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Growth Capital Ventures

EIS-Eligible Investment Opportunity
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Position & Position, Company

GCV has two business units that create and invest into businesses that transform industries and communities

Launched in 2015 by co-founders Norm and Craig Peterson, GCV has assembled a team of 25 professionals who have established one of the most active private investor networks in the North of England, and created a number of technology-enabled companies delivering business-critical software.

Within GCV Invest, a private investor network of over 700 private investors and a wider network of family offices and institutional investors, over £100 million has been transacted into companies such as Atom Bank, Hive HR and Finexos, with £30 million coming direct from our private investors. GCV has delivered three successful exits for investors, delivering total returns of up to 75x money-on-money.

Within GCV Labs, businesses are created, launched and scaled and in which GCV takes a significant equity stake of between 20% and 100%. Companies include Intelligence Fusion (exited, 2022), Quva (growth phase) and n-gage.io (growth phase).

Backed by Maven Capital Partners with over £1.5 million invested to date from funds managed by Maven, GCV are now inviting investors to support them on their next phase of growth in this EIS-eligible investment round.

Investment Opportunity

Growth Capital Ventures

Sector: Fintech
Target Sought: £ 1,000,000
Round: Round 3
Minimum Investment: £ 5,000
Investment Type: Equity
Tax Schemes: EIS
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The Team

Industry-leading knowledge, experience and ambition

The GCV team comprises of 25 financial services and technology professionals, with considerable experience of building, scaling and investing into companies.

To be part of the Growth Capital Ventures team means to be passionate about supporting our drive to transforming industries and communities, either directly or through our growing portfolio of companies.

Norm Peterson Chief Executive Officer
Craig Peterson Chief Operating Officer
Dan Smith Investor Relations Director
Tony Short Programme Director
Dave Forster CTO, Financial Programmes
James Drew CTO, Technology Programmes
Laura Davis Management Accountant
Phil Docherty Head of Sales and Marketing, Quva

Driving Growth. Creating Value. Delivering Impact.

Key Investment Highlights

A compelling tax efficient, growth-focused investment opportunity

The GCV team has reached a number of risk mitigating and value creating milestones to date, and the opportunity has a number of important highlights for investors to note.

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EXPERIENCED MANAGEMENT TEAM

The team has a strong, demonstrable track record in alternative investments and proven capability in identifying, creating, launching and scaling businesses that transform industries.

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MULTIDISCIPLINARY SKILLSET

Spanning financial services, alternative investments, technology, software development, UX/UI, innovation and digital transformation.

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STRONG, IN-HOUSE CAPABILITY

The investment team are well networked and have a proven track record of originating opportunities across three core asset classes of venture capital, property and private equity.

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GROWING GLOBAL MARKET

The alternative investment market continues to grow as experienced investors look towards asset classes that have the potential to deliver better returns and provide portfolio diversification.

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POWERFUL AND ROBUST MODEL

The team has created a business model with multiple revenue streams and value creation opportunities, and demonstrated the ability to identify, create and crystalise value.

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CLEAR VALUE PROPOSITION

GCV Labs and GCV Invest provide a powerful combination to allow investors to build their wealth with a well-balanced, diversified portfolio of alternative investment opportunities that target better financial returns than more mainstream assets.

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UNIQUE MARKET DIFFERENTIATOR

The GCV Labs venture builder model continually adds value for GCV stakeholders, whilst reducing the risk of investing in startups and allowing GCV Invest members to enter transactions at the most competitive price.

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PROVEN TRACK RECORD

The GCV team has developed a portfolio that has delivered three exits to date, with returns to investors of up to 75x money-on-money total return.

Open For Investment

Growth Capital Ventures

EIS Eligible Investment Opportunity
Download the Opportunity Note to discover the full details of the current investment opportunity into GCV. 

Login or register to download the Opportunity Note

Traction to Date

The GCV team has laid the foundations to scale and reached a number of risk mitigating and value creating milestones to date.

2015

Startup
Against a backdrop of technology driving change in the Financial Services sector, Norm and Craig Peterson launch Growth Capital Ventures (“GCV”).

£250,000 seed capital
GCV raises £250,000 from private investors.

The vision
To build a business that connects growth focused investors to ventures that have the potential to make a positive difference to society, create value and deliver superior returns to all stakeholders.

Launching GCV Invest platform
Online co-investment platform launched to provide experienced investors with access to high quality, growth focused co-investment opportunities.

Norm-Craig-Peterson-2015-Black-And-White

Headcount

04

Investments

02

Atom Bank

Intelligence Fusion

 

2016

Expansion and diversification
With increasing deal flow and an increasingly active investor network, GCV focus their strategy on co-investment and asset class diversification for our private investor network.

Strategic opportunities with Maven
GCV support Maven Capital Partners with bids for £200 million fund mandates across the North and Midlands. Focus on co-investment into high growth businesses that drive the UK economy.

