Par Equity has won three awards at the recent UK Business Association Awards 2021 held virtually to an audience of more than 200 on Tuesday 8th June.
Paul Munn, Managing Partner at Par Equity said: ‘When we launched Par 13 years ago, our founding thesis was to wrap experienced angels around a traditional VC model. It’s a strategy which has helped us back and grow 63 companies so far, achieving some excellent results for our entrepreneurs and our investors. Winning these awards, one of which included more than 80 entrants, is a very proud moment for us.’
Angel Group of the Year
This award recognises the most active and impactful angel group in the UK, making not only a significant number of investments during the past year, but bringing strong added value to support the growth and success of their portfolio. Par Equity was recognised by judges as ‘strong player in the ecosystem that has seen good exits and acted as a driving force for regional investment’.
Exit of the Year
This award recognises the most exciting exit by an early-stage investor in the last 12 months. The award was won by Par Equity for its exit of Symphonics Software, from which Par Equity’s investors received an IRR of 44%, and early Par Angels and EIS Fund investors secured a 9.3x return. Edinburgh Napier University spin-out, Symphonic Software’s access management software provides enterprises with a centralised visibility and control over the policies that apply to their entire data landscape, within one easy-to-use interface. Its cutting-edge technology responded to the emerging GDPR regulation need, exemplifying the strength of UK university research and links to angel/EIS investing networks.
Scale up Team of the Year
This award recognises the most active and dynamic entrepreneurial team who, through strong leadership and teamwork, have achieved fast growth and scale of their highly innovative business.
This award went to Current Health, a company which Par Equity has supported since 2016. Current Health provides remote monitoring devices and sophisticated software so that patients can be monitored in real time, at ICU grade level, in the comfort of their own home. The business is in a fast scale up mode, with revenue growing rapidly and a team of more than 100 across the UK and US. Current Health recently closed out its $43m Series B round to support the business expansion.
Andrew Noble, a partner at Par Equity said ‘to win 3 out or the 12 awards run by UKBAA is fantastic result for Par and I’m immensely proud. Not only is it a strong validation of our investment approach and the returns we’re generating for clients, but it’s superb recognition for our entire team, who have worked tremendously hard over the last 12-15 months.’
About the awards
The annual UKBAA Angel Investment Awards celebrate the high growth and success in the angel and early-stage investment market – recognising the fastest growing brands and acknowledging the founders, angels, crowd funders and early-stage venture capital investors behind them.
Held virtually, the awards celebrated the success and determination of the angel and early-stage investment community following a year of struggle and uncertainty. With over 200 angels, VC investors and industry leaders in attendance, the awards reflected back on a year that has seen the eco-system adapting to the challenges presented by the COVID-19 pandemic.
A panel of 37 judges reviewed the hundreds of nominations received across the 12 categories to select the leaders and trail blazers from the UK’s investment ecosystem.
