ISSUE 04

Further expansion for YFM GroupYFM Group, managers of the South West Ventures Fund (SWVF) has appointed Julian Dennard as investment manager. In the past 12 months SWVF has secured over £2 million in investment for nine businesses in the South West and Julian’s expertise will help it build upon this successful investment portfolio. The Economics graduate from Warwick University began his career at the Bank of England and then spent four years as an investment manager on the Shell UK Pension Fund. Julian then went on to spend six years in KPMG Corporate Finance both in London and Sydney before joining the Bristol office of the YFM Group.

Ambitious growth plans Exciting national and international growth plans are set to become a reality for a South West voice, video and data conference company following investment by South West Ventures Fund (SWVF). VQ Communications Limited has secured £250,000 from the fund. The Chippenham – based company develops easy to use voice, video and datacommunications services which make conferencing a simple process and deliver productivity increases to organisations of every size. John Baker, investment manager with South West Ventures Fund, said: "This is an exciting sector with the potential to deliver communications in new and improved ways. The VQ product is at the forefront of its field and therefore extremely well placed to capitalise on growth opportunities." Lifesaving technology Bath – based Atlas Genetics, a company that develops rapid tests for serious diseases including meningitis and the hospital superbug MRSA, is the latest to benefit from SWVF. The company has secured £150,000 from the fund and an additional £260,000 from private investors, including members of the South West Angel and Investor Network, plus £90,000 from GEIF (Great Eastern Investment Forum) Ventures. The technology developed by Atlas Genetics will allow hospitals and eventually GPs to perform such tests locally and make decisions about treatments within 30 minutes. Currently, hospitals and clinics can take up to 72 hours by which time patients may have become seriously ill. Atlas Genetics is working on an innovative platform that will analyse a clinical sample taken from blood, urine or saliva using a test cartridge inserted into a small portable instrument. An electronic tag developed by the company automatically indicates the presence of DNA from the pathogen causing the disease. This funding round will enable Atlas to finalise the prototype of the test instrument.

For further information please contact the YFM Group team Peter Davies, Julian Dennard, John Baker or Alison Briggs.

Disclaimer The South West Ventures Fund is managed by YFM Venture Finance Limited, part of the YFM Group. YFM Venture Finance Limited is authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority. Whilst YFM Venture Finance has taken all reasonable steps to ensure that the information contained within these pages is accurate and up-to-date, no liability can be accepted for any error or omissions appearing in this site. If you are in any doubt as to the validity of information made available within these pages, or if you wish to rely on this information, then it may be in your best interests to seek verification by contacting us.