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Stephen Hampson 3 cropped cooler

Meet the Oxford Capital team – Stephen Hampson, Investment Director

1. Can you tell us a bit more about your role at Oxford Capital?  I work on assessing new investment opportunities and alongside many of our portfolio companies. Both sides of the role are equally interesting. We have an exciting portfolio of companies led by …

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Digital health innovation – what’s next?

The advancements that have been made in digital health in recent years have been phenomenal.  These innovations have been dominated by some significant driving factors such as the pressure on health services throughout the pandemic and the need for healthcare providers to consider alternative solutions.  …

Backing Founders interview with Simon Phelan, Founder, Hometree

Featuring Founder Simon Phelan

A guide to investing in the Enterprise Investment Scheme – for HNW investors

For those who are comfortable with the risk, the capacity for loss, and lack of liquidity, an EIS can be a compelling investment option. Investors will gain access to an asset class that is otherwise unavailable and will be investing into some of the most …

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Meet the Oxford Capital team – Jessica Dhiman, Compliance Manager

1. What’s a typical day like for you at Oxford Capital?  A typical day involves me undertaking tasks that are required to be met for the needs of the  Compliance Team but also tasks for the needs of the business in general.  It means that …

Backing Founders – sharing our knowledge and experience

David Mott, Founder Partner, Oxford Capital How would you feel if, as a founder, you knew that almost every opportunity, challenge, problem or major decision that you face had already been tackled by other business leaders in the past. And what if you could explore …

Backing Founders interview with Charlie Wells, Founder, HelloSelf

Featuring Founder Charlie Wells

Backing Founders interview with Rahul Powar, CEO & Randal Pinto, CTO, Red Sift

Featuring Co-Founder & CEO Rahul Powar and Co-Founder & CTO Randal Pinto

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The Future of Retail – How Tech is Transforming the Retail Experience

David Mott, Founder Partner, Oxford Capital Every element of our lives has shifted since March 2020 when the pandemic first hit, from how we work, engage with friends and family to how we shop and the entire retail experience. While the days of living in …

Meet the Oxford Capital team – David McCann, Associate, Investor Relations Operations

1. What’s a typical day like for you at Oxford Capital? Although I start each day with the same role to do, the tasks are never the same and I’m always kept on my toes. My role is at the heart of the firm, and …

National MRI more than a marketplace, a workflow solution

Stephen Hampson, Investment Director, Oxford Capital Medical scans are a critical source of information for diagnosis and treatment and waiting times can lead to enormous anxiety and impact the time taken to receive essential treatment.  While increasingly, medical imaging is seen as a key piece …

What will Backing Founders mean in 2022?

David Mott, Founder Partner, Oxford Capital What a year it’s been as we’ve all tried to navigate a new normal.  While Covid has been a difficult beast to predict and plan for, once again we’ve been amazed by the resilience our founders and their teams …

Meet the Oxford Capital team – Amber Hanlon, Analyst, Investor Relations

1. What’s a typical day like for you at Oxford Capital? My role is really varied, and no two days are ever the same within the Investor Relations team. There are always new tasks to tackle each day – from supporting the team and engaging …

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Portfolio company – Bower Collective becomes a certified B Corporation

Bower Collective becomes a certified B Corporation Bower Collective, the leading sustainable consumer goods business, has announced today its certification as a B Corporation (or B Corp), joining a growing group of companies reinventing business by pursuing purpose as well as profit. Bower has been …

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Oxford Capital leads $2.5 million seed round – National MRI Scan

The wait for diagnostic imaging is over: National MRI lands $2.5million from Monzo Founder and ex-Bupa CEO to get vital medical imaging done in a week • The country faces record numbers of people waiting for diagnostic imaging with the number of people waiting more …

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Attest raises $60m in latest fundraising round

Portfolio company, Attest has recently announced it has raised $60m following strong business growth in recent years.  The company which has developed a machine-learning based approach to consumer research will use the fundraise to help fuel its global growth. Attest raises $60M to expand its …

