FAQs

Following the Company Presentations Event, Henley Business Angels members and guests submit their interest in the companies that have pitched, and confirm whether they would like to be contacted for due diligence. For each company, HBA will identify a Lead Angel who will facilitate conversations on behalf of the interested angels, with the company founder. There may be one or more interested angels, or there may be no interest.

Once feedback from the event is received, HBA will connect the Lead Angel and the founder to begin discussions. The meetings can be held in-person or virtually, however, the coordination of these meetings is the responsibility of the entrepreneur. It is recommended to either pre-select and state your meeting dates during the pitch, or create an event poll to identify a suitable time; you do not want to irritate potential investors with extensive email trails trying to finalise a date. 

If companies require a room for the meetings with members, entrepreneurs can book a room at Henley Business School via Faith Riches, HBA Administrator. Faith can be contacted on f.v.e.riches@henley.ac.uk or 0118 378 3239.

Next steps and timetables are to be determined by the company and interested members. Entrepreneurs requiring independent advice, support and guidance should contact either their own adviser or a member of those professional service firms supporting HBA representatives. Entrepreneurs will have met these individuals during the Investment Readiness Workshop. Chris Rees, Co-Managing Director of HBA, is also available to offer help and support.

Typically, if Henley Business Angels are interested in an investment, they will then move towards conducting due diligence and the company will create a data room for this purpose. Following successful due diligence, the company and interested member(s) will progress to issuing a term sheet. Following the agreement of the term sheet, the process of drawing up and signing a shareholder agreement, or a Deed of Adherence to an existing shareholder agreement, will take place. This process is the responsibility of the company and investing HBA member(s) and/or guest(s) to organise, as is obtaining appropriate legal advice. Henley Business Angels recommends that companies seek appropriate legal, financial, IP and tax advice during the process of finalising any investment deal.

The Company will notify Chris Rees on c.rees@henley.ac.uk of the closure pursuant to the agreed Entrepreneur Terms and Conditions and shall fulfil the provisions as set therein. Companies are alerted to the fact that a success fee of 5% is payable by entrepreneurs on the funds raised from HBA members and guests. The T&Cs cover both members and guests introduced by members, as specifically provisioned in the Entrepreneur Terms and Conditions that entrepreneurs are required to sign upon being selected to present.

Post-closure, Henley Business Angels will work with the Company to develop a press release to be published on the HBA website, the UKBAA website, and HBA’s social media. This press release will also be shared via the University of Reading’s and Henley Business School’s social media and offline media channels.

Disclaimer: HBA Ltd., Henley Business School, Henley Centre for Entrepreneurship, Henley Labs and the University of Reading do not provide investment advice or promote any investment opportunity, and are not authorised by the FCA in this regard.

Henley Business Angels selects companies that meet our investment criteria, and where there is a fit between HBA members and the entrepreneur’s business idea.

Each Henley Business Angels member is different and will have different criteria they are looking for. However, each Henley Business Angels investor has significant experience in a variety of sectors and functional areas that will influence their interest in investing. Broadly speaking, HBA investors look for businesses that have:

• A knowledgeable and commercially savvy management team
• A business idea that solves a real problem
• Has significant advantages over competition
• The ability to be scaled rapidly
• An opportunity to achieve a high return on investment
• A clear route to exit

More specifically, there must be a fit between HBA investors and your team and business idea.

Entrepreneurs selected to present to members will be provided tuition as part of the Investment Readiness Workshop. There will also be an opportunity to rehearse during practice pitch sessions, with an expert feedback panel, specially selected to suit the company.

You can also find top tips from entrepreneurs that were previously successful at gaining investment from HBA here.

Entrepreneurs wanting to apply to Henley Business Angels should read all the information provided on our dedicated Entrepreneurs section of the website. 

As part of the application, entrepreneurs will need to submit a business plan, financial projections, a profits and loss table, and a pitch deck, along with the application form. 

Find out more about our funding process here.

The application provides HBA members with what they need to know about the entrepreneur’s business and provide details of the opportunity being served, the value proposition, routes to market, competitive advantages, how the business would scale, and a summary of the financial projections, risk assessment, funds sought and return offered.

Entrepreneurs are asked to submit with their application: a business plan, an investment deck, financial projections and a cap table. It is important to ensure that entrepreneurs provide answers to each of the questions in full, providing all the information asked for. Avoid answering questions on the application form with ‘see business plan’, or similar, as missing out key information, or failing to include it, could hinder an application’s chances of progressing to the next stage.

Henley Business Angels primarily invests in Pre-Seed and Seed funding rounds, with a focus on companies that are (S)EIS eligible. Henley Business Angels is always keen to hear from previous investments for carry-on funding.

If you are unsure whether you’re at the right stage for Henley Business Angels to invest, take a look at our investment criteria. If you’re still unsure, reach out to a member of the team.