Springboard buys Private Capital Exchange

Springboard, the AIM-listed venture capital investment company that provided the funding to launch Venturedome, has acquired Private Capital Exchange, a company that was spun out of Venturedome in September last year.

Private Capital Exchange was the investment arm of Venturedome, which provides a news service and deal screening for entrepreneurs seeking capital. With the news service in place Venturedome was unable to achieve FSA regulation and so Private Capital Exchange was borne via a management buyout led by Paul Deakin. Venturedome continued its news service, deal screening and events management business and retained a small stake in Private Capital Exchange at the time of its management buyout.

Deakin, who started his career with 3i and prior to joining Venturedome was the head of corporate finance at Arthur Andersen in Manchester, has stepped back as chief executive of Private Capital Exchange but is still involved in a non-executive capacity.

Gerard Downs, finance director of Springboard, is understood to be holding the reins in Deakin’s absence. Like Springboard, Private Equity Exchange will be based south of Manchester, UK.

Separately, Venturedome is seeking to raise up to around GBP1.3 million, after expenses, via a private placement, which Acorn Corporate Finance is co-ordinating. The deadline for applications, which start with a minimum subscription of just short of GBP2,500 moving upwards in multiples of GBP48 was due to close April 20 but was extended to April 30 – as evcj went to press – after the minimum subscriptions were received. Funds raised will be used to repay Springboard’s investment of around GBP1 million in the business since its inception in late 1999.