Venture capital firm Par Equity has decided to set up a new regional network in Belfast aimed at investing in early stage tech companies.
Northern Ireland's tech scene has drawn considerable investment interest over the past several years, with a rapidly growing number of new tech start-ups releasing new innovations in data, IoT, MedTech, FinTech and more. Venture capital firm Par Equity has now set its sights on NI tech with the launch of a new regional investment network centred on Belfast.
Par Equity manages a global network of investors and keeps close eyes on the tech scene, looking specifically for early stage disruptive technology companies with the potential to scale up rapidly and become huge. It made its first NI investment in 2012 with digital pathology firm PathXL Limited, and more recently added NI tech firms BrainWaveBank, Datactics and Plotbox to its portfolio.
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The VC has invested over £80m in 61 companies so far and has 200 investors, reporting an average investment return multiple of 3.8x and 27% IRR. Its Belfast network will focus on disruptive early stage tech companies in Belfast and the surrounding area, and will be chaired by Ronnie Geddis, former Sales and Marketing Director with Consilium Technologies/Totalmobile.
Ronnie Geddis said: "Belfast has a strong tech scene, it’s like a little Silicon Valley. We have a lot of support in place for start-ups, with investment available for the research and development stage, but there is a real gap in the market for a VC like Par to fuel the growth of young SMEs, once they are past the seed investment stage."
"Par Equity is keen to open up opportunities for those early stage companies by offering not only investment, but the right support and guidance to help them succeed. Becoming part of the Par network of is an excellent opportunity for investors in the area, as it exposes us to a wide variety of investment options, and fellow investors, here in Northern Ireland and also further afield."
Source: Written based on press release
