Happy Holidays from IW Capital
As 2020 draws to a close, all of us here at IW Capital would like to take this opportunity to wish you Happy Holidays and a Happy New Year.
2020 has been a truly eventful year for IW Capital’s portfolio companies, one that has seen many of them garner significant media coverage that serves as a testament to the exemplary entrepreneurial talent driving our private sector forward. Equally, it’s been a great year for IW Capital, despite the impacts of Covid, raising vital growth finance across all of the businesses we support across a variety of industries. As we venture into 2021, we will continue to source and nurture world-class enterprise talent, supporting the best of the UK’s business leaders for a resilient and future facing SME economy.
2020 saw an array of both national and trade coverage for IW Capital – from discussing GPDQ and business after Covid with Forbes, to commenting on how the Covid vaccines will impact investor sentiment with City AM.
This year has also seen us continue to support the hospitality sector through these unprecedented times, completing a £3.7m investment in the Hove community hub, Rockwater which we discussed with BBC News. In addition, the pandemic brought opportunities to invest in MedTech businesses, where IW raised significant investment for GPDQ, a MedTech innovator that saw substantial growth through the pandemic.
IW also led a successful round of investment of £10m for Transcend Packaging providing a boost to the company in its goal to reduce consumer and industry reliance on single-use plastic by providing paper-based alternatives. Founded in 2017, Transcend utilises state of the art digital printing and specialty coating technology allowing paper straws, cups, and food containers to fully replace their plastic counterparts. Since its founding, the company has seen significant growth and partnerships with leading consumer brands such as McDonald’s, KFC and Starbucks. They were also featured in The Sunday Times Fast Track
December 31st marks the final date for Brexit, and no matter the outcome 2021 will be a transformative year for the UK, with SMEs playing a key role in the success of the economy moving forward. As SMEs account for 99% of all private sector business their ability to adapt and thrive is closely linked to the economy as a whole. These small businesses contribute £1.9 trillion annually to the economy of the UK, further to this, SMEs employ around 16 million people around the country, representing almost half of the employment in the UK.
In 2021, IW Capital is keen to help SMEs that need assistance to plan for the future and find the right kind of investment in order to help them reach the next level.