NEWTOWNARDS, NORTHERN IRELAND, 16th August 2018 Crescent’s Shnuggle, the multi award winning clever baby products company, has announced its biggest export contract to date with the world’s leading Asia Pacific distributor, Bloom & Grow.
This latest partnership will see the launch of the Shnuggle brand in Australia as well as supporting further growth of Shnuggle’s Asian market share, reaching a potential population of just under two billion people.
Bloom & Grow kick started the deal by officially launching Shnuggle in Shanghai at the CBME fair in China last month, adding to their ever-increasing global reach.
Bloom & Grow is a significant addition to the ever-growing list of Shnuggle’s export territories and the brand will join other major players in the portfolio such as Skip Hop, Ergobaby, Trunki and Nuby.
Shnuggle currently export to over 35 countries, adding 18 of those this year alone following major launches in America, Canada, South Africa and Japan.
Following launch, South Africa saw two months of stock sell out in three days through distributor Step South and in the USA and Canada, ALCA distribution have already secured listings in Buy Buy Baby, Best Buys and Target.
In South Korea, the Shnuggle Bath is the market leading premium baby bath and continues to grow with the recent launch of new colourways designed exclusively for this market.
Success for the Shnuggle brand is not just through the company’s export division.
The UK business has seen significant growth this year following increased distribution with Mothercare, Mamas and Papas, Argos and exclusive lines at John Lewis.
Sinead Murphy, Co-Founder of Shnuggle commented ‘We are thrilled to announce the partnership with Bloom & Grow. This is a major turning point for the business and to be welcomed by such a large distributor and to sit alongside the number of credible brands in their portfolio is really exciting for us. We have invested heavily into growing the export business while continuing to support and expand our UK retailers and we are very much looking forward to watching the Shnuggle brand grow in these new territories.’
Alexandra Dickson Leach, Founder and CEO of Bloom & Grow said ‘Bloom & Grow are thrilled to be bringing the Shnuggle bath range to all of our territories. The products are innovative, and I have no doubt they will be welcomed by parents across Asia and Australia.’
LONDON, 8th May 2018 – Northern Ireland’s best businesses and two outstanding individuals have been honoured at the 2018 Aer Lingus TakeOff Foundation Business Awards in the palatial surroundings of the IoD headquarters on Pall Mall in London.
The Aer Lingus TakeOff Foundation Business Awards judges at the Fitzwilliam Hotel, from (l-r) seated: Roseann Kelly, Chief Executive, Women in Business; Gary McDonald, Business Editor, Irish News; Andrea Hunter, Business Development Manager, Aer Lingus NI. From (l-r) standing: Bob McGowan-Smyth,ÊInvestment Director, Crescent Capital; Richard Sherriff, Business Editor, News Letter; Margaret Canning, Business Editor, Belfast Telegraph; Kieran McGarrigle, Partner, Head of Finance, Arthur Cox; Wendy Austin, Presenter, BBC Inside Business; Jeremy Fitch, Executive Director, Business & Sector Development Group, Invest Northern Ireland; Kirsty McManus, National Director, Institute of Directors NI and John Mulgrew, Editor, Ulster Business
Crescent’s Bob McGowan-Smyth was one of the 11 strong panel of judges.
The awards were presented across nine categories to businesses that have excelled in areas such as fast growth, export, innovation, and marketing.
“The Aer Lingus TakeOff Foundation Business Awards are now one of the most prestigious events on the business calendar and we are delighted to recognise and support those organisations that represent the best in their sectors,” said Andrea Hunter, Business Development Manager of Aer Lingus in Northern Ireland.
“This was a true celebration of business excellence and on behalf of Aer Lingus I would like to congratulate each of the winners for their remarkable accomplishments.”
This year’s winners are as follows:
Best Business Start-Up Award: AG Electrical NI Ltd
Best SME Award: STATSports Group Ltd
Fast Growth Business Award: FinTrU Ltd
Excellence in Marketing Award: Babocush
Exporter of the Year Award: Brookvent
Innovation of the Year Award: See.Sense
Business Person of the Year: Cathal Grant, CGDM Construction Ltd
The ceremony also recognised Trevor Annon, Founder and Chairman of Mount Charles, with a Lifetime Achievement Award for his outstanding contribution to business life in Northern Ireland.
