Production Park hosts Innovate UK Local

 

Jane Lambert

Production Park which hosted yesterday's Innovate Local West Yorkshire was a very different venue from the Great Victoria Hotel in Bradford or Dean Clough Mills in Halifax where previous Innovate UK Local events had been held.  Production Park describes itself as "a curated community of studios, technology and talent," It claims to have "helped the world’s biggest artists, brands, companies and channels produce world tours, shows, product launches, films and more." It is also an educational institution offering courses leading to first and postgraduate degrees in subjects relating to Production Park's activities,

As it is located on an industrial estate in South Kirkby, Production Park is not easy to find. Google Maps led me through residential streets and country lanes before delivering me to my destination. By the time I arrived, every space in the car park had been taken, so I parked in the widest and quietest part of the street, several hundred yards from the entrance.   

However, the moment I entered the room where the plenary sessions were taking place I could see why that venue had been chosen.   The room was cavernous.   It seemed as big as an aircraft hangar.  Tables lining the walls were occupied by exhibitors and caterers.  Several flights of stairs led to the ceiling,   An enormous screen projected images of the speakers who were seated on a dais overlooking the audience. Two years ago I attended the opening of Aria Studios just outside Llangefni (see Jane Lambert Aria Studios - its Importance to Northwest Wales 29 Jan 2023 NIPC Wales). Production Park was on a completely different scale.

The day began with a welcome from Megan Kearns, Knowledge Transfer Manager - Place (Local Partnerships), Jim Farnery, Director of External Affairs at Production Park, Sarah Bowes, Head of Business Innovation and Inclusive Economy at West Yorkshire Combined Authority and Lee Viney, Regional Manager at Innovate UK (Yorkshire & Humber and the North East).  They were followed by representatives of business support agencies in a session called "The Power of the Ecosystem in West Yorkshire."

In a Q&A session, my former MP, Jason McCartney, observed that the increase in defence spending announced by the Prime Minister was a business opportunity. He set up a company earlier this year that trades as Innovate Yorkshire,  According to its LinkedIn page, "Innovate Yorkshire is dedicated to helping businesses, charities, and organisations across Yorkshire and the North of England navigate complex challenges and unlock new opportunities."  He said that local companies were already winning defence business.

The last plenary session before lunch was called "My Business Innovation Journey,"  A panel of local business owners who had been assisted by Innovate UK were interviewed by a moderator about their dealings with Innovate UK.  They also took questions from the floor,   The industries represented ranged from medical devices to digital marketing. 

Our buffet lunch was tasty,   I chose couscous, prawns, salmon, mackerel strips, vegetables and onion bhajis.  I shared a table with Thierry Delange, Business Development Director of RTC North.  In Rise & Design in Marshall Mills on 28 Feb 2024, I noted that RTC North describes itself as "one of Europe’s leading technology transfer companies with a trusted reputation for delivering services in innovation and business growth."   During the lunch break, I visited the stands of ClimbUK, Leeds University Nexus, Leeds Beckett University's Knowledge Exchange, Trio and Innovate UK.  I was particularly interested to learn about Innovate UK's "No Limits" programme.

After lunch, we were offered the choice of three breakout sessions between 14:00 and 14:45:

• Driving Your Business Forwards: Innovate UK Business Growth;
• Financing Your Business Innovation Journey; and 
• No Limits To Innovation: Breaking Barriers and Building Futures.

I chose "Financing Your Business Innovation Journey" which turned out to be yet another panel discussion.

 

One of the speakers was Hana Hussein, Investment Director of Big Issue Invest, which is part of the Big Issue Group,  The Group exists to lift the most unfortunate members of the community out of poverty.  Big Issue Invest supports social enterprises, social-purpose businesses and charities that create core solutions to poverty.  

Another panel member represented Leeds Angels which was formed towards the end of 2024. While chatting to her after the session I learned that she was a patent attorney and that Leeds Angels had already held several dinners and pitching sessions.  We spoke about pitching and I mentioned my Tips for Pitching to Business Angels which I posted to NIPC Wales on 26 Feb 2025.

