Oxford Investment Opportunity Network

The following four companies are seeking investment via the Network as a result of the 16 March 2010 OION investment meeting at Egrove Park in Oxford. The descriptions available summarise the investment proposal made by the company. The information is provided by the company and has not been vetted in any way by OION.

If you are interested in receiving further information on any of the companies then please contact us.

Company A is a medical device company developing a novel device for preserving livers prior to transplantation at normal body temperatures. The company believes that this device can approximately double the availability of suitable livers by enabling successful transplantation of organs from non heart-beating donors and reducing the number of livers discarded prior to transplant.

The company secured Series A funding of £1.5m in December 2008 and has developed an automated prototype device which is now in pre-clinical evaluation. Company A expects to:
- undertake its first human transplants before the end of 2010
- achieve CE Mark and first sales by the end of 2011 and
- become profitable in 2013.

The Company's device is the product of more than 14 years R&D based on the know-how of Professor Peter Friend, Director of the Oxford Transplant Centre and one of the world’s leading transplant surgeons. This technology is also applicable to the preservation of further organs and for treatment of liver cancer. Company A has an exclusive licence from Oxford University to granted patents in Europe and US and will make further patent filings shortly.

The company is seeking to raise a further £2m to complete its clinical studies and has strong indication of support for >£1.5m. Company A expects to exit via a trade sale.

Retail sales is the major profit generator at most international airports around the world as airlines drive down landing fees to cater for cheaper air travel. An airport can increase its profits by up to by £180k per annum for every 1 minute reduction in the time spent queuing in security.

Company B's software product predicts queue times, allows the efficient operational management of security lanes in airports and has a direct impact on retail profits. Its unique proposition is that it only uses information that is currently held on the client site and no additional hardware is required. With trials at two UK international airports, Company B is close to winning its first customers in an established international market that is estimated to be worth over £25m in recurring revenue per annum. The market for future applications is worth over £100m per annum.

Having already received seed funding of £250k, Company B is raising £500k to expand sales. Company B has an experienced management team that has worked in VC backed early stage technology companies with successful investor exits. Company B's product is based on technology developed at De Montfort University by Dr Mario Gongora, a world leader in Genetic Algorithms and Artificial Intelligence (GA/AI).

Company C currently manufactures cost saving optical measurement solutions mainly for the global tyre manufacturing industry. A SEEDA R&D grant awarded to the company has resulted in the development of a novel, portable laser inspection device to monitor tyre wear in service when tyres are mounted on a vehicle or trailer. Estimates for the UK commercial fleet market suggest the Product will deliver annual fuel and tyre savings of £1,500 per HGV and reduce total CO2 emissions by 304,000 tonnes pa. Moreover, the ability of the Product to detect illegal tyres allows further applications for passenger cars and for law enforcement agencies to improve road safety.

Having filed a UK patent application, manufactured a prototype and achieved proof of principle, an initial investment of £150,000 has been raised to commence field trials with leading commercial fleet operators and VOSA. A further £350,000 of funding is now sought to commercialise the product. The global and largely unconverted market potential for the Product is estimated to be >£3.6 billion.

Financial projections based on Product sales and implementation of a device leasing model show revenue growth to £9.8 million (1,965 units) by 13/14 which represents a 2.4% European market conversion. Including growth in Company C’s existing industrial markets, total sales of £11.4 million are forecast in 13/14 with an EBIT of £1.9 million. Exit is anticipated in 13/14 via a trade sale with a company valuation of approximately £15 million

The market for web conferencing is currently worth over $1 billion, growing at 20% a year. This product provides a solution for small businesses at 70% lower cost than established competitors who focus on major corporations.

The product developed provides multiple people with the ability to work collaboratively on the same computer screen, with voice conference calling and instant messaging fully integrated. It is has a diverse usage currently by 250K users across 120 countries – board members, lawyers, accountants, software developers, sales trainers, agency creative directors... 12K new customers enrol monthly for free, through word of mouth with no marketing spend.

Having launched a value-added paid for service, the company is now revenue generating and has a sales pipeline of over £250,000 in less than 4 months.

Raised a total of £1.7 million to date primarily from institutional VC funds (Rising Stars Growth Fund II and Liverpool Seed Fund), and now seeks £500K to accelerate the revenue growth which will see the company beyond breakeven.
Post money valuation of £1.5 million - £50K buys a 3.33% stake. The Company is based in Liverpool. EIS relief is available.