Dear,
I have an active interest in:
- Deal Flow real estate projects (plots/projects) in Spanish region
- Technology companies in Western Europe with a clear competitive advantage and upside potential
- Renewable energy projects in Europe
Sincerely
Anthony DC

British Architect / Developer in Cyprus designing and constructing small and very exclusive residential project of top market villas in superb location in Cyprus.This is a niche market development aimed at buyers who demand uncompromising levelsof design construction and specification.The project consists of 4 Villas only,using 3 different designs, as part of a gated and fully landscaped private development, on land in the ownership of my company.Cyprus is overprovided with badly designed,badly constructed housing for sale,which simply does not meet the demands of aware and discerning buyers.I am looking for financial partnering for this project, and alsofor future ventures.I have identified one or two onle supurb plots for the design of exclusive villas,( coastal / mountain locations in areas which will/ are becoming very very desirable )and am looking for a backer to work with me on acquisitions and development.I believe that I am offering something special and different to the market, and that this will be very profitable indeed.
John Cottam RIBA

Well, we finally closed the deal on our latest venture: European Strategies. This is an online business intelligence service targetting enterprises interested in EU funding opportunites at the national level. We are starting with Cyprus: if it works, we'll see. But what an adventure it's been. We only need EUR 80,000 in start-up capital, and finally contributed 1/2 ourselves, in addition to about 100 days of work in the start-up phase. Getting venture capital for amounts this small is impossible: it's only angel investors who are interested.

This month, we are also finished two investment plans in Ukraine, one for EUR 155 million; the other for EUR 101 million, on behalf of industrial clients. What a difference! The banks are lining up for those ones...

We are in the process of starting up two new ventures. The first, called European Consultants Network, is an online community, recruitment / networking and knowledge management site for consultants and experts working on EU-funded programmes. This we are funding in-house.

The second, called European Strategies, is an online business intelligence service which identifies and analyses EU funding opportunities for businesses and the public sector. We are searching for business angels for a total funding of EUR 60,000 for this venture (which remains open), and are contributing EUR 120,000 in own resources.

My lessons so far:

1. It's easier to borrow EUR 1,000,000 than EUR 60,000

2. For small-scale ventures, business angels are better than banks or VCs.

3. Angel investing is well-developed in northern Europe; less developed in southern Europe.

Does anyone know of angel investors active in Greece or Cyprus?

Never invest in early stage ICT companies without ensuring that you have the right commercial power, experience and network to make rapid growth happen. A good idea is one thing, making it happen is something completely different.

I am an American who is living and working in the UK, who wants to start my own business. To say that I've had some real hurdles to get over is an over statement.

My business is in Real estate, and I have been looking for funding to get it off the ground. Can anyone suggest where I can start looking in the UK for funding?