Growth capital raised
In November 2016 funds managed by Maven Capital Partners invest £1.1 million into GCV to support future expansion and new product development.

carlton-bonds-the-founders

Headcount

08

Investments

04

Hive HR
Dot Net Pages
Carlton Development Management
Growth Capital Ventures

 

2017

Co-investment funds support
GCV supported Maven Capital Partners to mobilise a number of Fund Mandates with the Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund (NPIF), North East Development Capital Fund (NEDCF), Midlands Engine Investment Fund (MEIF) and Finance Durham. Totalling over £200 million assets under management (AUM), these funds will help high growth businesses scale up over the coming years.

Key hires recruited
Recruited a capable team across the core disciplines of product development, software development, project management, investor relations, marketing, finance and back office support.

Atom Bank investment
Co-invested £1 million into a £16 million follow-on-round with Tosca Fund. 44 GCV members invested between £10,000 and £250,000 and the offer was oversubscribed by £700,000 within one week.

Established GCV Labs
Team begins shaping ideas for GCV’s venture builder to support the growth of portfolio company Intelligence Fusion. Focus on scoping the pilot scheme, designed to help Intelligence Fusion create enterprise value quickly and cost-effectively, with planned mobilisation in 2018.

Property transactions structured
Originated a pipeline of property transactions with a Gross Development Value (GDV) of £20 million+ in preparation for the launch of a new asset class for GCV Investors.

hive-hr-new-hires

Headcount

16

Investments

01

Atom Bank

2018

Investment expansion
Focus on increasing deal pipeline, growing the private investor network and new product development.

Strategic growth
Formally launched GCV Invest, a Private Investor Network for sophisticated investors and high-net-worth individuals, creating a liquidity pool of £20 million+

A focus on alternative investments
With an expanding investor network and deal pipeline, GCV increased the focus on providing investors with access to hand picked alternative investments across three core asset classes of venture capital, property and private equity.

GCV Labs progression
Live projects with Intelligence Fusion and Corporate Partners continue, with the team supporting scale up activities.

First property transaction
The first property co-investment opportunity was completed, with a transaction value of over £10million.

homes-by-carlton-management-team

Headcount

18

Investments

06

Growth Capital Ventures

Cathedral Gates, Chilton

Middleton Waters, Middleton St George

The Langtons, Redmarshall

Intelligence Fusion

QikServe

2019

New product launch
Aimed at experienced investors, CARLTON Bonds launched to provide access to IFISA, SIPP and SSAS eligible asset backed bonds targeting tax free returns of up to 7.5% per annum.

Investor network growth
The Private Investor Network continues to expand, co-investing over £8 million into venture capital and property transactions alongside GCV’s institutional investor partners. Targeting investor returns of 25% IRR.

Continued GCV Labs progress
Providing intensive venture builder support to Intelligence Fusion, the team prepared the company for its third funding round at an increased valuation. Developed and launched CARLTON Bonds and wins further venture builder projects.

Additional Property Transactions
Investment opportunities into The Langtons in Redmarshall and Thorpe Paddocks in Thorpe Thewles structured. Secured pipeline with a GDV of £70 million+, providing GCV Investors with access to joint venture style property investment opportunities.

intelligence-fusion-new-hires

Headcount

20

Investments

03

B-North

Hive HR

Intelligence Fusion

2020

New product launch
Discovering the difficulties alternative investment managers face with effectively managing their investment portfolio, Quva was developed within GCV Labs to provide a highly customisable, highly configurable solution.

Introduction of CoreHaus
In a joint venture project with social enterprise Fusion21, the team for GCV portfolio company CoreHaus started to be assembled to develop light gauge steel frames for construction projects, in line with the UK government's focus on modern methods of construction (MMC).

£1.3m GCV Capital Raise
Supporting the development of the team, business and GCV Labs companies, GCV successfully closed a £1.3m raise, led by Maven Capital Partners.

Quva-Press-Release-Small-1

Headcount

22

Investments

03

Bank North

Hive HR

Growth Capital Ventures

2021

Growth of GCV Labs
With GCV Labs delivering value to GCV shareholders by creating, launching and scaling tech-enabled businesses, 2020 saw the co-creation of n-gage.io with experienced entrepreneur, Bryan Hoare.

Expansion of GCV Invest
The GCV private investor network expanded to over 500 experienced investors looking for high quality, carefully selected alternative investments.

Co-invested over £12 million
Investment activity remained high within GCV Invest, with our growing network of private investors co-investing over £12 million into venture capital and property transactions.

Headcount

23

Investments

06

Bank North (x2)

Business Finance Market (x2)

n-gage.io

Thorpe Paddocks, Thorpe Thewles

2022

Two successful portfolio exits
Investors into portfolio companies Intelligence Fusion and CLMH saw a positive total gain on their investment of up to 75x as both companies were acquired.

