Healthcare firms to seek £80m in funding
MORE than £80m of funding is being sought by Yorkshire healthcare technology SMEs to aid growth and development of new products and services.
Around 40 firms are currently being supported in their pursuit of capital by the Access to Finance for Healthcare Technology Companies programme, which was created to help companies explore opportunities for funding through early stage investors, business angels and venture capitalists.
Capital is being sought to meet a variety of business objectives with around 34 medical device companies looking to expand their services or launch new products including diagnostic tools and online technologies.
One such company is Tomorrow Options – a Portuguese firm, which opened an office in Sheffield earlier this year to penetrate the UK market.
The company is looking for £500,000 to accelerate commercialisation of its product WalkinSense, an electronic tool to detect the early symptoms of foot ulcers and provide quantitative and qualitative information that supports medical decisions to avoid lower limb amputation.
Tomorrow Options has completed the Market and Technology Assessment (MTA) stage of the programme and will be taking part in a four day workshop at the end of the summer to help prepare the team to present to potential investors.
For investors, the Access to Finance programme will provide a pipeline of attractive prospective investments between £50,000 and £5m.
Phil Whaley of Grant Thornton, programme manager, said: “While the venture capital market has a reduced appetite for early stage risk, healthcare technology propositions are increasingly favoured over alternative sectors.
“Healthcare remains an attractive investment opportunity, even in the face of recession, due to both the continuing need to treat patients and increasing social obligations.”
Alex Stevenson, director of Aquarius Equity Partners, said it was fair to say that money was “still scarce” for early stage investments so it was crucial for those seeking funding to equip themselves with as much knowledge as possible.
“Investee companies need to communicate the messages that investors want to hear and must demonstrate the potential to make a good return on the deal. The Access to Finance programme provides a valuable insight into the investment community and an understanding of what investors are looking for,” he added.