I asked about the advice and assistance that was available to companies that had made good use of private equity investment and were looking to expand still further through flotation.  I had previously raised that issue at Innovate UK's Regional Investment Spotlight in Liverpool on 26 June 2024 and at the Northern Powerhouse Roadshow at the Royal Armouries in October.  As in Liverpool and Leeds last year I was told that I had asked a good question but I did not get any good any good answers.  I believe that this is a vulnerability in our business support system which hurts our economy.  In my very modest way, I proposed a solution in From Startups to Scaleups in NIPC Wales on 19 Oct 2021.

The choice for the last breakout session between 15:00 and 15:45 was:

• Creative Innovation Powering West Yorkshire; 
• Empowering Innovation: Meet the Associates; and 
• Powering HealthTech Innovation: Unlocking West Yorkshire’s Ecosystem.

Having attended Huddersfield Health Innovation Partnership's first conference in September 2024 I chose the latter.

Instead of a panel discussion, the session convenor asked the contributors to the session who included John Cooper, Innovation Relationship Manager at West Yorkshire Combined Authority, Richard Hall of pd-m International, Lindsay Georgopoulos of Medipex and the representatives of Leeds University Nexus and Leeds Angels whom I had mentioned earlier to position themselves around the meeting room.  Attendees were encouraged to buttonhole the contributors and mark each meeting with a cross on a feedback form.  The whole session was called healthcare bingo.  It worked a lot better than it sounds.  I found myself in several meaningful conversations where I made or reinforced a connection or learned something new.

Production Park has its own fully licensed pub on its premises,  ClimbUK extended the networking until 17:00 by hosting a free bar for attendees.  As in Innovate UK Local's previous events in Bradford and Halifax, this gathering was well worth attending.  It would have been even better had the names and contact details of the speakers appeared on the Agenda.  A list of attendees would also have been useful.  Anyone wishing to discuss this article can call me on 020 7404 5252 during UK office hours or send me a message through my contact page at any time.

Innovate Local visits Halifax

Dean Clough Mills

Author Charlesdrakew  Source Wikimedia Cinnions

 

Jane Lambert

United Kingdom Research and Innovation ("UKRI") was established by s,91 (1) of the Higher Education and Research Act 2017. It consists of 9 bodies one of which is Innovate UK. Innovate UK is the national innovation agency.  It helps businesses grow through the development and commercialisation of new products, processes, and services,

Innovate Local promotes UKRI and Innovate UK to the regions. On 14 Nov 2023, it held an event for West Yorkshire businesses at Dean Clough Mills in Halifax,  The day began with introductions from UKRI and Innovate UK executives, Tracy Brabin, the Mayor of West Yorkshire, and other local authority leaders.  It was followed by success stories from business owners.

A buffet lunch was served between 12:00 and 13:00 which offered a chance to visit the stands of local universities and agencies.  The University of Huddersfield stand was staffed by Prof. John Allport who teaches Turbocharger Engineering in the Department of Engineering and Technology.  Prof Allport and I had an interesting discussion on why relatively few women make careers in engineering.  In his view, too many girls (but not boys) are encouraged to believe at an early age that maths and science are not really for them.  Other countries do not seem to have that problem to anything like the same extent.   That accorded with my experience.  It may have a lot to do with very early specialization in England and Wales.

After lunch there was a choice of breakout sessions between 13:00 and 14:00:

• "Inclusive Innovation - by and for everyone"
• "Healthcare Innovation: funding and cluster opportunities" and 
• "Supporting your Business Innovation Journey."

I chose "Healthcare Innovation! in the hope of hearing about such initiatives as Bradford University's Institute of Pharmaceutical innovation. There was plenty of information about the biomedical catalyst and support for SMEs in the healthcare technology sector.  There was an interesting case history from one of those companies.  There was some discussion about medical devices but nothing on pharma as such. However, I did learn that the West Yorkshore Combined Authority had an interest in health tech.  Through exploring its web pages on health tech I discovered a five year Healthtech Strategy for the region.