Increased traction with Quva
Showcasing the demand in the market for a highly customisable alternative investment management solution, Quva - which is wholly owned by GCV - moved from concept to commercialisation with an array of global clients.

Introduction of Finexos to our portfolio
GCV Invest led a £695,000 investment round into Finexos, a fintech organisation transforming credit scoring for individuals and businesses alike.

Headcount

25

Investments

08

Business Finance Market (t/a Finance Nation)

Finexos

Hive HR (x2 - equity and convertible loan note)

The Langtons, Redmarshall

GCV (launched Q4 2022)

CoreHaus (launching Q4 2022)

n-gage.io (launching Q1 2023)

Open For Investment

Growth Capital Ventures

EIS Eligible Investment Opportunity
Download the Opportunity Note to discover the full details of the current investment opportunity into GCV. 

Login or register to download the IM

FAQs

Want to find out more about investing with GCV?

Should you have any further questions regarding this investment opportunity, please reach to the Investment Team, you can contact us at any point 

  • Our online platform allows for investors to register directly here, but Dan Smith - Investor Relations Director - is available to support. Dan can be contacted at  dan.smith@growthcapitalventures.co.uk and on 0330 102 5525.

  • There are no joining fees or on-going management fees. Membership of GCV Invest is completely free, giving you access to well researched, carefully selected investment opportunities across asset classes, all with the potential to provide portfolio diversification and superior investment returns.

    Transaction fees are only charged at the point of a liquidity event occurring (such as a trade sale or IPO for private companies and completion of a residential development for property transactions). At this point, 7.5% of the investment gain is charged before funds are provided back to you as an investor.

    Whilst dividend payments should not be expected from early-stage companies, more mature companies may include dividend payments, if and when they are paid, 7.5% of the dividend amount is charged to investors.

  • Where a wide range of information on tax efficient investing is readily available at the touch of a button, ensuring sources are up to date, unbiased and accurate can be a crucial task when researching the ever-evolving tax efficient investing landscape  - why not try the GCV Invest content library as a starting point?

  • GCV offer experienced investors the opportunity to invest in carefully researched early-stage businesses with high growth potential.

     

    We specialise in opportunities that are SEIS and EIS qualifying, offering investors generous income tax reliefs of between 30% and 50% when making the investment and no capital gains tax on investment profits at realisation stage.

  • Yes.  You can discover more about all current investment opportunities here.

Discover all current investment opportunities
Don't invest unless you're prepared to lose all the money you invest. This is a high-risk investment and you are unlikely to be protected if something goes wrong.
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Risk Summary

Estimated reading time: 2 min

Due to the potential for losses, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) considers this investment to be high risk.

What are the key risks?

  • You could lose all the money you invest
  • Most investments are shares in start-up businesses or bonds issued by them. Investors in these shares or bonds often lose 100% of the money they invested, as most start-up businesses fail.
  • Checks on the businesses you are investing in, such as how well they are expected to perform, may not have been carried out by the platform you are investing through. You should do your own research before investing.

You won't get your money back quickly

  • Even if the business you invest in is successful, it will likely take several years to get your money back.
  • The most likely way to get your money back is if the business is bought by another business or lists its shares on an exchange such as the London Stock Exchange. These events are not common.
  • Start-up businesses very rarely pay you back through dividends. You should not expect to get your money back this way.
  • Some platforms may give you the opportunity to sell your investment early through a 'secondary market' or 'bulletin board', but there is no guarantee you will find a buyer at the price you are willing to sell.

Don't put all your eggs in one basket

  • Putting all your money into a single business or type of investment for example, is risky. Spreading your money across different investments makes you less dependent on any one to do well. A good rule of thumb is not to invest more than 10% of your money in high-risk investments. Learn more here.

The value of your investment can be reduced

  • If your investment is shares, the percentage of the business that you own will decrease if the business issues more shares. This could mean that the value of your investment reduces, depending on how much the business grows. Most start-up businesses issue multiple rounds of shares.
  • These new shares could have additional rights that your shares don't have, such as the right to receive a fixed dividend, which could further reduce your chances of getting a return on your investment.

You are unlikely to be protected if something goes wrong

  • Protection from the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS), in relation to claims against failed regulated firms, does not cover poor investment performance. Try the FSCS investment protection checker.
  • Protection from the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) does not cover poor investment performance. If you have a complaint against an FCA-regulated platform, FOS may be able to consider it. Learn more about FOS protection here.

If you are interested in learning more about how to protect yourself, visit the FCA's website here.

For further information about investment-based crowdfunding, visit the crowdfunding section of the FCA's website here.
Driving Growth.
Creating Value.
Delivering Impact.

Backed by

Growth Capital Ventures (GCV) is backed by funds managed by Maven Capital Partners, one of the UK’s leading private equity and alternative asset managers.