About us
Avonmore Developments is focused on providing pre-seed and seed equity capital into early-stage/high-growth businesses.
Since 2000 Avonmore has invested >50 businesses in over 75 funding rounds. It was founded by brothers Simon and Michael Blakey, two of the UK's first professional business angels. They were inspired by the developing angel market in the USA and thought there could be similar opportunities to support bright, talented and committed entrepreneurs in the, then still nascent, UK market.
Since then, Avonmore has been instrumental in the development of the UK early stage funding environment. This has been through wide ranging talks, conferences, government advice and mentoring - both of entrepreneurs seeking investment and new angel investors. Avonmore's approach to deals is hands-on: mobilising other investors, working actively with entrepreneurs post-deal, and coordinating further funding rounds.
“Any early stage tech company should jump at the chance to work with Simon. As an angel investor he is smart, insightful, honest, very well connected and unafraid to challenge assumptions (that’s a good thing!). What I found most admirable was his willingness to be supportive and present throughout the rollercoaster of steep ups and downs that is startup life”
Simon Blakey
Simon is in charge of Avonmore’s UK operations, deal negotiations and ongoing management.
He founded Avonmore following several years working at Sainsbury's, and then as a management consultant specialising in financial services start-up projects. Simon is originally a biochemist and management accountant by training. As well as being on the board of several of Avonmore’s portfolio companies, he is on the board of Cambridge Angels, Chairs the Investment Committee at Playfair Capital and is on the Investment Committee of the government-backed £100m Angel Co-fund.
As well has his business interests, Simon is on the management board of the Sainsbury Centre for Visual Arts at the University of East Anglia, where he chairs the finance subcommittee, is treasurer for the Ian Parry Scholarship and is also an Honorary Fellow of the Royal Academy of Music.
Michael Blakey
Michael is now based in Singapore where he now runs Cocoon Capital, a $30M seed-stage fund investing across South-East Asia. Michael was awarded 2015 Angel Investor of the Year by the British Business Angel Association and was picked for the UK’s 2016 Maserati 100.
Michael began his career at Sainsbury’s, specialising in Human Resources and IT and then joined Avonmore in 2002. He spends a considerable amount of his time mentoring entrepreneurs, engaging with other business angels, family offices and VCs, and speaks extensively about early stage investing in UK and Asian markets.
““I work with a great many angel investors, but few are so professional as Michael. He is a very serious investor while still always being really nice to deal with. The term ‘Superangel’ is often misused, but in Michael’s case it is really apt “
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