Between 14:00 and 15:00 the choice lay between:

• "West Yorkshire Manufacturing Cluster"
• "Women in Digital Innovation Network" and 
• "Financing your Business Innovation Journey."

I attended the financing session and found it was the most interesting of the day.   There was a panel of angels and venture capitalists chaired by Basit Mohammed, Knowledge Transfer Manager ‑ Regional Investments Innovate UK KTN.  There was one entrepreneur who had actually started a business and it was interesting to see the tangible support that was actually available.   As most of the seats had been taken by the time I arrived I found myself an excellent heckling position at the back of the room.  I asked about valuation of start-ups when their only assets were a patent application at best.  I was looking to the private equity investors and I did not really get a clear answer about any of that.   I also asked the VCs about flotations on the Alternative Investment Market  for successful scale-ups.   I got the impression that it was still early days.

This is trhe second Innovate Local event that I have attended,   I was at a similar event in Bradford last year (see Innovate Local West Yorkshire 22 Oct 2022).   It is very important for intellectual property lawyers - particularly barristers - to attend events like these. It enables us to keep tabs on what is happening to businesses that may require legal advice and representation.   Anyone who wants to discuss this article may call me on 020 7404 5252 during UK office hours or send me a message through my contact form.

Tech North Angel Network

Blake's Angel of the Revelation

Source Wikipedia

Jane Lambert

A business angel is a wealthy individual who has often acquired wealth through running and sometimes selling his or her own business and invests in a new or growing company. Usually, the connections and experience that an angel brings to the business in which he or she invests are at least as valuable as his or her investment.  They can make all the difference between success and failure for that business.

They are therefore very useful people to know but they are not always easy to reach. Although many angels follow emerging technologies and keep in close touch with entrepreneurs and inventors, they cannot know everything that goes on in an industry.  To facilitate contact between angels willing to invest and entrepreneurs seeking investment, networks are formed.

Tech North, "a government-backed initiative charged with accelerating the growth of the digital business sector in the North of England," has just announced the launch of new angel network for the North of England (see James Bedford Introducing the Tech North Angel Network 30 Aug 2017 Tech North website).

According to Bedford:

"The aim is to build a strong, open network of tech investors that is easy to access and open to pan-Northern collaboration. We are working with a variety of partners on this, including UKBAA, GP Bullhound, Angel Academe, Dow Schofield Watts, All Bright and others."

Bedford stresses that "the ‘open’ aspect is important."  He explains:

"Private angel networks have their place, but it can be very hard for startups to access them. That’s if they know about them at all. Great deals could be left on the table because the right entrepreneurs never meet the right angels."

The network begins with a series of workshops for new investors the first of which take place in Manchester and Wilmslow on 7 and 13 Sept 2017. There will be workshops in Leeds for new investors on 2 Oct 2017 and more experienced ones on 18 Oct 2017. Other events will be announced later.

It is very important that investors should understand intellectual property strategy when contemplating an investment and that they should understand whether a business's technology or other intellectual assets are properly protected and adequately leveraged.  As a starter, I suggest they read my IP Primer for Business Angels and Private Equity Investors 29 Aug 2016 NIPC News. No business is too small to have an IP strategy and if a company does not have one I would be slow to invest in it.

If there is sufficient interest in IP strategy with Techn North or its partners I shall run a workshop on IP strategy for business angels and entrepreneurs in Manchester, Liverpool or both.

Should anyone wish to discuss this article, IP strategy or IP and angel or private equity investment, call me on 020 7404 5252 or send me a message through my contact form.

"SpeedFunding", Lean Startups and Teaching Children about Invention

On 29 March 2012 I wrote that my friend Amanda Lennon had been appointed to run Angels Den in Yorkshire and the Humber. On 14 May 2012 I was delighted to introduce Amanda to the Sheffield Inventors Group to speak on "Raising Business Growth Investment- alternatives to bank finance".  She attracted a good audience and held their attention for the best part of two hours.

After outlining the types of funding available and how to raise it, Amanda focused on equity funding in general and angel investment in particular.   She told us who angels were and what they did.   She discussed angel networks such as Angels' Den and their relationships with angels and entrepreneurs before introducing us to her company.