Andrea Hunter, Aer Lingus Business Development Manager presents the Lifetime Achievement Award to Trevor Annon, Chairman of Mount Charles. They are joined by Aer Lingus cabin crew member Jo Freeman and compere Wendy Austin at the 10th annual Aer Lingus TakeOff Foundation Business Awards on 8th May 2018, in the IoD Headquarters, Pall Mall, London.
With Trevor’s guidance, Mount Charles has created true economic benefit not only for its employees and their families, but also for the wider NI economy.
Mount Charles currently sources approximately 90% of their food from NI suppliers attributing to a contribution of £9m per annum to the NI economy, while labour costs currently generate £17m per annum.
In October 2016 Trevor opened a brand new state-of-the-art headquarters in Belfast, having invested £1.6m in the building’s purchase and refurbishment, making a significant statement regarding the company’s commitment to future growth and development.
Business Person of the Year Cathal Grant, Managing Director of CGDM Construction Ltd, was delighted to win this award, and was overwhelmed to be honoured amongst the best of NI businesses.
Cathal explained that CGDM has grown rapidly, “by securing high value contracts in the commercial, retail, banking, health, leisure and hospitality sectors throughout the UK and Ireland.”
Cathal oversaw the diversification of his company from an architectural design business to a design and build business, combining architectural and construction services.
Andrea Hunter, Aer Lingus Business Development Manager presents the Business Person of the Year Award to Cathal Grant, Founder and Managing Director of CGDM Construction Ltd. They are joined by Aer Lingus cabin crew member Jo Freeman and compere Wendy Austin at the 10th annual Aer Lingus TakeOff Foundation Business Awards on 8th May 2018, in the IoD Headquarters, Pall Mall, London.
“To facilitate business expansion and grow market share in Ireland and Great Britain, we have since established offices in Dublin in 2015 and most recently in London in 2017,” he said.
The company employs 21 staff and 60 sub contractors and plans are underway to build larger offices in Newry to enable further expansion.
Keith Graham, Managing Director of Selective Travel Management, winners of the Overall Excellence Award said: “We have seen massive growth for the company this year and we are very proud that our efforts have been recognised with the Overall Excellence Award.”
Located in the historic Murray’s Exchange in Belfast City Centre, the company employs 114 travel professionals, providing expert support with fully bespoke technological solutions to a customer base spread across the United Kingdom. The last four years has seen their turnover grow by 68% from £29.4m to £49.5m.
Keith explained that “first class, 24/7, customer service, latest technology and an exclusive and proactive ‘Duty of Care’ programme have combined to reinforce our business edge and continues to fuel our current success and future growth.”
Andrea Hunter, Aer Lingus Business Development Manager presents the Overall Excellence Award to Managing Director of Selective Travel Management, Keith Graham. They are joined by Aer Lingus cabin crew member Jo Freeman at the 10th annual Aer Lingus TakeOff Foundation Business Awards on 8th May 2018, in the IoD Headquarters, Pall Mall, London.
We had the fantastic privilege of meeting two MEGA VIPs today.
Prince Harry and Fiancée Meghan Markle visited Belfast as part of their pre-wedding tour and part of the day saw them meet local entrepreneurs and innovators at the campus of Northern Ireland’s next-generation science park.
On meeting us, Meghan pointed to the Shnuggle products and joked ‘I’m sure at some point, we’ll need the whole thing’, with Prince Harry enquiring about the cost of the ever-popular Shnuggle Bath and saying he would “take the lot”!
They were amazed by the growth of the brand from our garage in NI to 20 countries and growing and referring to Shnuggle’s success, Meghan exclaimed “I bet you never expected this when you started”!
We were thrilled to be invited to be part of the innovator meet and greet. Harry and Meghan were extremely warm and friendly and really took their time to talk to everyone.
We feel very honoured and we hope that they remember us should they decide to start their own family…
BELFAST, 26 March 2018: Tension is mounting with the announcement of the 10th annual Aer Lingus TakeOff Foundation Business Awards shortlist, following deliberation by an 11-strong panel of judges that included Crescent’s Bob McGowan-Smyth.
