Sealey resigns as Aquarius Capital chairman

THE chairman and co-founder of Manchester-based venture capital company Aquarius Equity Partners has stepped down from the business.

Mr Sealey set up Aquarius seven years ago after a previous venture in which he was involved, Skelmersdale-based AM Paper, sold for £200m.

He has said that although “my commitment to Aquarius Equity Partners is a strong as ever”, he was standing down as chairman to concentrate on other business interests and on charity work for the Prince’s Trust.

Aquarius has made a series of investments in biomedicial and technology firms including Tissue Regenix, Nanoco and Conformetrix.

Mr Sealey will also now help his son, Jonathan, with his new venture providing bridging finance worth up to £500,000 on properties.

The company, known as Hope Capital, just completed its first deal last month.

Jonathan Sealey said: “It has been a great start to 2012.

“As a national lender on various types of property, the completed deal involved a taking a first charge on a semi-commercial property located in the Humberside region, and although I can’t disclose the loan amount, I can say that it was within the mid-range of our maximum lending figure.

“This is just the beginning in terms of case completions with Hope Capital. Our pipeline of active deals is going from strength to strength and we still have immediate funds available.”