Investors

For investor members, OION offers access to a wide range of quality investment opportunities in early stage ventures from across the UK. Many are spin-out companies from major UK universities or public sector research establishments.

View Current Investment Opportunities here.

Investor membership is largely composed of private investors (“Business Angels”), together with venture capital firms, funds, and corporate venturers.

A typical Business Angel is a successful entrepreneur seeking to reinvest their capital and often brings management experience and contacts, as well as capital, to boost the development of the investee.

Some Business Angels may already have a portfolio of investments in unquoted companies. OION can help first time investors make contact with experienced members. After an investment has been made, some Business Angels look for a "hands off" role while others seek involvement in the business, through a non-executive directorship or other role.

Screening business proposals

OION screens business proposals to ensure that they match our investor requirements.

Key criteria include:

OION also helps companies to ensure that their business proposals reach an "investment-ready" state by offering advice on business plans and access to our Investment Readiness Panel of investors, which will typically include an angel investor, an institutional investor, plus professionals from OION's sponsors. The Panel provides practical advice to improve the proposals before they are presented at the Network's monthly investment meetings.

How to join the Network and fees

Investors can join by completing the online Investor Registration Information.

Annual fee individual investor membership: £200 + vat
Annual fee corporate investor membership: £300 + vat
Annual fee business membership £1,000 + vat

Types of Membership

Individual Investor Membership

This membership identifies individual Angel Investors. Typically this membership will be offered to the certified High-Net-Worth Individual Investor or certified Sophisticated Individual Investor.

Corporate Investor Membership

This membership identifies the corporate organisations that work with our Networks in a funding capacity; i.e. Venture Capital Trusts, Venture Capital Firms, Independent Funding organisations and Fund Management companies etc

Business Membership

This membership identifies the professional services companies that are not direct sponsors or partners of the Networks, but can provide enhanced business opportunities for the Networks. This membership will be limited within each sector.

 

You will receive an invoice for the fee after registration. Please make cheques payable to OION Ltd.

The Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 requires investors to be certified as "sophisticated" investors or "high net worth" individuals. As a result of a legislative change in March 2005, private investors or "business angels" are now able to self-certify by printing and signing an official form, rather than being accredited by an FSA approved third party.

The criteria for qualifying as either a "high net worth" or "sophisticated" investor are straightforward, and are detailed on the self certification forms available to download here:

"High Net Worth" investor certificate

"Sophisticated" investor certificate

Benefits of the Network for investors

Benefits of Business Angel investment for investors

Additional support from OION

View our success stories – case studies of companies that have successfully raised funds through OION.