Aquarius Equity Partners

AQUARIUS EQUITY PARTNERS

About Aquarius

Aquarius Equity Partners is a venture capital fund manager based in the North of England. Aquarius' founding vision was that venture capital is about entrepreneurial management. It has a team with experience of each aspect of the investment process: as managers, advisors and investors.

Aquarius is focused on investing in a market which it believes is currently overlooked. Aquarius believes that the increasing progression of the more established private equity players to larger transactions outside the North of England, combined with the proliferation of small regional start-up funds, makes the North of England an attractive place in which to invest.

Aquarius is based in the North of England, and operates across the region. The Investment Team come from diverse backgrounds, each member bringing a different set of skills. Together, the Investment Team has been involved with venture capital for over three decades as entrepreneurs, investors, corporate finance advisors or lawyers.

Aquarius was established in July 2005 after the buy-out of Axiomlab Investment Management Limited from the Axiomlab Group. As part of the buy out, Aquarius took over the management of a £4.5 million regional venture capital fund, the North West Seed Fund, or NWSF, which makes equity investments of up to £350,000 in seed fund and early stage businesses. After the buy-out, the Aquarius team immediately put in place their fundamental beliefs for running a successful fund with the NWSF. The NWSF's performance since Aquarius took over the management of this fund is indicative of the skills and vision of the Aquarius team.

In May 2007, the Aquarius team completed the first close on the Northern Entrepreneurs Fund, a £20m Fund specifically raised to invest in progressive companies within the 'Equity Gap' range of between £750k and £2m. Having commenced investment from this Fund, Aquarius envisages the fund closing in the early part of 2008.

Aquarius will continue to follow its investment approach for all funds under management. This approach is focused on people and shared goals and has two underlying investment principles. Firstly, for a company to increase in value, it has be ready to accept change and make that change; secondly, the investor and management have to respect each other and work together to challenge and support the business.

Aquarius Equity Partners Ltd is authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority. © Aquarius Equity Partners Ltd. All rights reserved.