Strong activity sees angel investment pipeline generate 500 new jobs

5 Sep 2012

Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, Richard Bruton, TD, (left) with Michael Phelan, CEO, Endeco, and John Phelan, Halo Business Angel Partnership

Some 500 new jobs are on stream to be created by 2015 as a result of strong deal activity among Irish angel investors that has seen €8.5m invested in 40 deals in the last 18 months.

These investments have so far created 200 jobs with a further 300 in the pipeline by 2015, according to the Halo Business Angel Partnership.

Since its founding in 2008 the partnership has overseen €40.3m in total investment, including €19m directly from private investment angels.

HBAP’s 100th investment

Today the HBAP announced its 100th investment – Endeco Technologies’ raising of €1.6m, which will create 14 new jobs. Endeco Technologies currently employs 12 people in Dublin and Cork. The 14 new roles will be in product development, project management, sales and marketing.

The company has developed a cost effective wireless energy management system for retail, commercial and hospitality businesses. Its wireless sensors automate the control of energy-intensive electrical equipment, such as refrigeration, lighting, heating and air conditioning and can reduce energy bills by 20pc by optimising the way that businesses manage power consumption.

“The Halo Business Angel Partnership and Dublin BIC were a great help to us in preparing our business plan, analysing markets and distribution channels and identifying export opportunities,” Michael Phelan, CEO, Endeco, said.

“This ensured we had a solid plan and were investor ready before meeting the angel investors HBAP introduced us to.

“This is our second round of funding. HBAP helped us secure business angel investors in the first round of investment, too. We were pleased that Michael Stanley and his brothers, our original investors, are following their money in this second round along with new investors. These investors understood the clarity of our proposition and business. They came on board with both finance and deep retail experience, opening up their international network to allow us accelerate growth and be more focused,” Phelan added.

Ireland’s Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation Richard Bruton was on hand to mark the 100th investment by HBAP.

“Today’s announcement that the Halo Business Angel Partnership has provided support, with some help from Government, to 100 dynamic companies, with a total investment of over €40m and the creation of well over 500 jobs, represents a great achievement.

“We in Government are determined to continue building on this success, support more businesses and help create more jobs and growth in the economy,” Bruton added.

This landmark 100th deal sees the overall investment facilitated by HBAP reach €40.3m, including €19m direct investment from business angels, and the balance leveraged from seed and venture capital funds, other privates investors and Enterprise Ireland.

“Despite the economic gloom, angel investment has been very strong in the last 18 months in particular,” said HBAP national co-ordinator John Phelan.

“In this time, HBAP has overseen €8.5m worth of private HBAP angel investment in 40 companies, with a further €10.5m being invested from other sources.

“By the end of 2012, these companies will have created more than 200 new jobs with cumulative revenues exceeding €20m.  A further 300 positions are expected to be created by 2015 with revenue forecasted at €100m,” Phelan said.

John Kennedy is a journalist who served as editor of Silicon Republic for 17 years

editorial@siliconrepublic.com