The Bure Valley Group Team have been working alongside Tribune Group Limited and we have exciting times ahead for the Group and its shareholders.
Bure Valley Group Management Team
GBMS Tech has always worked towards a combined model of Insurance and Technology, working together to protect business’ and have access to the business decision makers via the compliance route of insurance; as such we are extremely pleased to announce a ‘go to market’ model with Volante Insurance (www.volanteglobal.com), the launch date is expected to be early June and will reach out to all our existing policy holders as part of the new business model. Cyber Risk deduced from FICO (www.fico.com). Prevention provided by GBMS Tech and Insurance provided by Volante – offering a 50% discount on policies when GBMS Tech provide the protection. Not only does this underline the credibility of the technology but it also provides huge growth opportunities.
Volante is backed by Nephila Capital, the principal provider of equity capital to the business. Volante’s management team have also invested alongside Nephila to ensure optimal alignment of interests. Nephila is the world’s largest insurance-linked securities and reinsurance-linked investments manager. The firm is led by Frank Majors and Greg Hagood, with leading global investment firms KKR & Co and Man Group PLC as minority shareholders.
GBMS Tech has developed a proven system that is like immunisation for a computer, able to stop infections from happening without any need to recognise the threat, having already achieved sales of 2.1 million, with another £10 million in the pipeline. It plans to achieve profitability by 2020 and deliver a mid-case target return of up to 20x for EIS investors, not guaranteed.
GBMS Tech is still open to experienced investors for the next allotment, however, there is only 1.5 million capacity left, so it could close soon.
Bure Valley Group Management Team
Hiscox is a Global specialist insurer, listed on the London Stock Exchange.
They have now released their third Cyber Readiness Report which provides an up-to-the-minute picture of the cyber readiness of organisations, as well as a blueprint for best practice in the fight to counter the ever-evolving cyber threat.
For more information contact [email protected]
Last week on the 26th and 27th of March Bure Valley Group attended the Legalex held at the Excel in London. The show was a huge success, some very strong relationships were made, and the awareness of the technology was further extended.
Bure Valley Group joined GBMS Tech – who were at the stand with their partners Cool DC to promote and discuss the technology with potential new investors and existing shareholders.
As you know, Cool DC is a Data Centre design, build and operator company which hosts IT services and provides data storage that improves and modernises the data centre world.
The main focus of the event for us was to meet and speak with as many professionals and potential investors as possible and for Cool DC it was to showcase the importance of cybersecurity and introduce awareness of the technology that Cool DC have deemed a mandatory requirement for all clients – Trident CMP™, provided by GBMS Tech.
The industry-leading show lived up to its promise of being the most forward thinking to date housing 200 cutting edge suppliers and 150 educational seminars from some of the world’s most innovative thinkers and legal firms looking to modernise their practice.
Most of the pressing concerns that need addressing in the cyber security industry fall within the legal sector, making this exhibition one not to miss.
Legalex is aimed at legal professionals and those in supporting industries. We spoke to Paralegals, Solicitors, Barristers and everyone between. There was a right mix of characters and we had a lot of fun chatting to the different people that visited the stand throughout the day.
Bottles of champagne and sweets were offered as a tempting giveaway in return for the business cards of the movers and shakers of the industry.
Not only did we learn a vast amount during the two days, we also secured many leads and enquiries. The feedback received by all from the event was staggering with several meeting plans in the coming months.
Bure Valley Group Directors, Antony Wade and Chris Starkey (pictured above with GBMS Tech’s Simon Simmons) had this to say;
“The Legal industry has a tremendous amount of pressure coming their way over the coming years as regulations on data protection are getting tighter! Attending this show gave us a much better understanding on how practices are reacting to this and it was apparent from the get-go that they are looking for companies who have an edge over traditional “remediation” technologies. It was certain to see that many were very much open to trying new technologies and from the feedback that was given, GBMS Tech was a no-brainer compared to the other cyber security exhibitors. Our investors who managed to make it to the event were elated at the response from potential clients and we are 100% behind making sure GBMS Tech reach their financial goals in order to grow efficiently as planned.”