Angels Den differs from other angel networks in that it pioneered a process called "SpeedFunding"(TM).   According .to its website the concept is rather like speed dating. Entrepreneurs are given an opportunity to pitch their proposition individually to a number of angels for up to 3 minutes at a time.   The advantages of this process to the entrepreneur is that he or she gets an opportunity to refine his or her pitch and possibly his or her business model as well as meet a wider selection of potential investors than would otherwise be the case in the course of the session.   I imagine that it can also be very entertaining - at least for the angels.

When Amanda spoke about "SpeedFunding" (TM) I was immediately reminded of Eric Ries's concept of "the lean startup", a process that I mentioned in my Inventors Club blog (see "Lean Startup" 6 May 2012).   Could the 3 minute pitch be compared to the "minimal viable product" and the angels to "early adopters"? I asked myself.   If you want to learn more about "lean startup" there is a lean startup group in Manchester which meets regularly at the Manchester Business School and I know there was a meeting at Sheffield University last week to set up a similar group in Yorkshire.   If you contact me I would be glad to pass your name on to the organizer

Anyway, returning to Angels Den, the company appears to offer more conventional ways of raising equity funding, though those appear to be more expensive than "SpeedFunding" (TM) (see "How much do you charge" on the Angels' Den website).   The company charges £799 + VAT for the SpeedFunding (TM) package plus a 5% success fee when funding is raised.   Apparently, entrepreneurs get opportunities to choose the approach at "funding clinics" held from time to time and to develop their pitch at training sessions known as "pitch school" (see "10 steps to getting funded through Angels Den").

While I do not endorse any particular angel network and emphasize that angel funding is not for everyone I hope to arrange a forum where angels can meet some of the bright lads and lasses from the North's inventors' clubs and "FabLabs" in July as well as a Northern innovation academy in September.   I will invite Amanda or one of her colleagues to speak at both events.

Sheffield and the other great cities of Yorkshire indicate that this county once had an entrepreneurial culture which must have been very similar to that of Silicon Valley in the 1980s and perhaps the BRIC and CIVETS countries today.   Can this can do culture be revived?   The success of Silicon Roundabout and Tech City in London shows there is no reason why it cannot.   Many of those responsible for those new businesses in London were either born or educated in Yorkshire.   The well known inventor Trevor Baylis has suggested that pupils should be taught about innovation and enterprise at school.   Visiting the Sheffield Quaker meeting house yesterday I was delighted to see in the children's meeting (equivalent of Sunday school) a popup book on invention for young children.   It was attractive, entertaining and informative.   Leafing through the pages, I learned something new from it even though I am old enough to have been the kids' grandmother and have practised patent law for the last 35 years.   That sort of book could do more good in the long term than the loan scheme announced by the Prime Minister today (see "PM wants start-up loans scheme to help young" 28 May 2012 on the BBC website).

If anyone wants to discuss this article further, call me on 0113 320 3232 or click here.

Lennon to run Angels' Den in Yorkshire and the Humber

Yesterday I received an email from Amanda Lennon to say that she is now running Angels Den in Yorkshire and the Humber.

Amanda has recently returned to the UK from New Zealand where she worked for a number of enterprises in the public and private sectors. These included project management for the Rugby World Cup in Auckland, Commercial Manager of the Geospatial Research Centre and Incubator Manager of powerHouse, a university incubation service in Christchurch. I first met Amanda when she ran the University of Huddersfield "Business Mine" and later set up and ran the Bradford IP clinic for her at Velocity.

Angels Den is one of the biggest angel networks in the UK with branches throughout the nation and overseas. I have already written about the Qatar network in NIPC Gulf ("Angels' Den in Qatar" 26 Sept 2011) and they have expressed interest in participating a seminar for the FabLabs and similar organizations which I discussed with Haydn Insley of Manchester FabLab after his presentation to the Liverpool Inventors Club last month (see "Liverpool Inventors Club Re-launched" IP North West 29 Feb 2012).

