Surjit Kooner, Midven Director and Fund Manager of the Midlands Engine Investment Fund (MEIF), was one of the panellists at the British Business Bank summit on Tuesday 20th March at the Millennium Point in Birmingham.
The aim of the discussion was to further introduce attendees to Midven, share our track record and our vision of how Midven will fund high-growth businesses across the West Midlands with the £35m equity portion of the MEIF. Surj shared that Midven’s success is attributed to the firm’s ability to support and guide businesses throughout their growth process. Surj highlighted Midven’s ‘more than money’ approach, which ensures that alongside the investment, an experienced Director is assigned to each business, working alongside them all the way to provide them with the right resources and mentoring to achieve success.
One of the key points for entrepreneurs noted at the event was the importance of preparing for investment with an effective and realistic business plan, as well as having a strong management team. (For more detail on how preparing an effective pitch, see the investment readiness workshop blog from Midven Investment Director Gio Finocchio).
One successful case study shared on Surj’s panel was from former Midven portfolio company Your Vets based in Solihull. Midven’s total investment was £859,000 and the return on investment was 3.8 times at the company’s sale to a UK buyer.
Midven supported Your Vets throughout its growth through hands-on support including:
- Encouraged promotion of Operations Director to Managing Director in order to manage growth
- Introduced growth fund of a retail bank to help accelerate growth
- Led £500,000 investment round during a period significant underperformance
- Focused management on restoring profitability in existing sites before opening new sites.
Midven is now seeking to invest the £35m equity portion of the Midlands Engine Investment Fund into high-growth businesses across the West Midlands with the potential to gain high profitability. Midven currently has six funds under management — MEIF, Advantage Growth Fund, Early Advantage Growth Fund, Exceed Fund, UK Innovation & Science Seed Fund, and Stephenson LP Fund.