If you need any further information or would like to see a brochure please contact [email protected]
Bure Valley Management Team.
We are pleased to announce the recent appointment of Peter Dunphy and Charlotte Arden to the Bure Valley Group team.
Both Charlotte and Peter have extensive experience and knowledge in EIS and SEIS investment vehicles, attending to the specific criteria, needs and requirements of Sophisticated and High Net Worth Individuals with huge success.
In addition to the wealth of experience Peter and Charlotte bring to Bure Valley, they also come with a well-established strong network of investors, angels and syndicates alike.
Peter Dunphy – Has extensive experience of Corporate Finance and Managing Funding Processes, he has successfully concluded a number of major private equity investments. He regularly presents to industry bodies such as the EIS Association. Peter was the CEO of a highly successful global business services company and has also worked as a Management Consultant for an international firm working in the creative and digital media sectors and as an Investment Director for ‘Dragons Den’s James Caan.
Charlotte Arden – An Executive Producer with extensive Marketing, Events Management and Film Making experience which includes Casting, Publicity, Fundraising and Investor Relations.
We are delighted to be joining forces and getting stronger as our new members contribute to our ever-growing expertise at Bure Valley Group.
If you would like to get in touch and introduce yourself, please give the office a call on 01603340827
The Cybersecurity industry is growing exponentially – It is now a major concern and a great business opportunity.
Companies across the globe are growing more aware of the potential threat leading to a greater amount of resources being allocated to companies that can help mitigate such risks.
For more information please contact a member of our team at: [email protected]
Bure Valley Group are proud to be working with Gizmo Film Productions!
As you know Bure Valley Group as a company specialise in disruptive technologies, raising funds for start-ups.
Our number one rule is we only back companies that we have a personal invested interest in and can see huge growth potential, after a stringent due diligence process.
We have a handful of exciting projects that we have personally selected to meet the bespoke criteria of our investors, dedicating all our energies working alongside the founders to grow the business exponentially.
Having said that, for the last three years our Director, Antony Wade, has worked in conjunction with a well-established and award-winning film production company – Gizmo Films. His long working relationship with Gizmo´s Managing Director Peter Dunphy has meant that Antony can bring exceptional experience in successful EIS/SEIS backed investment opportunities in the world of TV and film to our investors.
Gizmo Films have several current projects in production and development as well as a fascinating history of completed productions. They started out specialising in documentaries for TV working with the BBC, ITV, Channel 4 and Discovery. From 2012 they moved into feature films for theatrical, VOD and TV release worldwide working with major distributors such as Entertainment One, IFC Sundance and Samuel Goldwyn.
Its credits include numerous TV documentaries as well as feature films including; ‘Mad to be Normal’ with David 
Tennant, Elisabeth Moss, Gabriel Byrne & Michael Gambon;
BIFA nominated ‘Funny Cow’ released in 2018 with Maxine Peake, Paddy Considine, Stephen Graham, John Bishop and Vic Reeves; A forthcoming feature biopic of Bill Wyman of The Rolling Stones ‘The Quiet One’ and British urban Film Festival winner ‘Two Graves’ with Dave Johns, Cathy Tyson & Katie Jarvis.
The Company is led by experienced film producer Charlotte Arden and entrepreneur, private equity specialist and City of London Council member Peter Dunphy.
Their latest project ‘Surviving Christmas with the Relatives’ has just been released in cinemas starring Sally Phillips (Bridget Jones), Gemma Whelan (Game of Thrones), Julian Ovenden (Downton Abbey) and household name British stars Joely Richardson, James Fox and Patricia Hodge. The film investment company is EIS advance assured offering investors 30% tax rebate and is set for a major home entertainment release (Video on Demand and DVD) next Christmas 2019. Investment opportunities still exist in this film and will close soon. A small amount of completion funds are required for marketing the home entertainment release.
