VC firm launches new offices
Sure Valley Ventures is the latest VC firm to look to the north as a land of opportunity, setting up not one but two operations focused on both sides of the Pennines, hiring Mel Ellyard and George Mensah as principals based in Leeds and Manchester respectively.
TheBusinessDesk.com caught up Ellyard ahead of the firm’s launch event in Leeds this evening to talk about the opportunities the firm sees in the regions.
“George and I have been brought on board as part of a commitment from Sure Valley to expand the reach of its latest £95m fund to hit the whole of the UK and in particular the North.
“We work in some really exciting core sectors such as immersive technologies from VR, AR and XR as well as infrastructure that underpins those sectors – and we’ve got a big cluster of this across Leeds City Region, whether it’s the like of XR Games in Leeds or Production Park in Wakefield. We’re also looking at the Metaverse – which for me is one of the most exciting spaces, which is just a fascinating piece to be exploring with businesses.
“We’re also looking at e-sports, AI and the Internet of Things the latter two of which touch on so much of what Sure Valley is interested in but also on what the region is doing.”
Ellyard, who has significant experience working across the Northern ecosystems in Yorkshire, the Humber, Tees Valley, the North East and Manchester was previously at the British Business Bank as well as being COO of a start up biotech business, says that she’s really excited that those sectors which Sure Valley is focused on are also those which are starting to shine brightly for Yorkshire.
“It feels like for Leeds and the region so many things are coming together. It’s fantastic that for the region the public sector and city and regional strategists at Leeds City Council and the West Yorkshire Combined Authority are starting to forward plan on the opportunities sectors such as AI bring, with the region recently announcing it had joined the AI Alliance.”
She added that simply being involved in these sort of projects is crucial as “we need to encourage our companies to have that extra level of ambition as we can clearly compete on an international level and I’m seeing that from the businesses I’m talking to.”
Ellyard adds that what attracted her to Sure Valley was the chance to be part of an entrepreneurial fund that really understands the technology, she explains that there are people within the team who can really “get under the hood of a business to understand why it is disruptive and then how we can support them through our value-add platform and broad international network in addition to funding.”
To date Sure Valley has announced one investment from this current fund, into Belfast based RETìníZE, but Ellyard is confident that another will follow from the North soon with c.40% of current deals advancing through the pipeline currently from the North of England.
“The thing about Sure Valley is we have a risk appetite which is different from others. In fact I like to think we’re one of the missing pieces of the jigsaw puzzle – providing focused seed capital for start ups in the region.”
The big thing for Ellyard however is that although the new Sure Valley Fund is UK wide she wants to see Northern and obviously Yorkshire entrepreneurs and businesses making sure they are part of the conversation and in the fray.
Looking ahead to the future Ellyard is confident that Sure Valley will play a key role in further developing the technology and digital sector ecosystem which is said to be fuelling growth across Yorkshire.
Asked if that means the team will increase in size and there’ll be a Sure Valley office in the city centre she smiles.
“It’s got to grow, we’re new on patch and both myself and George in Manchester are spending time on finding the businesses to support but as they go through the system we naturally need more people to be able to ensure we can continue to bring those deals through the system. In terms of an office the question mark for us is really where is the best place in the city to be based. We’re looking at that and working out where will be best for us but at the moment I’m enjoying the freedom of working from the spaces in the city that are hotbeds of innovation, close to the founders, where the deals could potentially originate. I want to engage with tech communities at hubs like Platform, Avenue HQ, Barclays Eagle Labs, Leeds Dock and Nexus.”
She added it was this approach to getting around the spaces that she considered was crucial in ensuring Sure Valley was not just considered a new addition to the city but actually became “entrenched in the wider ecosystem”.
As the conversation comes to a close it’s clear that Sure Valley and Ellyard certainly have ambitions for Yorkshire and perhaps their war cry needs to be “come and have a conversation if you think you’re innovative enough”! But ultimately it’s a testament to the growing success which is coming from the region within the technology sector which is meaning VC firms like Sure Valley are willing to put not just their money but their boots on the ground in the region!