Angels are equity investors who often can offer skills and experience as well as capital to promising start-ups and other small and medium enterprises. They fill the gap between fools, friends and family and private equity. For an introduction, see my article on "Business Angels" on the NIPC Inventors Club website and "On the Side of the Angels" on my chambers website on the 6 July 2011 and my article "What Business Angels and VCs need to know about IP" on 21 June 2011.

Amanda can be contacted by email at Amanda@angelsden.co.uk or by telephone on  07805 313904.

If anybody has any questions or comments about this post or angels funding generally, he or she can contact me through my contact form,, Facebook, Linkedin, Xing or twitter or call me on 0113 320 3232 .

Angel Networks in Yorkshire

An "angel" is a wealthy individual who invests in start-ups and early stage businesses. The term probably comes from the stage. It is an actors' reference to those who support new productions and, thus, thespian livelihoods, as in: "Oh, you are such an angel, darling." According to the Annual Report on the Business Angel Market in the United Kingdom: 2009/10 published in May 2011 there were about 4,544 members of angel networks in the UK in 2010. They fill a gap between friends, fools and family who tend to provide seed funding and private equity and venture capital investors.

Why People become Business Angels

Unlike theatrical angels who were attracted as much as anything by the smell of greasepaint and the thrill of attending a first night without any expectation of every seeing their money again, business angels expect a healthy return. According to Professor Robert Wiltbank who wrote "Siding with the Angels" , a research report published by NESTA (National Endowment for Science, Technology and the Arts) and the British Business Angel Association ("BBAA") in May 2009, British business angels are attracted by such tax schemes as the Enterprise Investment Scheme ("EIS") and the enterprise management incentives ("EMI"). Others relish the challenge of a second or subsequent career in a new business having made their pile in a previous one. Yet others who attribute their success to a mentor or investor in their own businesses say they wish to give others a start or put something back into society. Yet others have seen their fellows do well out of investing in a new company and decide that they could do likewise.

Angel Networks

In recent years some but by no means all angels have begun to flock into networks that prepare and present new investment opportunities to their members. Those networks do not usually make investments of their own or even advise angels on individual investments. The decision whether or not to invest is left to each individual investor. The networks screen and filter the proposals, offer some education and training in investment to their investing members and probably, most importantly, put investors in touch with each other so that they can compare experience. Some of those angel networks are national such as Advantage Business Angels and Beer and Partners. Others are local such as YABA (the Yorkshire Association of Business Angels) in Yorkshire and the Humber. Our chambers through the NIPC Inventors Club is compiling a list of business angels broken down by region and function.

Approaching Business Angels

There are several ways of approaching business angels but the way that I would recommend is through at least one of the networks. It is in your interest as well as the networks and their members to read everything that appears on the website before picking up the phone or filling out the contact form. Most carry information that is very useful to entrepreneurs. I would commend in particular YABA's business plan template. Another way is to seek an introduction through an intermediary. I have been known to do that though I usually refer clients to an accountant, solicitor or other professional first. yet another way is through a network that enjoys good links with angels such as Connect Yorkshire, Bmedia, the Leeds or Sheffield inventors clubs or Gumption Networking. Angel News circulates proposals to subscribers and I have even seen a postcard bulletin board at the Said Business School during the Oxford Venturefest.

What happens next

If a network is prepared to present your scheme to its members the next stage they may offer help in refining your business plan and preparing your pitch. If they think you need professional help they may introduce you to one of their associated law firms, patent agencies, product development consultants or accountancy practices. And then they will invite you to pitch. To give you some idea, one that I attended a few years ago took place at a university staff club. After a good buffet lunch we were offered four short presentations on propositions ranging from a new age magazine to opera in the workplace after which investors were invited to talk to the entrepreneurs individually in an exhibition area.

Further Information

If you want to know more about angel investment you could do worse that read my article "On the Side of the Angels" and "Where are you going to get funding?" and the introduction to funding and angels on our Inventors Club website. So far have only got details of two angel networks for Yorkshire and the Humber (namely YABA and South Yorkshire Business Angels) but several national networks such as Angels Den and Beer & Partners have local representatives in our county.