‘Surviving Christmas’ written and directed by the world-renowned James Dearden (Rogue Trader, Pascali’s Island’ and Fatal Attraction).
Alongside “Surviving Christmas” Antony has played an active role in fundraising for the critically acclaimed film “Funny Cow” and the TV documentary “The Quiet One” with huge success.
On Wednesday 21st November this year Bure Valley Group´s Directors Christopher Starkey and Antony Wade attended the premier of the production, joining SOHO Studios and Gizmo Film Productions, among others on the red carpet. A fantastic experience for all involved.
Charlotte Arden, the Executive producer at Gizmo Films has extensive marketing, events management and film making experience which includes casting, publicity, fundraising and investor relations. She has successfully produced a number of feature length documentaries.
Exciting times! Bure Valley is thrilled to be a part of it.
Investment opportunities still open, contact a member of the team for more info on [email protected]
The Tribune Group have made HUGE headway in the roll out of Alchemist both Nationally and Internationally.
For those of you that are not aware – Bure Valley Group, assisted TGL with an EIS round of funding of £2.5m back in Aug 2016, since then, the company has gone from strength to strength and we are ecstatic to have been a major part of that journey.
If you are one of the smart investors that BACKED the technology, you will want to read this exciting update……
First thing to highlight is the change of chairman.
Phil Buck became the Chairman in August this year and brings to Tribune 40 years of business experience with particular skills in business & product development and managing growth and change. His predecessor Tim Lewin did a fantastic job bringing stability to the company and more importantly secured the manufacturing relationship with TT electronics, the very heart of Tribunes activities. Tim has now retired with Phil Buck stepping up to take the challenge. We wish them every success.
Further changes will be made to the already strong board as they make necessary transitions from Product Development to Business Development with the end goal of FULL commercialisation, which is in clear sight.
Acquisition of the IP
After making a formal proposal requesting ownership from the shareholders, Tribune are in the process of acquiring EHT P&L. This will result in TGL obtaining full ownership of the IP thus giving them unrestricted global rights. This will of course bring tremendous value to Tribune and its shareholders and allow them to control and develop the technology, making tribune much more attractive for new investment.
As well as being accepted onto the Welsh Governments Advanced Growth Program (AGP) which creates a strong position to receive real support to accelerate growth, Tribune Group are also in discussions to obtain an Asset Finance Loan to enable them to build stock ahead of expected sales drive.
Results speak for themselves!
The first major order of Alchemist was a fleet roll out to MJD Group Ltd. Tribune are two thirds of the way into the installations and from December 2018 they will produce monthly revenues.
Expectations from the current business order pipeline is for around 2,500 units to the haulage industry – Sales at this level in 2019 could generate an annual lease income of around £24 million.
Statement from the Head Engineer Dave Mulholland. (Eddie wrapping up business with Stephen Dole, Managing Director of MJD)
“The knowledge we have all acquired both new and existing has proved extremely valuable and in turn allowed us to make the necessary changes to overcome objections, and perfect Alchemist. Making everything from here on out far more productive, with a much faster process.”
Testimonials
Testimonials have been provided to Tribune from happy trialists and soon to be clients. Below is one example compiled by Mark Holt, the director of Wells Farm Dairy Ltd.
Wells Farm Dairy run approximately 100 trucks and were referred to TGL via a larger operator S J Bargh (approx. 1200 trucks) who too are trialling Alchemist.
Mark Holt, the director of Wells Farm Dairy Ltd, said the following.
“The Holt family have farmed at Wells Farm for 100 years. It is currently farmed by the Fourth generation Paul and Mark Holt.
In this competitive market where it is important to deliver good value to our customers, we at Wells farm are always looking at ways we can reduce our carbon impact on the environment and remain competitive.
On the 10th September 2018 we fitted The Alchemist fuel saving and emission reducing technology to one of our Mercedes 6 X 2 Actros which travels daily from Stafford to Newark covering 160 miles each day. Over this 7-week period we have seen an MPG improvement of up to 20% which means a reduction of 20% on CO2 emission. The NET savings will end up at around 15% once all contract fees are taken into consideration.