The Aer Lingus TakeOff Foundation Business Awards judges at the Fitzwilliam Hotel, from (l-r) seated: Roseann Kelly, Chief Executive, Women in Business; Gary McDonald, Business Editor, Irish News; Andrea Hunter, Business Development Manager, Aer Lingus NI. From (l-r) standing: Bob McGowan-Smyth, Investment Director, Crescent Capital; Richard Sherriff, Business Editor, News Letter; Margaret Canning, Business Editor, Belfast Telegraph; Kieran McGarrigle, Partner, Head of Finance, Arthur Cox; Wendy Austin, Presenter, BBC Inside Business; Jeremy Fitch, Executive Director, Business & Sector Development Group, Invest Northern Ireland; Kirsty McManus, National Director, Institute of Directors NI and John Mulgrew, Editor, Ulster Business
The awards celebrate and reward those companies that have contributed to the local economy and also made significant progress in global export markets.
Among the nine contested categories, Fortress Diagnostics, Environmental Street Furniture and Brookvent vie for the title of Exporter of the Year, while Cyphra, FinTrU Ltd and UForm battle for the Fast Growth Business Award.
Shortlisted companies will be flown to a prestigious awards ceremony in London from George Best Belfast City Airport with Aer Lingus.
The esteemed judging panel included Andrea Hunter, Business Development Manager at Aer Lingus; John Mulgrew, Editor, Ulster Business; Gary McDonald, Business Editor, Irish News; Margaret Canning, Business Editor, Belfast Telegraph; Richard Sherriff, Business Editor, News Letter; Wendy Austin, Presenter, BBC Inside Business; Bob McGowan-Smyth, Investment Director, Crescent Capital; Kieran McGarrigle, Partner, Head of Finance, Arthur Cox; Kirsty McManus, National Director, Institute of Directors NI, Jeremy Fitch, Executive Director, Business and Sector Development Group, Invest NI and Roseann Kelly, Chief Executive, Women In Business.
Andrea Hunter, Business Development Manager at Aer Lingus said: “The Aer Lingus TakeOff Foundation is proud to support and celebrate outstanding businesses across Northern Ireland. Every year the calibre of entrants seems yet more impressive than the one before. It wasn’t easy to arrive at our list of finalists, but each one of them deserves their place on the shortlist.
“The companies and individuals we’re rewarding have demonstrated a true commitment to innovation and have achieved remarkable growth both here in Northern Ireland and across the globe.
“They are playing a pivotal role in the economic growth of Northern Ireland and their achievements, their entrepreneurship and business acumen act as a benchmark to the rest of the business community here.”
The Aer Lingus TakeOff Foundation Business Awards ceremony will take place on Tuesday 8th May 2018 at the IoD Headquarters on Pall Mall, London.
TakeOff Foundation Business Awards Shortlist:
Best Business Start-Up Award: Groundswell Growth Ltd, Titanic FX and AG Electrical NI Ltd
Best SME Award: STATSports Group Limited, CGDM Construction and TS Foods
Fast Growth Business Award: UForm, Cyphra and FinTrU Ltd
Excellence in Marketing Award: Henderson Wholesale Ltd, Danske Bank and Babocush
Exporter of the Year Award: Fortress Diagnostics, Brookvent and Environmental Street Furniture
Innovation of the Year Award: See.Sense, Rolltack and OKTO Technologies
Business Person of the Year Award: Keith Graham, Selective Travel Management, Cathal Grant, CGDM Construction Ltd and Gareth Loye, Mascott Construction
Niall Olden (Kernel Capital), Kathryn Walls, (Mills Selig), Colin Walsh (Crescent Capital), Ken Nelson (InterTradeIreland), Eleanor McEvoy (Budget Energy) and Bob McGowan-Smyth (Crescent Capital)
BELFAST, 7th March 2018 – Delegates attending the Crescent Capital supported InterTradeIreland 17th Annual Venture Capital Conference in Belfast today heard that with plenty of international money flowing, VC funding is at record levels, making this the perfect time to secure capital.
The Irish Venture Capital Association, due to publish 2017 figures shortly, will likely show firms on the island raised close to a record €1 billion last year. Since the onset of the credit crunch in 2008, more than 1,450 SMEs have raised venture capital of €3.6 billion.
