Industry & Business

HBAN (Halo Business Angel Network), the all-island group responsible for the promotion of business angel investment in Ireland, plans to increase the amount invested in Irish start-ups by HBAN angels to €25 million per year by 2020. This will see HBAN increasing angel investment by 17% per year for the next four years.

A key focus will be the ICT, medtech and health sectors which are attractive sectors for angel investment. Combined, these sectors attracted over €8.7 million, out of a total €13.6 million, in angel funding invested in 2016. The ICT sector saw 26 investments made which accounted for the majority (52%) of investments, with just under €4.5 million invested by HBAN angels. The average angel investment was €172,000 per ICT deal.

The medtech sector secured over €4.1 million angel investment last year, in seven deals, with the average investment – €585,000 per deal – being more than three times the average ICT deal size. This shows that angel investors are willing to pay a premium in the medtech space.

HBAN is actively recruiting business angels and aims to double the numbers of active Irish angels in the next four years. There are now six syndicates operating in Ireland and four recently established international investment groups. New angels now have a wide choice of syndicate options, or they can opt to join HBAN’s Investor Forum which is for individual angels. The syndicates provide angels with the option of investing in start-ups with other angels from the syndicate, or with groups of angels from other syndicates in co-syndication deals.

Celebrating its 10th birthday this year, HBAN angels have invested over €80 million in Irish start-ups. These investments have leveraged a further €124 million from other public and private funds, bringing the total invested to €204 million. Since inception, HBAN angels have completed 395 investments.

Among the 395 deals in the last decade, some of the success stories include Wicklow Wolf, AventaMed, Signum Surgical, Full Health Medical, Rubicoin, GloFox,  i-Cabbi and Corlytics.

There have been a number of angels who have benefitted from lucrative sales across a range of sectors in the previous decade. Some noteworthy exits include Mark Little’s Storyful, music analytics firm, Soundwave that was acquired by Spotify, biopharmaceutical company, Nexvet that was bought by Zoetis for $85m and community specialist healthcare provider, Point of Care that was bought by Uniphar.

John Phelan, National Director, HBAN, said: “Comparing the last two years, investment in Irish start-ups through HBAN is up 25% year-on-year. We’re delighted with the steady growth and want to continue this to reach €25 million HBAN angel investment per year by 2020. To help us achieve this target, we’re very focused on recruiting new angels and developing our regional syndicates. In particular, the HBAN offices in Galway, Cork and Waterford are very active in attracting new investors by inviting them to monthly forums and pitching events.

“In terms of return on investment, HBAN is providing excellent value. Over twenty times the cost of the programme is invested by angels in Irish companies through the network, and when other public and private funds are included, that jumps to 50 times the cost of the programme.”

The HBAN service includes identifying high potential start-ups and then vetting, preparing and confirming these companies as investor-ready. These start-ups go on to present to potential investors at different HBAN-organised investor forums and syndicate meetings.

CAPTION:

Pictured announcing plans to increase the amount invested in Irish start-ups by HBAN angels to €25 million per year by 2020 are (L-R): Julian Seymour, syndicates manager, HBAN; Sarah Cagney, communications & relationship manager, HBAN; and John Phelan, national director, HBAN. Photo credit: Mark Stedman.