Angels Invest Wales strengthens co-investment offering, with £3m boost to co-fund
Angels Invest Wales will continue to support Welsh businesses and investors with targeted co-investment, as the Welsh government announces it has increased the Wales Angel Co-Investment Fund by £3m.
The £8m Wales Angel Co-Investment Fund was launched in June 2018, and has since provided match funding for 60 rounds of investment across 48 different businesses, leveraging £10m from 520 investments. Angels Invest Wales now has more than 200 investors on its platform.
By encouraging investment by business angels, the co-fund allows syndicates to bring their expertise to fast-growing businesses along with their capital, providing opportunities for mentoring, guidance and growth. It has also allowed investors to drive innovation in key sectors and groups, including innovative green technologies, medtech and fintech.
Angels Invest Wales has also helped to widen access to Angel investment and attract new investors – including via Women Angels of Wales, which was founded with the support of the British Business Bank. The syndicate now has more than 50 members.
Deeside-based Polytag secured the backing of a syndicate of 15 female investors from Women Angels of Wales (WAW) in May 2024 with a combined investment of £100,000 that was match-funded with a further £100,000 from the Wales Angel Co-investment Fund. Rachel Ashley was the lead investor
Led by CEO Alice Rackley, Polytag uses data-driven technology to help retailers and manufacturers in the food and drinks industry to track the recycling of packaging. The business is playing a key role in the Welsh Government’s planned deposit return scheme by helping to track and return containers, and its technology is already being sought by operators in Europe, India and the United States.
Polytag recently won the Best Woman-Led Investment in Innovation category at the UK Business Angels Association (UKBAA) Awards. The Award recognises Alice as an entrepreneur and the role taken by Rachel Ashley as the lead woman investor in backing Polytag as a highly innovative growth-focused business and who has brought not only risk capital, but significant added value to support the further growth and scale of the business.
The additional £3m for the Wales Angel Co-Investment Fund will now allow Angels Invest Wales to continue supporting Welsh businesses and investors, while backing targeted impact investment in increasingly important sectors.
Cabinet secretary for economy, energy and planning, Rebecca Evans, said: “The Wales Angel Co-Investment Fund has been a valuable addition to our business support system in Wales.
“We have added a further £3m to the fund to ensure even more entrepreneurial talent across Wales can access the finance they need to enable them to start-up, strengthen and grow.”
Alice Rackley, CEO at Polytag, said: “The support we’ve had from Angels Invest Wales and the Wales Angel Co-Investment Fund was of real benefit when combined with the investment and insight we had from Women Angels of Wales. That allowed us to work on a successful blueprint for digitally tracking packaging and waste, which we’ve taken to other markets.
“Wales is a world-leader in recycling, and Angels Invest Wales has helped us to take the solutions and best practices we provide to brands and companies worldwide.”
Tom Preene, fund manager for Angels Invest Wales, said: “We’re pleased that the Welsh Government has announced the further £3m in support for the Wales Angel Co-Investment Fund, which will allow us to continue to grow the angel community in Wales, connecting entrepreneurs seeking finance and expertise with business angels and syndicates.
“We’re focused on diversifying the sources of deal flow opportunities available to businesses and engaging a wider investor base across all sectors in Wales Indeed, with more than 200 members, we’re now Wales’ biggest Angel network and we’re gaining real momentum having supported investment of £3.1m, and deployed £2m from the Wales Angel Co-Investment Fund in the last financial year.”