£135k investment from LBA Angel Syndicate helps cornerstone Cycell Ltd ‘s £600k angel funding round
Early stage London based specialist mobile network operator Cycell Limited has closed a £600k round which included a £135k investment from a LBA angel syndicate. The company offers a full range of specialist white label easy-to-use handsets, for which it owns all intellectual property, and airtime contracts to its clients. Cycell’s network is powered by Vodafone and will be launched this year. The investment will enable the company to complete product develop, secure GSM certification and set up a production facility to customise and brand handsets.
Thomas Sunderland, CyCell CEO, notes, “We now have a group of highly experienced and committed shareholders, whose expertise and contacts will be invaluable to the business. The LBA gave CyCell the support and confidence to raise investment in a competitive environment where fund raising experience is essential. Thank you to Anthony Clarke and Dale Murray for their personal support and leadership over the last few months“
Dale Murray, Chairman CyCell, notes, "There is a clear gap - globally - for a simple, easily understood mobile phone. CyCell's transformative design will fill this gap quickly, as they already have overwhelming support from mobile networks, suppliers and customer groups."
Anthony Clarke, Managing Director of London Business Angels, comments: “LBA assembled a syndicate of 6 angels here led by Dale Murray the new Chair of the Company who has extensive experience and contacts in telecoms and the mobile sector. Dale is also the BBAA’s angel investor of the year. Cycell is a great example of the power of angel investing in an early stage company where smart money is now helping to build a potentially high growth business.”
London Business Angels
Anthony Clarke, Managing Director
Tel: +44 (0)20 7321 5672
E-mail: enquiries@lbangels.co.uk
Web: www.lbangels.co.uk
About London Business Angels
LBA is one of the most experienced private angel networks in the UK. Since the early 1980s the network has been connecting innovating fast growth small and medium sized enterprises with investment through our network of business angel investors. LBA, part of Angel Capital Group, is professionally managed by a highly experienced management team, leveraging over 15 years’ experience in the early stage investment marketplace as established leaders in the development of new angel-led early stage investment initiatives, and nearly 30 years’ investing experience through the LBA network. LBA is a founding member of the British Business Angels Association, the industry's best practice trade association, and is also a member of EBAN, the European Business Angels Network.
About the LBA EIS Approved RoundTable Syndicate Fund
The LBA EIS Approved RoundTable Syndicate Fund is the culmination of 30 years’ experience of pioneering innovation in the UK Angel investment market. This FSA regulated HMRC Approved EIS Fund offers LBA Investors an innovative way to acquire a portfolio of investments, while taking advantage of the personal tax relief offered by the Enterprise Investment Scheme. The First £300k LBA EIS RoundTable Fund 2010 was fully invested in January 2011, making four investments in leading edge technologies during the previous year, spread across a range of sectors: Eykona (medtech); Syrinix (cleantech); ipadio (mobile); The Electrospinning Company (nanotech).
Following the successful 2010 Fund, the LBA EIS Approved RoundTable Syndicate Fund 2011-12 closed for subscriptions on 13 May 2011, being 40% larger at £420k. The fund invested in 5 leading edge technologies spread across a range of sectors: Camstent (medtech), Momentum Bioscience (medtech), Phase Vision (high value manufacturing), Michelson Diagnostics (medtech), Isotera (cleantech)
The LBA EIS Roundtable Syndicate Fund 2012, closed for subsciprtions on 5th April 2012, being the largest raised to date at £455k. The fund will seek to invest in 5-6 early stage companies in the forthcoming year.