Oxford Capital features in Intelligent Partnership’s quarterly EIS update

Oxford Capital has sponsored the latest quarterly EIS update from Intelligent Partnership – the guide is packed full of information on the current state of the market and the outlook for early stage companies.  It also includes an overview of the Oxford Capital Growth EIS …

Oxford Capital named one of the most active seed VCs in the UK

We were thrilled to be named one of the most active seed VCs in the UK by the UK Business Angels Association – our portfolio companies have shown a huge amount of resilience and growth over the last 18 months and there’s so much to …

A VC’s period of maximum influence

Mark Bower-Easton, Business Development Manager, Oxford Capital When an entrepreneur launches a new business, two things are essential – a good idea, and enough capital to bring that idea to fruition. In the initial stages, most of the money will come from their own savings, …

Boehringer Ingelheim and Oxford BioTherapeutics Partnership Advances Second Oncology Drug Candidate into the Clinic

Positive news from portfolio company Oxford BioTherapeutics – it has announced today that it has achieved another milestone with Boehringer Ingelheim for the progress of a second oncology drug candidate.    

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Oxford Capital appoints Stephen Hampson as Investment Director

Oxford Capital appoints Stephen Hampson as Investment Director  – Hampson has over 20 years of experience in building technology companies as both a CEO and investor – Created more than 30 deep-tech companies as founder and CEO of Powerhouse – Joins the investment team to …

IFA magazine interview – Building mental resilience

We’ve continued our conversations with IFA Magazine on the importance of building the mental resilience of our founders and guiding them through the ups and downs of building their businesses. A topic that may also resonate with advisers.  Read more in this month’s digital magazine …

EIS Tax Reliefs focus – Inheritance Tax Relief

Mark Bower-Easton, Business Development Manager, Oxford Capital The government has been promoting private investment in to early-stage businesses via the Enterprise Investment Scheme (EIS) since 1994, and it shouldn’t be underestimated just how important entrepreneurial businesses are to the UK economy. EIS are high risk, …

Bower Collective raises £2.1 million in seed stage funding – Oxford Capital led round

Online retail platform for sustainable home and personal care products on a mission to eliminate plastic waste Oxford Capital and Doehler Ventures led the round alongside prominent angel investors Delivered rapid growth since its 2020 launch – 30% MOM revenue increase Built a highly engaged …

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Due to the potential for losses, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) considers this investment to be high risk.

What are the key risks?

  1. You could lose all the money you invest
    1. If the business you invest in fails, you are likely to lose 100% of the money you invested. Most start-up businesses fail.
  2. You are unlikely to be protected if something goes wrong
    1. Protection from the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS), in relation to claims against failed regulated firms, does not cover poor investment performance. Try the FSCS investment protection checker here.
    2. Protection from the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) does not cover poor investment performance. If you have a complaint against an FCA-regulated firm, FOS may be able to consider it. Learn more about FOS protection here.
  3. You won’t get your money back quickly
    1. Even if the business you invest in is successful, it may take several years to get your money back. You are unlikely to be able to sell your investment early.
    2. The most likely way to get your money back is if the business is bought by another business or lists its shares on an exchange such as the London Stock Exchange. These events are not common.
    3. If you are investing in a start-up business, you should not expect to get your money back through dividends. Start-up businesses rarely pay these.
  4. Don’t put all your eggs in one basket
    1. Putting all your money into a single business or type of investment for example, is risky. Spreading your money across different investments makes you less dependent on any one to do well.
    2. A good rule of thumb is not to invest more than 10% of your money in high-risk investments. https://www.fca.org.uk/investsmart/5-questions-ask-you-invest
  5. The value of your investment can be reduced
    1. The percentage of the business that you own will decrease if the business issues more shares. This could mean that the value of your investment reduces, depending on how much the business grows. Most start-up businesses issue multiple rounds of shares.
    2. These new shares could have additional rights that your shares don’t have, such as the right to receive a fixed dividend, which could further reduce your chances of getting a return on your investment.

 

If you are interested in learning more about how to protect yourself, visit the FCA’s website here.