Best Startup
At Best Startup UK we track over 130,000 UK startups and over 500,000 people who hold key positions in these companies. We use this directory of startups to highlight top employees, founders and board members we think deserve more appreciation than they are currently getting.
This list showcases the top Nottingham based Director operating in the Venture Capital space. If you think a Director is missing from this list, feel free to contact our editor on editor@beststartup.co.uk.
The individuals on this list have been included because of exceptional performance in one of the following categories:
- Innovation – Operating as a key part in an extremely innovative business or startup.
- Growth – Operating as a key figure in the growth and upscale of a market leading business or startup.
- Management – Showing exceptional management skills.
- Societal impact – Putting their business on the map for their positive societal or environmental impact.
Our Data – We source our data from OSINT (open source intelligence) and public directories such as Companies House UK, Crunchbase, SemRush and many more. The data from these sources should be treated with a degree of caution and verified yourself.
John Green
Investment Director, Midlands of LDC
John joined LDC in 2012 as an experienced commercial professional with experience of significant M&A transactions. A graduate of Nottingham Trent University, John began his career in 1992 at PwC in Birmingham where he qualified as a Chartered Accountant and spent three years in their Corporate Finance team. John has spent a large part of his career in industry in senior finance roles in both public and private companies including Wagon plc, Assa Training & Learning and Worldwide Clinical Trials. John also spent two years at Catalyst Corporate Finance, advising on numerous private equity and M&A transactions. He has experience of a wide range of sectors including technology, life sciences, construction and manufacturing. John’s recent investments and current board positions include Node4 and TXM Plant.
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About LDC: LDC is a private equity company which provides funds for buyouts and development capital transactions in UK unquoted companies.
Richard Altoft
Investment Director of Maven Capital Partners
Based in Nottingham, Richard has responsibility for new MEIF investments across the East Midlands, as well as managing portfolio investments across the region. He joined Maven in 2018 following a 37-year career with NatWest, Co-op and Handelsbanken, primarily in the SME commercial and corporate banking sectors. During his career, Richard has managed broad portfolios of commercial customers across a wide variety of B2B sectors including manufacturing, engineering and technology. Most of his banking career has been in the East Midlands region.
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About Maven Capital Partners: Maven Capital Partners is a private equity firm that provides a range of funding options to SMEs and investment opportunities.
Jonathan Lowe
Investment Director of Maven Capital Partners
Based in Nottingham, Jonathan leads Maven’s MEIF team for East & South East Midlands, with responsibility for delivering new investments and portfolio management of existing MEIF holdings. Jonathan joined Maven in 2017 having spent his career in SME equity investment, finance and banking, primarily in and around the East Midlands. Most recently Jonathan was an Investment Director and Head of Investor Relations at Catapult Ventures. He had previously worked as a Portfolio Director at Capital for Enterprise Ltd, and spent nine years as Head of Business Investment at East Midlands Development Agency, where he led the development of new loan and equity funds and the delivery of two major SME grant programmes. Jonathan began his career at NatWest in Nottingham, where he managed head office credit teams and was a business relationship manager.
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About Maven Capital Partners: Maven Capital Partners is a private equity firm that provides a range of funding options to SMEs and investment opportunities.
Michael Quinn
Director of Foresight Group
Mike joined Foresight in 2016 to further develop our regional presence from the Nottingham office and into the wider Midlands market. Mike joined from RSM UK, where he led the East Midlands Corporate Finance team and was responsible for many corporate finance transactions in the region. At RSM, Mike worked closely with owners and Management Teams across a broad range of sectors on business disposals, management buyouts, fund raising and growth capital deals. Since joining Foresight, Mike has led investments into many businesses including Ekkosense, Retail Assist, 200 Degrees and Luminet. He currently sits on the board of six companies helping to deliver the strategy and drive value for all shareholders. Mike is well-established in the local professional community and recognised as a prominent dealmaker.
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About Foresight Group: Foresight is an infrastructure and private equity investment manager that manages funds on behalf of institutions and retail clients.
Sandy Reid
Investment Director of Mercia Fund Managers
Sandy joined the Group in 2017, originally in the University Team focussing on the North of England she has now moved to the Midlands Engine Investment Fund (MEIF) team with responsibility for the East Midlands; this fund focusses on proof of concept and early stage opportunities. Sandy has hands-on experience of early stage companies having founded and worked as CEO for a university spinout for eight years. She also has experience of acting as a consultant on spinout formation in the HE sector as well as most recently managing the spinout portfolio at the University of Leicester. In addition, Sandy has acted as both director and observer on a number of early-stage company boards, and holds the Certificate in Company Direction from the Institute of Directors. She has a technical background with a PhD in Chemistry, and started her career in corporate research and development.
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About Mercia Fund Managers: Mercia Fund Managers helps to scale innovative businesses across the UK regions by providing debt, equity and growth capital.
