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DISCOVERY INVESTMENT FUND LTD
Bringing Good Ideas to Life
MEET OUR MEMBERS
We currently have 13 active investor members and welcome the opportunity to meet with potential members to discuss our approach to investment. Our aim is to offer no more than 16 memberships in this particular syndicate in order to maintain the hands on approach our members have in the investment process. We hold a board meeting once every 6 weeks which our members attend and in advance of this they are presented with cases for their review. From these cases they will select 2 who will be invited to present to the board at our meeting. We are an unregulated activity in terms of the FSA and therefore rely on certification of members as Sophisticated Investors as defined by the FSMA 2000. Unless otherwise stated, all investment opportunities are carried out under the Enterprise Investment Scheme (EIS) rules and therefore attract tax benefits. Please contact Julie Findlay should you wish to discuss the process further.
Our office is based in Broughty Ferry and provides resources for reviewing all investment opportunities and monitoring the performance of portfolio companies. We are also a partner of the Scottish Co-Investment Fund which provides matching equity funding of up to 50% (£500k max) on any qualifying investment if required.
OUR MEMBERS
Combined Investment Experience of over 100 years
SCOTT LANDSBURGH
Chairman
Scott retired from his position as Chief Executive of the Scottish Salmon Producers Organisation in 2018. Prior to that he had held a number of senior management positions within the food industry. He has also developed a small portfolio of residential and commercial properties and co-invests in new developments in Midlothian. He has owned a small retail business and a corporate hospitality business which were sold in early 2000s. Currently, as well as chairing Discovery Investment Ltd; he has a non- Executive directorship with a farming Co-op.
SCOTT CARNEGIE
Chief Executive Officer
Scott is the former Chairman of Discovery Investment Fund Limited having been the driving force behind the original founding of the Discovery Investment Fund in order to create a venture capital base in the Dundee area. A well-known face in the Scottish Financial Sector, over the years he has been involved with several UK companies covering such diverse sectors as technology, property, leisure, and food manufacturing. He is currently a Director at Quest Corporate Ltd, an Edinburgh based Corporate Finance and Interim Management House where he is responsible for business growth, financing, and structures.
JOHN BEATON MBE
Angel Investor
Founder of Kolfor Plant which in addition to supplying the North Sea Industry also operated in West Africa, Far East, USA, Brazil and the former Soviet Union. Included in John's notable achievements and recognitions, he is an Honorary Fellow of Dundee University and of the University of Abertay. He was the recipient of the UK Offshore Lifetime Achievement Award in 2000. John is also an International friend of NASA.
JOHN BENNET FRICS IRRV
Angel Investor
John is a retired Senior Partner of J&E Shepherd and former Director of Dundee United Football Club. He has a good knowledge of the property sector and is interested in practical business propositions.
STEVE BRUCE
Angel Investor
Steve has both a mechanical and electronic background and currently acts as General Manager at GA Sliding Head, who are the preferred supplier of many of the world's leading manufacturers in the telecoms, aerospace, defence, medical and automotive industries worldwide.
ANN BUDGE
Angel Investor
Ann Budge spent 20 years building Newell & Budge to become one of the most respected IT services companies in the UK. She formed the company in 1985, with co-Founder/Director Alison Newell, whose interests she bought out in 2001, with Venture Capitalist backing. Having achieved a turnover in excess of £38 million by 2005, she then led the sale of the business to the major European Software Company, Sopra Group, headquartered in Paris. In the role of CEO of Sopra Newell & Budge, Ann spent the next 3 years integrating Sopra's UK Operations with those of Newell & Budge, forming an enlarged UK business with a turnover of circa £60 million.
Ann is most recently known as the owner, CEO and Chairwoman of Hearts Football Club.
DAVID CHEYNE
Angel Investor
David is a Chartered Accountant who in his early career spent 10 years in Ernst & Young's Edinburgh, London and Hong Kong offices, latterly in Corporate Finance and Advisory Services. He has since spent 20 years in a variety of senior commercial roles in food retail, latterly as Group Finance Director of Somerfield operating under both Publicly Quoted and Private Equity ownership. Since the sale of Somerfield in 2009 David has developed a 'Portfolio Career' which includes the Chairmanship of Criticaleye (The Network of Leaders), and a number of active Non-Exec Directorships and Angel investments.
LAURA CONWAY
Angel Investor
Laura's career began with KPMG and she went on to become Managing Director of Presentation Products Limited sourcing niche retail gift and related products from areas such as the Far East via subsidiary business Farfalla Limited, before selling the business in 2016. Laura currently holds a number of director positions including, Farfalla Limited, Dead Whisky Society Limited and property developers LEJ Limited.
FRANK ESPOSITO
Angel Investor
Following a successful career as a professional footballer with Dundee United FC Frank has developed a number of interests in property and retail. His property development directorships include Emmock Homes Ltd. and Westcourt Mill Ltd.
DOUG FLYNN CA
Angel Investor
After qualifying as a Scottish Chartered accountant Doug Flynn spent several years as Finance Director of major Scottish manufacturing companies before joining Fife and Kinross Investments Ltd as Managing Director.
In 1988 he set up Lonedale Ltd as a vehicle for acquiring companies in a variety of fields including catering, property investment, and nursing homes. In 2003 Lonedale Ltd acquired a major shareholding In Fife and Kinross investments Ltd, which it sold in 2007 to a London based Venture Capital company.
GRAEME HAY
Angel Investor
Graeme’s career began in food retailing with him holding a number of management positions with various businesses within the sector. He started his own chain of convenience stores in 1994, resulting in an exit in 1998 to Aberness Ltd. Graeme became a main board director and shareholder at Aberness Ltd and in 2004 he was involved in the complete share sale of the company to Somerfield Stores Ltd. Since then he has built a portfolio of both commercial and residential properties. In addition, Graeme is an active Non-Exec Director in 4 companies and is involved in various Angel investments.
JOHN MONTFORD
Angel Investor
John had a successful career in which he built a chain of restaurants and subsequently sold them in 1994 to a large group. Since then, he has actively invested, mentored and prepared a diverse range of companies for trade sale or further growth including a marine consultants, financial advisers, manufacturers, retail stores and gaming specialist. John is keen to continue this trend and is an active Director on a number of boards.
JIM ROY
Angel Investor
Jim was formerly chairman and co-owner of one of the North East's foremost private companies and has extensive experience of trading in the Far East. He is currently a shareholder in several of Scotland's most promising commercial prospects and is a serial investor in new start-ups.
DONALD SMITH
Angel Investor
Donald has spent the majority of his career as an Avionics Engineer in the Royal Air Force, specialising in engineering operations control and management. Since leaving the RAF he has completed a MBA, specialising in Business Angels and their investment decision making process. He has now published his first paper on this topic and presented these findings to the world's foremost academic conference on Entrepreneurship Research. He is now researching Exit Strategies on Business Angel Investing. Donald is also a Member of the Development Board for the Saltire Foundation, whose objective is to find, fuel and spark Scotland's human potential, in turn creating our next generation of business leaders.