Women are doing it for themselves

Women outperform boys in examinations at school and are forecast to outnumber men by 2020 as UK millionaires. But, while 30% of all European start-ups are launched by women, just 3% of business angels are female.

Keen to buck this trend and get more women interested in becoming angel investors, Coutts & Co and Envestors LLP hosted an inspirational evening in London on Thursday 17 May to introduce women to this form of early-stage venture capital.

Entitled ‘Learning to Fly’, the event was attended by 60 high net worth women who, following an introduction by Janet Thirkettle of Coutts, listened to a talk from Bob Taylor a Partner at Envestors about ‘The opportunity for women to become business angels’ and a presentation by business angel Michael Anderson called ‘Top tips and mistakes from an experienced business angel’.

“There are plenty of inspirational female entrepreneurs around and their numbers are increasing worldwide all the time. In fact, a self-made woman recently topped the rich list in China – Zhang Yin of Nine Dragons Paper,” said Envestors partner Bob Taylor. “But, there are very few female business angels. The main goal of ‘Learning to Fly’ was to open up the world of angel investment to women and show them that they can enjoy the same excitement and potential financial gains that many men already do.”

Envestors offers a fresh approach to early-stage venture capital and runs a growing Private Investor Club for angel investors (male and female) seeking to invest between £20,000 and £2m in pre-screened early stage businesses, mostly with tax advantages under the Enterprise Investment Scheme (EIS).

Private bank Coutts works closely with many of the UK’s top high net worth women, many of whom have found success in professions or through their own entreprenurial activities.  As senior manager, Janet Thirkettle explained: “Our vast experience in working with successful business women allows us to fully understand the unique challenges that they face, as well as the differences in how they invest.

This event is part of the ongoing support we provide both male and female clients who are thinking about investing in start-up or early stage businesses, with a slant to encourage more women to get involved.”

A specially invited guest speaker was Karen Jones CBE, who founded, grew and floated Café Rouge and The Pelican Group, which she sold in July 1996. She then became CEO of Spirit Group, which was built up from various acquisitions and subsequently sold for £2.7 billion in January 2006. Since then, Karen has started another hospitality company in London, Food and Fuel, which currently consists of five gastro-pubs.

“Karen certainly gave our female guests plenty to think about,” said Bob Taylor. “Her experiences will hopefully inspire many women to take that final leap of faith – and consider angel investing.”

Keen to show women what sort of exciting investment opportunities are out there – guests were introduced to a company which is currently looking for some early-stage investment. Vitalize Health Products (www.vitalizehealth.com) is a skincare company run by men – but, as the team explained on the night, they are really keen to get women investors onboard.

The company is currently seeking to raise up to £750,000 to enhance marketing of its range of Beta-Glucan based supplements and cosmetics.

“Our products have been developed in conjunction with a German research company and Dr Paul Clayton, president of food and health at the Royal Medical Society,” said Barclay Lamont, CEO, Vitalize Health Products. “The supplements are acknowledged as being the leading receptor activated immuno-modulators available in Europe and the cosmetic range, Pro-Ferm, is recognised as one of the few cosmeceuticals capable of reversing the signs of ageing with efficacy confirmed by independent scientific tests.”

With established distribution in Space NK for the Pro-Ferm range and e-commerce and call centre fulfilment for Glucasan, Vitalize is looking to build a network of retailers in the UK and overseas and expand its product range.

“The ‘Learning to Fly’ event was a great success in showing women how enjoyable it can be to become a angel investor – thus bringing potential benefits to themselves and to the economy,” said Bob Taylor.

For further information please contact:

Jo Thorne, Regional PR Manager, Coutts & Co. Tel: 020 7957 2650, mob: 07766070859, or email: joanna.thorne@coutts.com

Notes to Editors

·Coutts is the international private banking arm of The Royal Bank of Scotland Group. The Royal Bank of Scotland Group is one of the world's largest banking groups.

·Coutts manages the wealth of 96,000 high net worth clients worldwide through a network of over 40 offices globally.

·The first Coutts regional office to be opened was Eton in 1961. Today, Coutts has regional offices in Birmingham, Bournemouth, Bristol, Cambridge, Cardiff, Eton, Guildford, Hampshire, Leeds, Liverpool, Manchester, Milton Keynes, Newcastle, Nottingham, Oxford and Tunbridge Wells.

·Coutts offers clients a range of products and services covering sophisticated investment products together with expertise in trust and fiduciary services and UK tax and banking services.

·Coutts & Co is authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority. Coutts & Co Registered in England No 36695Registered Office 440 Strand London WC2R 0QS.

·Calls may be recorded.

www.coutts.com