FORGET THE DRAGONS… NOW
MEET THE FOXES
Enterprises
To Compete For Access to
£Millions
In Funding
ISLE OF MAN, British Isles, 18 October 2006 –Companies in the Isle of Man and around
the UK are invited to enter the Foxes’ Lair to compete for funding from
the UK’s leading sources of investment, it was announced today. The
competition, loosely based on the BBC’s Dragon’s Den, will see up
to two dozen finalists vying to find funding for their businesses.
“The Dragons are famous for
offering up around a £100,000 to budding entrepreneurs, but we’re upping
the ante; we’re ready to introduce some serious money into some serious
enterprises,” said Fox Capital Director Justin Martin. “Our focus
is on expansion stage companies that are looking for up to £25 million in
funding to take their businesses to the next level.”
The Fox’s Lair is open to
privately-held companies of any size; profitability is not necessarily a
requirement. Roy Tilleard, Director at Fox Capital explained; “Companies
that have strong turnover growth and a healthy margin, but may lack the
resources necessary to fully capitalise on market opportunities, are ideal
candidates for the Fox’s Lair.”
Mr Alex Downie,
Minister for Trade & Industry on the Isle of Man,
noted “The Isle of Man has shown itself to be a land of possibility, as
proven by our economic growth of over seven percent a year over the last twenty
years in a wide range of sectors, well over double the average of the developed
world. Therefore I am delighted that
several of our successful entrepreneurs have established ‘Fox’s Lair’,
which will give a new generation of talent an opportunity to reach their
potential and to help the Isle of Man continue to flourish for many years to
come.”
As far as business and finance
expertise goes, the Foxes have few equals. Justin Martin has spent the last 15
years in finance and business and product development, managing numerous
businesses in the Isle of Man, the United Kingdom
and the Russian Federation. He co-founded Flintstone Technologies plc,
the AIM listed start-up and expansion stage investment company which completed
more than 25 separate private equity transactions with a combined value of more
than £40 million.
Roy Tilleard, a qualified
accountant, has held executive roles in both multi-national and private
businesses. He’s best known for
leading the international expansion of the Deb Group, known for its Swarfega
brand which he part-sold to Barclays Private Equity in a £135 million
transaction. He is also a Director of Callows Yard Developments Ltd, an £11
million commercial property development in Castletown, Isle of Man.
Together
they form Fox Capital, a firm that is a recognised expert in corporate fund
raising. It provides services in equity and equity-linked fund raising,
flotation, mergers and acquisitions, debt arrangements, in addition to other
advisory services. The pair have forged close working relationships with the UK’s leading private equity investors and
commercial debt providers alongside a number of the UK’s leading AIM advisory
firms that can be quickly brought to bear for winners in the Fox’s
Lair.
“Our
model for success is built upon the strong relationships we forge with the
people we work with,” said Justin Martin. “In addition to finance,
we provide proactive, practical help across all facets of a company from
marketing to operations to distribution, wherever our support is needed.”
Applications for entry to the
Fox’s Lair are being accepted now. Finalists will be asked to make a
short presentation to a panel of judges on 27 November at The Nunnery, home of
the International Business School
in Douglas, Isle of Man.
“We want to foster an
environment for businesses to flourish in the Isle of Man,”
explained Roy Tilleard. “By opening up our expertise in this creative
way, our aim is not only to attract successful businesses to the island but
also to create a new confidence among all business owners so that they may grow
to be international successes.”
Applications and guidelines for the
Fox’s Lair can be downloaded using the links above, by emailing foxeslair@strivepr.com
or call Strive PR on +44 (0)1624 628 994 to have an application sent in the post.
The
deadline for entries to be received is 13 November 2006.
Entries can be emailed to foxeslair@strivepr.com
or post to:
Sherrilynne
Starkie
Strive Public Relations Limited
40
Woodbourne Road
Douglas, IM1 3AN