The focus of this year’s conference was ‘The Funding Landscape’ and brought together a capacity audience of more than 300 delegates, comprising entrepreneurs, venture capitalists, business angels, other investors and start-ups seeking investment.
Serial entrepreneur Eleanor McEvoy, CEO of Budget Energy Ltd and the recently launched BEenergy, was the keynote speaker. No stranger to raising capital, Eleanor’s experience to date and business credentials mean that she knows exactly what it takes to grow a company from nothing and she shared her insights and learnings with a keenly-engaged audience.
Having just completed her second season as a dragon on RTE’s Dragons Den, Eleanor is now in a position to give a helping hand to those on a growth trajectory and has committed substantial funding to a number of young businesses.
The British Business bank, attending the event for the first time, confirmed that they have a fund of £1.5bn available to invest in VC projects. Patrick Magee, Chief Commercial Officer at the British Business Bank, said: “I’m delighted to have brought a delegation of UK venture capital leaders to Belfast this week. The range of fund managers participating – with current VC funds of over £500m – indicates a real interest in the Northern Ireland high-growth business investment market. Equity capital is crucial for helping innovative, fast-growing, businesses scale-up. As the UK’s largest British-based venture capital LP, with over £1bn invested across a range of different programmes, the British Business Bank is working to support smaller businesses all across the UK seeking to access this important type of finance.”
Ken Nelson, Chairman of InterTradeIreland said: “Venture Capital continues to be an increasingly popular route for businesses wanting to grow. As we have heard today, the number of options are expanding year on year, so it is vital that companies have the right information to help them access these funds. Our research has shown that there is limited knowledge of options available including venture capital, crowdfunding and business angel funding so our conference helps to bridge this gap by providing early stage companies that are seeking funding with the information they need and access to leading venture capitalists and business angels from across the island.
Ken added; “Our conference is designed to facilitate networking between leading venture capitalists, business angels and start-ups that are seeking funding from across the island and break down any barriers preventing burgeoning businesses from moving to the next level.
“It is critical that we continue to nurture ambitious entrepreneurs to ensure that both economies prosper and that we foster success as there is significant venture capital and early stage funding available for those with the right project and the drive and determination to succeed.
This year’s conference is supported by Crescent Capital, Kernel Capital, KPMG and Mills Selig.
BELFAST, 18 December 2017 – Crescent welcomed the first share dealings of its portfolio company, Fusion Antibodies plc (FAB.L), on London’s Alternative Investment Market (‘AIM’).
Fusion raised £5.5m in a new equity placing from institutional investors including Crescent Capital III LP as well as a £1m placing of existing shares. It joins two other currently listed Northern Ireland companies: Kainos Group plc (KNOS.L), listed on the London Stock Exchange main market and First Derivatives plc (FDP.L), listed on AIM.
This listing is the fourth Northern Ireland venture-backed company to achieve a successful initial public offering (‘IPO’) on the London Stock Exchange.
The Crescent team’s previous AIM IPOs were BCO Technologies plc (BOH.L) in 1997 (subsequently sold to Analog Devices, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADI) for £100m in 2000) and Andor Technology plc (AND.L) in 2004 (subsequently sold to Oxford Instruments plc (OXIG.L) for £176m in 2013).
Colin Walsh, chief executive of Crescent Capital, said ‘this IPO is the Crescent team’s third local venture-backed company to go public.
‘I have been a long time proponent of using the stock market as a source of growth capital for developing businesses. Fusion is a great example of a growth business using AIM to raise funding for expansion. It is bringing them the funding it needs at a great valuation but will also raise its credibility with their customers and other stakeholders as well as raising the bar as to how the business is managed. For the life of me, I don’t understand why more Northern Ireland companies are not queuing up to do likewise’.
Fusion was established in 2001, as a spin out from Queen’s University Belfast, and whilst it initially focused on drug development revised its operations to focus on contract research organisation work in 2011.
Fusion has an international, blue-chip client base, which includes eight of the top ten global pharmaceutical companies. It provides antibody engineering services to these clients for the development of antibodies for both therapeutic drug and diagnostic applications.
It will use the funds raised in the IPO to help expand its existing laboratory space, increase sales and marketing efforts, development new service lines and provide additional working capital.
