The news was revealed last night by Alan Watts, Director of Halo, to an audience of 50 angel investors and 8 ‘pitching’ companies at the first Halo meeting of the year at the home of Ulster Rugby at Ravenhill.
“I am delighted to announce that Halo has raised a total of £5m inside four years to support exciting new and growing businesses,” said Alan. “Furthermore, we have good reason to believe that 2013 will be a record year for angel investment in Northern Ireland.
“This is a tough economic environment with angels pressed to look for new investible opportunities since the property crash. They also, genuinely, want the opportunity to talk to other investors, share ideas and support their local business community.”
Halo members include some 110 high net worth angel investors, aged 27-70, including active and retired business men and women, as well as representatives of some of Northern Ireland’s wealthiest families.
Open to all NI companies, except those operating in property or straight retail, Halo will look at all stages, from start-up to established businesses, as well as both technical and non-technical companies.
Halo holds five or six angel investment sessions a year at venues which this year include Ravenhill, Stormont and Newry with the aim of opening them up to new audiences and participants.
“The pitch sessions are more like Blind Date than Dragon’s Den with angels getting an opportunity to chat one-to-one with tempting prospects,” Alan explained. “There is no Q&A session or anything confrontational – the companies are really pitching for a ‘second date’ with an investor.
“Anyone interested in becoming an angel, or who has an investible idea to present to potential investors, should go to haloni.com for further information and video clips on how to present the perfect pitch.”
