Since PIC was launched towards the end of 2014, we have introduced several direct investment opportunities to family offices. The most recent PIC meeting was held on May 11 at the Farmers Club, London. We were joined by Sunil Joseph, director of TeknoScan Systems, who introduced his company and discussed the opportunities for investors.
TeknoScan Systems is a private Canadian company that was founded in 2008. Their chemical trace systems can rapidly detect and identify threat substances, including explosives and narcotics, in sea and air cargo containers, public and private buildings and vehicles — a leading solution in a large global market. It generated significant interest from attendees, with several carrying out additional due diligence.
In advance of the meeting, we introduced selected PIC members to Spotcap, which was founded in 2014 by ex-Goldman Sachs and McKinsey finance professionals. It is a global fintech business providing high-margin, short-term, balance sheet loans online to SMEs in Spain, Netherlands and Australia and was originally backed by Rocket Internet and a leading family office investor. Spotcap was working with PIC to find an additional strategic investor to help finance their continued global expansion in 2015 and 2016. They were successfully funded prior to May 11.
We also held a PIC event on March 9, also at the Farmers Club, and were joined by Kevin Bacon, the chief executive officer (CEO) of Urban Legacies, and Oliver Bates, CEO of Viramal. Very different businesses, but both were well received by members.
Urban Legacies are creating unique active leisure destinations that combine indoor activities including sky and scuba diving, surfing and ice-climbing with retail and hospitality. They are seeking co-investors for their first sites in the UK and the United States. Bacon co-founded Urban Legacies in 2011 and is also co-founder of Frankie & Benny’s restaurants.
Viramal is a UK pharma company with a lead product in FDA phase III clinical trials. They are seeking investment to complete the trials and progress their other products currently in phase I and II. Their valuation is attractive compared to similar companies and they expect to provide a relatively quick route to monetisation for investors.
PIC goals
In addition to reviewing potential direct investment opportunities, we have continued to meet family offices to introduce PIC and discuss their direct investment requirements. We now have over 60 members and expect to exceed 100 members after the summer.
Most experienced investors originate direct deals through their own networks. PIC aims to augment this by providing family offices with access to broader direct deal flow without compromising quality, focus or privacy and to provide regular opportunities to network with like-minded investors.
Deals are sourced from the PIC network then filtered by the Investment Review Board, which is composed of active investors and leading advisers with expertise across the spectrum of direct private equity and real estate opportunities.
