10,000 Champions - big times for cleantech
Your weekly "10,000 Champions" report gives unique personal insight into the people buildiing Britain's most dynamic, innovative firms.
I'll be reporting on further entrepreneurs tomorrow, but there's a real groundswell of specialists in clean energy and environmental services building their ventures. Whether or not they grow them to sizeable international businesses is the big question. Here's the first cluster:
Chris Tanner and Andrew Mulvenna are the skateboarder-founders of CRM business Brightpearl, which has just raised money from Jos White's venture firm, Notion Capital.
Dr Michael Rudgyard, CEO and founder of Concurrent Thinking - the UK's top supercomputer expert goes green.
Elissa Foster, chief executive of Fish Insurance, has completed a deal with private equity firm Inflexion, who are acquiring the Preston-based insurance company from another PE firm, Mosaic. Foster founded Fish Insurance, which specialises in insurance cover for disabled people, in 1975 with chairman Mike Fish. (More on Real Deals, subscription-only.)
Michael Fishwick, long-standing waste industry chief executive, has just expanded the AIM-quoted north-west organic waste business TEG, in a deal with Bridges Ventures. The £5.5m deal enables the acquistion of waste specialist Simpro. Letsrecycle.com covers the sector well. (More on Real Deals, subscription-only.)
Bryn Richards is founder and CEO of Aeristech, which has just raised £500k to invest in developing its turbochargers that enhance fuel efficiency in vehicle engines.