Click Advisory Group members’ images OR click left and right arrows to view staff biography and view contact details.
01786 357598
We offer members opportunities to invest alongside an experienced investment team with a strong track record of investing, supporting growth and realising returns.
As part of our commitment to our members, we implement and maintain investment standards promoting consistency in approach and encouraging feedback loops for learning.
We are committed to hosting ESM Member events every quarter - giving members the opportunity to hear first-hand from our leadership team, hear from new investment opportunities and existing portfolio companies.
Our team has strong entrepreneurial networks in both the national and international tech community.
Investing in early stage technology stocks is rewarding. Believe us. ESM invests directly into early stage technology companies and has done for the past 7 years. ESM was formed by a group of successful technology entrepreneurs in 2011 to provide early stage capital to best in class early-growth stage technology companies throughout Scotland and the North of England.
In recent times, we have seen that a number of tech hubs have emerged and are gathering real momentum both in Scotland and in the North of England. These tech hubs are home to an ever-increasing number of early-growth stage technology companies seeking investment to grow their businesses beyond ideas to world class and sustainable businesses. ESM is ideally located to play its part in providing opportunity for investment and in ensuring that investors are given every opportunity to invest in high quality curated investment propositions.
ESM has >£9 million invested across 10 different businesses to date and currently maintains a membership of >80 high net worth individuals, many of whom have been alongside us from day one. Some 35+ investment transactions have been completed in this timeframe. The ESM team has a strong track record of investing, supporting growth, identifying when the best stage is to exit and realising returns.
We invest our own capital in every business we support.
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We are delighted to extend the opportunity for high net worth individuals to co-invest alongside us. These investments are not for everyone and should be only considered as part of your overall investment strategy. By co-investing alongside ESM Investments you will however qualify for some valuable tax advantages through the Enterprise Investment Scheme (EIS), subject to an annual limit of £2 million. These include up to 30% of your income tax bill and the ability to defer any capital gains you make. The EIS scheme is designed to encourage investment in small, higher risk firms in need of expansion capital.
Our entire investment focus is on early-growth stage technology companies that can demonstrate a validated customer base. These are relatively small businesses that have invariably identified a gap for a new product or service and need capital to scale their business. Our existing portfolio of investees are formed of them and typically we will look to hold an investment in each company for a period of between 5 to 7 years before exiting.
Not every start-up project can succeed. We seek to identify the successes of the future and a fundamental part of our selection and on-going investment management processes is in the maintenance of ESM Standards. These standards have been crafted from our own experience as former founders of tech businesses. They help us to take a balanced and consistent view of the needs of our portfolio and, importantly, help to provide a clear and attractive proposition to be of interest to future external investors and potential acquirers.
Our involvement does not stop at the point of investment. Within ESM Investments we have decades of entrepreneurial excellence to draw on and give all of our investee management teams daily access to that expertise. We also regularly review each business monthly and provide updates to our investors.
ESM Investments is committed to hosting an ESM Member Event every quarter. As well as providing the opportunity for you to hear first-hand from the leadership team of ESM Investments and the management of our investee companies, the events are stimulating and often highlight timely and valuable further investment opportunities for you. They are all free to attend and you will be informed about location, time and participants well in advance.
The format is simple. Presentations are made by up to three different and new investment opportunities and a presentation is usually made from at least one of ESM’s existing portfolio company’s about their developments to date and future strategies. This is followed by thoughts from the ESM Leadership team to start off an in-depth discussion amongst all ESM members. The opportunity to network with everyone at each investor event is there beforehand and afterwards.
‘The UK cements its position as a global tech leader – its digital sector is a shining light not only in Europe but also on a global scale.’
TechNation Report 2018
‘The UK has digital suburbs not just cities. Digital tech is empowering local economies across the UK.’
TechNation Report 2018
‘Global connections are key to domestic success. Collaboration and global connectivity helps the UK tech sector grow 2.6 times faster than the rest of the economy.’
TechNation Report 2018
‘Diversity remains a key challenge for digital tech. Only 19% of the digital tech workforce is female compared to 49% across all UK jobs.’
TechNation Report 2018
‘We believe that the UK regions have a critically important role in strengthening the country’s position on the global stage.’
EY quoted in TechNation Report 2018
‘In 2017 the number of investments of £0.5m or over in early stage/scale up companies increased by 20% over the same period in 2016.’
The Scale Up Institute
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Co-creator of private and public sector funds. Experienced investor and business growth specialist. Currently serving as a Non-Executive Director for a number of Boards in the private and public sector. Danny was formerly a Digital Industries Trade Ambassador for the UK Government. Prior to joining ESM Investments, Danny founded The UP Ventures Group, a growth partner for corporates and scale-ups providing business acceleration programmes and mentoring. Danny Meaney and Steven Morris and have worked together on boards for over 4 years.
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Contact Details
Email: [email protected]
Tel: 01786 357598
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Steven is an experienced technology entrepreneur, investor and Non-Executive Director. Steven has successfully cashed out of one technology business that he founded and one other technology business as an investor. These exits returned a 20x and a 10x return to shareholders respectively. Steven currently chairs several early-growth stage technology companies in the UK and has several years’ experience as a technology sector investor. Steven has been a Stirling City Commissioner since 2017.