We are also getting to know angels both within and outside the angel networks so you can also call us on 0113 320 3232 or through our contact form. We advise, assist and represent both angels and investors on issues relating to legal and technology issues and we have a network of colleagues with world class expertise from the Bar and other professions who can assist with all company formation, investment, patent, design and trade mark registration, product design and development and taxation including EIS, EMI and the patent box concessions.

Right Funds 4U Hull 13 April 2011

Having a bright idea is one thing. Taking it to market is quite another. In most cases a road to market requires money and unless you are rich you have to seek it from someone else.

For many would-be tycoons, this is an insuperable obstacle largely because they do not understand basic concepts such as the difference between lending and investment or long term assets and working capital.

This is why the Connect Yorkshire seminar "Right Funds 4U" which took place at the Hull Office of Rollits LLP on 13 April 2011 was so useful. Four speakers:

• Paul Forth of NatWest Bank
• Barrie Hensby from Finance Yorkshire
• Steve McEwen from Beer & Partners, and
• Andy Jewitt from Sadofskys

spoke about bank lending, venture capital, angel investment and grant funding respectively. Also present were Susanne Gilbert from YABA and Alan Clegg from Business Link Yorkshire.

Paul Forth started by asserting that banks are still in the business of lending, In his presentation he introduced the audience to the difference between debt and equity. He then outlined the sources of finance such as friends and family, business angels, private equity, the stock market and commercial banks. He talked about leasing and asset finance, factoring and invoice discounting and the enterprise guarantee scheme. He then discussed what financiers are looking for namely management and staff, products and services, markets and marketing and vision and strategy. He also flagged up what financiers are particularly wary of such as forecasts based on published as opposed to primary research and wildly optimistic sales figures. Finally, he told us what makes his bank stand out from the crowd.

For my money, the most interesting speaker was Barrie Hensby, one of the investment

direcctors of Finance Yorkshire. Finance Yorkshire offers a variety of financial products: seed corn, loans and equity. Barrie outlined those services and Finance Yorkshire's portfolio. He then introduced the audience to the concept of venture capital and how to get it. He explained what a suitable

investment would look like and gave us a couple of case studies. You can call Barrie on 01226 323737 or email him on barrieh@finance-yorkshire.com.

Barrie was followed by Steve McEwan of Beer & Partners and he was very entertaining. He made us hold hands for no particular reason and then asked us to raise our hands if we wanted to make loadsamoney. But there was a lot of substance in his talk. He explained what was me ant by angel finance, who business angels are, what they want, where to find them and how to attract them. Finally, Steve introduced Andrew Wilson, the network's regional development for Yorkshire.

The last speaker was Andy Jewitt and he had the most difficult slot partly because it was about grant funding which is in short supply but also because it stood in the way of the refreshments. Strangely enough, Andy omitted to mention J4B which is a great database of grant funding.

Connect Yorkshire, which is a not-for-profit company that helps businesses in Yorkshire and the Humber get the funding that they need, has advertised another Right Funds 4U event in Knaresborough on 21 June 2011. Also worth exploring is The Investment Readiness Bootcamp in Sheffield on 19 and 26 May 2011. According to my mate, Steve Knowles, who teaches the course, its real value lies in the the tips on business plan writing and coaching in pitching to investors.

Finally, those who didn't attend the session can find an introduction to funding, an overview and info on grants, loans, community development finance institutions, angel funding and private equity funding on my Inventors Club website. Anyone who wants to discuss any of these topics further should call me on 0800 862 0055 or through our contact form.

Inventors' Resources in Yorkshire

I have just published an article on Inventors' Resources in Yorkshire and the Humber on my Inventors Club blog.

It sets out information on Yorkshire Forward, the Leeds and Sheffield LEPs, business advisers, business angels, clinics, community development finance institutions, inventors clubs, libraries and so on in the region and much, much more.

There is also an Inventors Club group on LinkedIn which you can join. Also, why not visit the Inventors Club website.