UK Angels Business Angels Association Announces 2016 Awards Shortlist
Now in its eleventh year, the Awards celebrate the UK’s fastest growing brands and the vital role played by the business angels and early stage investors, supporting them with not only valuable risk capital, but with access to business expertise, markets and customers, with a view to growing the global successes of the future.
Jenny Tooth OBE, CEO of UK Business Angels Association said: “2016 has really pushed the boundaries for the Annual Angel Investment Awards. This year’s shortlist highlights over 80 high growth companies backed by over 1,000 angel investors who have identified the opportunity to invest in these innovating entrepreneurs. We have been delighted to see that these investors include some of the UK’s leading names from industry, finance and commerce”
The Awards recognise not only angel investment, but the importance of other finance sources. This includes 30 early stage VCs and 7 equity crowdfunding platforms , as well as loans and grants that combine with angel investment to support the pathway from startup to scale-up. The 25-strong judging panel for theses Awards represent a cross-section of leading UK experts. This includes Simon Devonshire OBE, Entrepreneur-in-Residence for the UK Government “In a world of turbulence it is so exciting to see that the innovation and investment ecosystem is in such excellent health” Simon commented, ” It is the quality of the applications that makes judging the UKBAA awards such an honour. With some amazing young businesses achieving great traction on the back of the support they have received from the UKBAA’s national network of Angels”.
Serial founder and investor Brett Akker, also one of the judges also commented: ‘I was extremely impressed by the calibre of entries this year and it made the judges’ jobs extremely difficult. There are so many exciting fast-growth businesses who have succeeded in raising significant money from a variety of sources. The shortlisted entries really are a testament to the strength of the start-up scene in the UK today’
This year’s 14 categories have been backed by some of the top players in the market including Cisco, KPMG, BGF, Lloyds, Barclays and reflecting a wide range of sectors and investing models across the Angel ecosystem.
Previous winners of the UKBAA Awards include a list of companies that have gone on to achieve considerable success, including Zoopla, Brandwatch, Lovespace, Move Guides, Sky Futures and Gousto.
Timo Schmidt CEO & CoFounder of Gousto – who won the Best Angel-VC backed business 2015 – explained: “We were delighted to be recognized through this award. We built the best customer proposition in the UK. No one else lets customers discover amazing recipes from such an exciting menu and delivers so conveniently. Our investors are an important part of team Gousto, and we could not have done it without them”.
It’s also an opportunity to put the spotlight on some great women founders and the investors who have backed them at a time when more women than ever are creating disruptive businesses and addressing vital challenges:
“Being a female led business in the world of finance is a rarity and not without its challenges, but hopefully winning this award will encourage more women to come forward and create businesses which not only bring financial success but also change the world for the better too” says CEO of Abundance Award winner 2015, backed by Angel Academe
Kiki Loizou, Small Business Editor of the Sunday Times will once again be announcing the winners of the Angel Investment Awards 2016 on the 5th July. Over 350 thought-leaders in angel and early stage investment will gather together at the iconic Royal Exchange in the City of London, for the stunning Gala Awards Dinner event, where you can join in, network, and celebrate with this year’s leading innovators and investors.
Book your place and be part of the celebration at Annual UK Angel Investment Awards Dinner 2016 at ukbaa-awards.uk
