companies and success fees when investments are made.  Details of our fees can be found in FAQs.

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 their companies through an Investment Readiness process to ensure that the opportunity is presented in an appropriate and attractive way. Prior to Local Forums those companies selected to present will often have an opportunity to test their business proposals with a panel of professionals. Typically the panel would include a corporate financier, lawyer, marketeer, banker and/or a venture capitalist.

 The SWAIN Team

Philip Tellwright

Managing Director

Philip Tellwright brings to SWAIN a comprehensive understanding of investment into the small and medium sized firms market. For the past twenty years he has worked in four varied senior financial roles throughout the South West Region and has a proven track as a professional investor, Corporate Finance advisor and, in industry, as a Finance Director.

As an Investment Controller with 3i where he completed over twenty investments, he spent seven years investing in small and medium sized businesses. He was also responsible for the management of a large portfolio of varied Investments across the South West region.

In 1987 he moved to Hazlewoods, a substantial Gloucestershire based accountancy practice to co-ordinate their Corporate Finance activities. As the Director responsible for the Corporate Development arm he advised on numerous finance raising assignments, and was also successful in merger and acquisition activities as well as providing business planning advice.

In 1991 he moved to Devon based Inch's Cider Limited as Finance Director having previously advised the buy-in team on the acquisition of the company, and became an integral part of the team that successfully managed one of the fastest growing businesses in the Region through its most turbulent phase of expansion. Following Inch's (which was sold to H P Bulmer) Philip returned to Bristol to take up a second Finance Director role in a manufacturing environment at Brissco Equipment Limited.

Following Brissco's, Philip joined Business West as leading Business Finance Adviser, during which time he advised on numerous finance raising assignments, including a considerable number of Business Angel investments.

Based just outside Bristol, Philip is well placed to cover the northern three counties of the region.

John Wakefield

Network 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, where he was Head of Corporate Finance until its acquisition in 2006 by Blue Oar Plc.

Bruce Colley

Investment Director (Southern Area)

Bruce Colley has senior management experience in a wide range of organisations covering both the private and the public sector, in defence, the NHS and e-Commerce. With a computing based PhD Bruce also brings to the team a greater depth of understanding of the ICT sector and of knowledge-based businesses.

Bruce has direct experience of the pressures and demands faced by small businesses, having been Technical Director of an award winning marine software company and more recently Managing Director of a successful e-commerce business. He has underpinned his business experience with an MBA and has worked with a number of small to medium sized businesses on a consultancy basis.

Based just outside Newton Abbot, Devon he is well placed to cover the southern four counties of the region.