Installing the system was quick and easy. We are very impressed with the Alchemist product and will be installing LPG bunkering facilities at our depot in preparation for the roll out of fitting our entire fleet with this impressive fuel saving technology.”
International Re-sellers
It´s not just nationally that things are hotting up for Tribune Group, their international sales teams and JVP´s are now starting to come into fruition, with “ADDvantage” the American re-seller, fronted by Danny Mitchell – A Director of Tribune, leading the charge. They have covered huge ground in a very short space of time in adapting the technology to the larger, more robust American trucks. They are expecting sales imminently, marry that with complete infrastructure in place. ADDvantage are now a fully functioning and operational re-seller for TGL.
Tribune also recently concluded an agreement in South Africa, where they expect to generate business early 2019. They are also currently negotiating a potential partner in France, Germany and other parts of the world are not far behind with a long list of potential customers awaiting trails.
The Sky is the Limit!
Greater levels of funding and the recent addition of Mike Ayles, who joined Tribune from TTE as the Head of Development earlier this year, has enabled Tribune to have a sole focus on product development and carry out rigorous modelling of Alchemist and are now able to objectively investigate the product in ways that were not possible before.
Tribune have already undergone testing and adaption on the Alchemist for use on Tier 1, 2 and 3 generators. Operators are scurrying to find a solution to reduce emissions since this was made an immediate requirement through recent legislation. Further testing is on-going, but it looks like Alchemist could be the most impactful and cost-effective options available, there are tens of thousands of these generators in the UK alone.
As diesel generators use a very similar technology to the rail industry this development will rapidly speed up the entry to the Rail market, they will now be able to offer a product already proven in power generation sector.
This is a hugely exciting time for Tribune Group and we are very proud to be apart of it!
The rubbish the world creates used to be China’s Jewels. It was the largest importer of recyclable waste. BUT! When it called time out in 2017 it left many without any kind of alternative.
China’s ban has forced some to adapt and take some responsibility for their own rubbish, so, are we moving to a new era of recycling, or is the rubbish amounting?
China has long been the answer to the worlds waste problems. Since the 1980´s it been the biggest importer of foreign scrap. But the dumping ground the world has come to rely on has ended when the Chinese government introduced an international waste ban. How has this changed the way manage global waste?
For Decades the rubbish we generated wasn’t our problem, the vast majority of it, from the likes of the US, UK, EU and Japan where sent to china for recycling. The trade boosted china´s economy and provided materials for its manufacturing industry, however it also created health and environmental problems, particularly in areas dealing in hazardous electronic waste refer to this article for more on that.
Then in 24 of the most powerful types of trash helped mitigate their problem so china was free to deal with its own rubbish.
But has the ban has been good for the environment on a global scale? Chinas enormous capacity to process recycled materials helped limit the amount of waste on international landfills.
And by using recycled materials it reduced the demand for raw resources.
Chinas trash ban was welcomed by environmentalist, not only would it make china cleaner, it would also force countries to re-evaluate the way they dispose of rubbish and causing chaos for councils as it mounts up, but the cut off has left some struggling to find alternatives.
Surpluses are building up in warehouses and waste handling facilities, leaving those frantically trying to find new markets to handle these materials.
A recent study estimates that over 110 million metric tonnes of plastic could pile up by 2030. The countries in South East Asia are beginning to pick up the short fall but they lack the facilities to cope with demand. The region is one of the most polluted in the world, and already struggles with its own handling of waste.
Does the solution lie closer to home??
Shipping rubbish abroad adds to greenhouse gas emissions. A national rather than global approach may also motivate countries to clean up their act.
For years almost half of the worlds waste was sent to China, it was an arrangement the world came to rely on, but now that that´s ended ….
What are the alternatives? Is there enough time to find a solution to this mounting problem?
