David joined YFM in 2000 to head the Manchester office and became the MD in 2003. Prior to that he was a director at Enterprise Ventures, the investment arm of Enterprise Plc.
The VCTA represents eleven of the largest VCTs in the UK, making up more than 75% of the VCT industry, equivalent to £4.5bn of the entire £6bn VCT industry.
VCTs are becoming increasingly mainstream, and provide an accessible and cost-efficient source of funding for fast-growth businesses – proving to be a catalyst for growth and offering a bridge to future funding and scaling up. VCTA members have supported some of the country’s most successful entrepreneurs – Secret Escapes, Zoopla, Cazoo and Fat Face – and have around 600 businesses in their portfolio, spanning all sectors in every region of the country.
0:45 Firstly, could you tell us a bit more about VCTs and the work that they do with small businesses across the UK?
2:13 VCTs are only one of many investment models functioning in the UK. What makes their work with small businesses unique, and what are the specific benefits to these businesses?
3:23 Who is the typical VCT investor?
5:29 Clearly, you have helped many growing and scaling businesses during what has been a challenging time for many businesses. What do you think are the main challenges for growing businesses right now, and how is the landscape looking as a whole?
9:17 From your experience, what else do we need to be doing as a country to grow our startup ecosystem and better support British startups?
11:36 How can VCTs be harnessed within this process?
12:40 The recent budget demonstrated that levelling up is still clearly a priority in government policy going forwards – what role can VCTs play in the wider political agenda of levelling up the economy?
14:47 What’s the one thing we haven’t discussed that you want people to know about VCTs?
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