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Contact Details
Email: [email protected]
Tel: 01786 357598
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Gordon’s core competencies are structuring, UK taxation, EIS, financing, financial analysis, business development, capital raising, investor liaison, project management Senior Finance Professional with over 20 years’ experience in all aspects of structuring and execution of complex transactions, from all sides, across a number of sectors. He is a Chartered Accountant and Chartered Tax Advisor with significant knowledge of UK taxation fundamentals, including tax efficient investments such as the Enterprise Investment Scheme (EIS). Extensive experience of raising capital from HNWI’s and the retail sectors. Gordon has worked with Steven Morris since 2017.
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Contact Details
Email: [email protected]
Tel: 01786 357598
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Accomplished leader with strategic and consultancy skills based on experience of private, third and public sectors. Excellent leadership qualities resulting in transformation of organisations in different sectors. Prior to joining ESM Investments Corporate Services earlier this year, he served as the Chief Executive at Stirling Council, Acting Chief Executive, Aberdeen City Council, Strategic Director, and Scottish Cities Alliance and as a Senior Manager PricewaterhouseCoopers. Stewart is a Board member at the Scottish Council Development and Industry (SCDI) and a Board member and Chair of the Audit and Risk Committee of Social Investment Scotland.
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Contact Details
Email: [email protected]
Tel: 01786 357598
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An experienced natural leader and innovator with a successful track record in delivering business growth, commercial innovation and business transformation in both the public and private sector. Steve is an experienced investor and Non-Executive Director and excels at creating high performing teams. Prior to joining ESM Investments Corporate Services in 2014, Steve was the CEO of Capita Scotland, Senior VP for Altos Scotland, Wales & Ireland and CEO for Visit Scotland.
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Contact Details
Email: [email protected]
Tel: 01786 357598
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Former Managing Director of Menzies Distribution, experienced Investor and Non-Executive Director and corporate finance specialist. Experienced in mergers, acquisitions and disposals. David trained as an Accountant with EY and has worked with ESM Investments Corporate Services since 2014.
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Contact Details
Email: [email protected]
Tel: 01786 357598
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An experienced Management Consultant whose deep knowledge of cultures, leadership and team dynamics is used to deliver intervention programmes to entrepreneurs and senior team members, both in the UK and internationally. Programmes are focused primarily on strategy, leadership and executive coaching, particularly with transformational change. Victoria joined ESM Investment Corporate Services in 2017. She manages ESM investor communications, organises investor events and supports portfolio companies with investor readiness, particularly in the areas of personal branding, pitching and the development of business plans.
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Contact Details
Email: [email protected]
Tel: 01786 357598
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A Chartered Director with over 30 years' experience of Financial PR, Investor Relations and Business Development. Judith’s diverse experience includes start-ups, IPOs, stock market fund raisings, communication strategies and corporate governance. She has worked with both UK and international companies. She is an experienced Independent Director of Petrolia SE, an international public company, where she focuses on strategy, stakeholder relations, risk management and commercial dispute resolution. Judith joined ESM Investments Corporate Services in 2018.
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Contact Details
Email: [email protected]
Tel: 01786 357598
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Matt is an experienced investor and Non-Executive Director. He has a proven track record and extensive experience in establishing new businesses in new countries with new teams. He has over 20 years’ experience in the creation of Customer Service Organisations. This includes the establishment of service & support companies and trading entities in over 14 different countries within Asia and the Middle East. Matt has worked alongside Steven Morris for over 10 years.
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Contact Details
Email: [email protected]
Tel: 01786 357598
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Sandra has specialist knowledge and extensive experience of the Health and Social Care environment in Scotland. She has strong relationships with its supporting networks at a National and Health Board/Integrated Joint Board level. Sandra is an experienced Non-Executive Director. She has co-authored a number of publications and is a strategic thinker with a particular interest in shaping health policy. Sandra has worked with ESM Investments Corporate Services since 2017.
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Contact Details
Email: [email protected]
Tel: 01786 357598
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Grant was a founder and executive general partner of Old College Capital, an institutional fund established to invest in Edinburgh University spin-outs. He has over 20 years experience in providing corporate advisory services to early-growth stage companies. Prior to joining ESM Investments Corporate Services in 2018, Grant led the venture team of Edinburgh Innovations and drove sector-leading performance for more than a decade, working with a number of successful technology companies founded on the University’s research and knowledge, including a number of successful exits including internationally recognised companies such as MTEM, Pure Lifi and Fanduel
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Contact Details
Email: [email protected]
Tel: 01786 357598
Click Advisory Group members’ images OR click left and right arrows to view staff biography and view contact details.
If you are considering a tax qualifying investment and you would like to discuss how to get started or you are an early-growth stage technology business that would like to discuss potentially receiving investment from ESM Investments, please contact us.
In the first instance, please contact us:
[email protected]Office Address:11 Gladstone Place, Stirling, Scotland, FK8 2NN
01786 357598