Some of the most dynamic, exciting startups in the UK over the past few years have been tech firms. Think TransferWise, for instance, which increased in value by over £640m in the space of just 5 years since its inception.
It is therefore little surprise that many investors are asking whether the tech industry is the superior choice when it comes to investing in startups.
It’s difficult to say either way with any certainty. Of course, investing in any type of startup inherently carries more risk than investing in bonds. Yet there are particular advantages to tech startups which make investing in them an attractive option.
Here are some of the benefits to consider when looking at investing in UK tech startups:
Very few companies have the potential to scale up as quickly as tech startups. This, of course, presents a great opportunity for you to generate a higher investment profit.
Think of large tech brands like Skype, Google and Facebook. The latter, for instance, started out in 2004 as a project by Mark Zuckerberg in his Harvard dorm room. In February 2002, it made its public offering with the company value standing at $104b. That’s a huge change in just 8 years!
Tech companies are uniquely positioned in that they do not usually incur increasing, incremental costs for producing their product as distribution grows. An initial investment may well be required to first create the software, but from there it can be produced on a wide scale without needing to significantly change the source code.
Certain industries are notorious for having low-profit margins, with the aviation industry arguably the worst performer. The tech industry, however, stands at the other end of the spectrum.
Companies in an industry can justifiably assert that the industry is high margin if average profit margins exceed 10%. Financial services businesses, for instance, typically have low running and production costs, so profit margins between 15-20% are fairly common.
The tech industry can easily boast of profit margins up to and exceeding 20%. Indeed, it is not unheard of for tech companies to boast a 60-90% margin on their sold services.
Tech companies, quite often, do not need high levels of funding to get off the ground. They do not need to purchase a large inventory at the outset, for instance.
This also means that lots of UK tech startups are eligible for SEIS status, which requires the business’s assets to be valued under £200,000.
SEIS is a little-known, powerful investment scheme which offers investors significant tax relief and reduced investment risk. For instance, you could invest up to £100,000 in companies like these per tax year, and receive up to 50% relief on your income tax.
Experienced, sophisticated investors appreciate how important it is to diversify your investments. Across industries, across different size companies, across companies in different stages of the business lifecycle, and so on.
If you are not already investing much in the tech industry, why not add another string to your bow – especially given the high margin potential?
Tech startups that succeed have the potential to literally turn even small investors into millionaires. Take Airbnb as an example. If in 2009 you invested $1000 into the new company, then that would have grown to a $2m return just 8 years later.
The challenge, of course, is determining which tech startups will fail and which will become the next big players, such as Uber and Airbnb.
Part of the solution is to work with an experienced investment company like ourselves. This allows you to better “stress test” different tech startup investment opportunities, therefore increasing your likelihood of getting a high return.
Another important strategy is to spread out your investments. Nobody here said that you need to look at all of the UK’s newest tech companies, and only pick one!
Investing in the stocks of large, existing tech companies can be interesting. However, investing in tech startups presents an exciting opportunity to be a part of something that could actually change the world for the better.
This route offers the chance to not only make a high return. It also gives you the chance to help drive innovation, create new jobs and even improve living conditions for people across the world. For instance, social media undoubtedly has its downsides, but think of how much many of these companies have also empowered many people living under oppressive regimes.
Overview: Investing in Tech
Tech startups encompass a wide range of interesting companies including security, automation, AI, cloud computing, Big Data and more. Indeed, new players within this industry are creating new industries all of the time, such as virtual reality.
There are many advantages to investing in tech, but you should always understand the risks of doing so. Never invest more than you can afford to lose, and think carefully about your risk tolerance. Diversify your investments.
Take your time and survey different investment opportunities in partnership with other investors, such as those within our network here at Bure Valley Group. If you are new to this sphere, it especially helps to rub shoulders with those who have a good grasp of the ins and outs.
Pay careful attention to the idea of the tech startup in question. Review their strategy, and pay careful attention to their team. Investing in any kind of startup is more than just investing in a product or service. It involves investing in those who will develop and deliver it.