Fund:

NWBIS

Location:

Manchester

Type:

Chemical materials

Year:

2005

Stage:

Start up

Byotrol is based in Manchester and was established in 1999 to develop a unique range of sanitising products initially for the healthcare, food processing and industrial sectors. Byotrol's products work on two levels by eradicating micro organisms on application and then provide continuing protection as a result of their surface-active properties, which disrupts the bio film formation process necessary for micro organism reproduction.

The NWBIS investment has facilitated Byotrol's move to AIM.

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Fund:

BSC VCT

Location:

Cambridge

Type:

Software

Year:

2002

Stage:

Early Expansion

Cambridge Cognition develops and markets CANTAB®, the world's leading cognitive testing battery. Cambridge Cognition Ltd supplies its products and services to the pharmaceutical industry and academic researchers across the globe.

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Fund:

Chandos Fund / BSC VCT / The Capital Fund

Location:

London

Type:

Services

Year:

2008

Stage:

Follow on

Darwin Rhodes is an international recruitment firm specialising in the actuarial, insurance and compliance markets. The business is currently expanding its network of offices across Asia, eastern Europe and the US.

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Fund:

NWBIS

Location:

Manchester

Type:

Industrial Products

Year:

2008

Stage:

Early Stage

DataLase produces a pigment which is used to create an ink that can then be printed as a 'patch' onto a product.  Materials such as corrugated board, PET, PP, metal, glass  where a laser code is either impossible or gives a very poor result can now be laser coded using the DataLase patch with a high contrast, easily readable, cost effective code.

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Fund:

Chandos Fund / BSC VCT / BSTC VCT2

Location:

Reading

Type:

Computer software

Year:

2009

Stage:

MBI

 Deep-Secure's market leading products protect against threats to security via high defence network border gateway technology, which enables customers to maintain network separation and apply content inspection so as to defend sensitive and protected information from intruders.

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Fund:

Chandos Fund / BSC VCT / BSTC VCT2 / NWBIS

Location:

Oldham

Type:

Healthcare

Year:

2007

Stage:

Expansion

Ellfin Home Care has a buy and build strategy to construct a North West based group of domiciliary care businesses. The company provides home based care to the elderly and disabled who wish to live in the community and, with over 300 care staff, is one of the leading care providers in the North West.

• Case Study

Fund:

Chandos Fund / BSC VCT

Location:

Knutsford

Type:

Services

Year:

2008

Stage:

MBO

Fishawack is a specialist medical communications agency with a reputation for providing high quality support services to its clients, which include, GlaxoSmithKline Biologicals, Pfizer, Bayer Schering and CSL Behring.

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Fund:

NWBIS

Location:

Manchester

Type:

Biotechnology

Year:

2005

Stage:

Development

Gentronix is a UMIST spin-out company and an innovative biotechnology company helping to accelerate the pace of drug discovery in the pharmaceutical industry. Gentronix's first product, called GreenScreen, is a novel pre-regulatory screening assay for use at the hits-to-lead and early lead optimisation stages of the drug discovery process. GreenScreen also has application in the environmental monitoring area.

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Fund:

BSC VCT

Location:

Sheffield

Type:

Retail

Year:

1998

Stage:

MBO

"YFM supported us in the acquisition of our first ever store.   We have been working on a roll out formula for the last 11 years.  With the success of the last few years, the present market conditions and the opportunities available, we are now in a position to increase our presence in  the market for outdoor retailing - camping ,trekking , running, fishing, biking, climbing and skiing. We have unique stores trading out of up to 60,000 sq feet and we are looking to add 10 more this year taking us to 28 by the end of 2010" Paul Caplan, Chairman

GOoutdoors is a retailer of outdoor clothing and equipment. BSC VCT backed the buyout in 1998 and invested again in 2002. The business now has more than 20 stores, over a million discount card holders and over 1500 staff. GOoutdoors continues to roll out new stores across the UK.

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Fund:

BSC VCT

Location:

Durham

Type:

Industrial Products

Year:

2004

Stage:

MBO

Hargreaves has established itself as the largest independent bulk haulage company in Britain. The group has a national network of depots and facilities, and specialises in waste haulage and supplying and processing carbon-based minerals. Hargreaves floated on the aim market in 2005.

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Fund:

Chandos Fund / BSC VCT

Location:

Kingston-upon-Thames

Type:

Recruitment

Year:

2007

Stage:

MBI

Harris Hill is a niche recruitment business with a strong reputation for providing excellent permanent and temporary recruitment solutions to the charity and not for profit sectors.

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Fund:

Chandos Fund / BSC VCT / BSC VCT2

Location:

London

Type:

Retail

Year:

2007

Stage:

MBO

Harvey Jones is a long established business with a strong reputation for the quality of its kitchens. The business manufactures most of the kitchens and furniture in its own UK joinery and sells through its chain of retail showrooms in London and provincial towns.

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Fund:

Chandos Fund / Seraphim

Location:

London

Type:

Internet computing

Year:

2010

Stage:

Development

Intamac has developed a web-based platform that enables a broad range of new products and interactive services for consumers to remotely monitor and control their home environment. This platform has been designed to work with a new generation of intelligent household devices, such as home security alarms, door locks, IP cameras, electrical appliances and even utility meters, which can send and receive information via a household's broadband connection.

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Fund:

BSC VCT / NWBIS

Location:

Colne

Type:

Software

Year:

2007

Stage:

Expansion

Established in 2001, K3 supplies, installs and supports Microsoft based business planning and management software principally to retailers and manufacturers achieving both organic and acquisitive growth.

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Fund:

BSC VCT

Location:

Manchester

Type:

Services

Year:

2008

Stage:

MBO

KDC is a decommissioning, demolition and remediation specialist. Their operations are based around the decommissioning, dismantling, removal of high hazardous materials such as chemicals, asbestos and other contaminates, demolition and remediation of sites principally in the nuclear, petrochemical and pharmaceutical markets.

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Fund:

BSC VCT

Location:

Rotherham

Type:

Manufacturing

Year:

2010

Stage:

MBO / MBI

Lightmain supplies Multi Use Games Areas (MUGAs), skate parks, playgrounds, shelters and street furniture through its Leisure Division. Together with the products supplied through its' Engineering & Construction Divisions Lightmain is able to offer a total solution, including bespoke if required.

They started life in steel fabrication making highly reliable and durable equipment to work in the hostile underground environment of the mining industry. With the collapse of that industry, Lightmain has, since 1991, used these skills to build product to satisfy a growing demand for street and leisure furniture. Since then, in response to customer demand and mainly through recommendation, Lightmain has expanded its’ range to encompass many of the requirements of Local Government and commercial organisations.

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Fund:

NWBIS

Location:

Manchester

Type:

Telecommunications

Year:

2004

Stage:

Development

Manchester Metronet has launched the first independent local loop service within the M60 area of Manchester. This will enable end users to have wireless access to the internet through broadband offering many advantages over its competitors.

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Fund:

NWBIS

Location:

Manchester

Type:

Nanotechnology

Year:

2005

Stage:

Start up

Nanoco Technologies was established in October 2001 and is a spin out from the University of Manchester.

Nanoco develops Quantum Dots and applications based on Quantum Dots. Quantum dots nano-sized particles of fluorescent semiconductor material whose small size results in unique chemical, electronic and optical properties. They are a platform technology which can be applied to a range of Description applications including: anti-counterfeiting tags, next generation displays, solar cells and biological imaging.

The company floated on AiM in 2009.

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Fund:

BSC VCT

Location:

Sheffield

Type:

Industrial Products

Year:

2007

Stage:

Expansion

The Company specialises in the manufacture of ultra-large high pressure cylinders for the offshore oil and gas industry. Pressure Technologies was admitted to the Alternative Investment Market in June 2007.

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Fund:

BSC VCT

Location:

London

Type:

Healthcare

Year:

2001

Stage:

Development

Primal Pictures has developed a complete range of high quality anatomical CD-ROMs aimed at healthcare professionals, ranging from medical students to orthopaedic surgeons. Images derived from X-ray, magnetic resonance and other scan data have enabled the production of a completely authentic anatomical model of the human body.

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Fund:

Chandos Fund /BSC VCT / BSC VCT2

Location:

Goole

Type:

Services

Year:

2007

Stage:

MBO / MBI

Based on the UK's busiest trading estuary, the River Humber, RMS Group provides shipping, stevedoring, storage/warehousing and supporting logistics services for both import and export cargoes moving between Northern Europe, Scandinavia and the Baltic, Russia, the Iberian Peninsula and the Mediterranean.

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Fund:

BSC VCT

Location:

Leeds

Type:

Industrial Products

Year:

2004

Stage:

Development

Straight supplies plastic container solutions manufactured from recycled materials. The company’s products are utilised for the collection, storage or transportation of source separated waste.

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Fund:

NWBIS

Location:

Frodshom

Type:

Industrial Products

Year:

2004

Stage:

Early Expansion

 The company develops and manufactures carbon ceramic materials which are primarily used for braking systems in the automotive and aerospace industries.

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Fund:

NWBIS

Location:

Rochdale

Type:

Manufacturing

Year:

2007

Stage:

Development

Vindon Healthcare manufacture environmentally controlled storage rooms for the pharmaceutical, life sciences and food sectors together with the provision of related services. Operating successfully for almost 40 years, Vindon’s product range now comprises items such as controlled environment rooms and cabinets, incubators, blood storage equipment, fridges and freezers. In addition, Vindon manufacture more specialist systems for pharmaceutical, plant growth and dye testing research.

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Fund:

BSC VCT / BSC VCT2

Location:

Watford

Type:

Services

Year:

2007

Stage:

Development

Waterfall Services (Caterplus) is a specialist supplier of catering services to the residential and care home sector. Operating throughout the UK, the company has won a major contract with a local authority supplying catering services to local schools.

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