Intense Ltd receives £2.5 million funding from Noble Venture Finance
Blantyre, Scotland, 18 April 2005 ---~ as it moves into full scale manufacture of laser module and optoelectronic integration solutions ~
Noble Venture Finance, part of Noble Group, has provided a £2.5m finance facility to support Intense Ltd.’s continued growth. Formerly Intense Photonics Ltd., the company is a UK-based global provider of laser module and optoelectronic integration solutions for a broad range of industry sectors including printing, medical and defence.Intense works closely with customers to ensure they create next-generation, custom-built products that help them dominate their markets. The company owns extensive intellectual property covering process, device and module technology, making it even easier for firms to use this revolutionary technology in an industrial setting.
Intense was also winner of the ‘Innovation and Creativity Award’ from the Lanarkshire Business Excellence Awards in March 2005.
Noble Venture Finance provides asset-backed finance to growth companies throughout the E.U., alongside the investment in these companies by established venture capital firms. Venture finance typically comprises leases, loans or hire purchase facilities to provide working and/or fixed capital for assets such as manufacturing equipment, computers, telecommunication systems, laboratory test and measurement and other equipment. The fund provides these companies with financing of between £500,000 and £2.5m in the form of equipment leases, loans or hire purchase agreements in return for a running yield and an equity kicker of between 20% and 25% of the value of the facility.
Henry Chaplin, Chief Executive of Noble Fund Managers said "The Venture Finance team have known Intense since 2000 when it was spun out from The University of Glasgow. We have been very impressed by Intense’s success to date and are very excited to be participating in this exciting new growth phase for the business as it expands into new sectors like printing. This is exactly the sort of success that British industry needs as one of its companies moves from world leading R&D to full scale manufacture in under five years."
"We have big plans to build our client base and increase market share over the coming year, particularly in the printing industry," said David Lockwood, CEO of Intense. "We have some highly versatile new solutions to bring to the market that will help businesses improve products and generate revenue. The Noble investment is a crucial part of this strategy."
Mark Taylor, Chief Executive of Noble Venture Finance said "I am delighted to be working with David Lockwood again as he and the team have made immense progress since we first met".
Ends
About Intense
Intense Ltd is a UK-based global provider of laser module and optoelectronic integration solutions for a broad range of industry sectors including printing, medical and defence. It works closely with customers to ensure they create next-generation, custom-built products that helps them dominate their markets. The company owns core intellectual property in revolutionary new technologies in photonic integration, including Quantum Well Intermixing (QWI), making it even easier for firms to use laser modules in an industrial setting. Intense was formed in 2000 and is ISO-9001: 2000 certified. It owns and operates a Class 1 capable clean room near Glasgow in Scotland where it designs and manufactures optoelectronic solutions.
About Noble Venture Finance
Noble Venture Finance is a £45m fund managed by Noble Fund Managers Ltd and focused exclusively on providing asset based finance to fast growing privately held venture capital backed companies throughout the EU. The company provides facilities from £0.5 million to £2.5 million over a period of time and can syndicate larger amounts through its extensive bank connections. It will provide facilities in Sterling, Euros or US dollars over repayment periods of up to 36 months.
The fund was raised by Nobles at the beginning of 2004 and is Chaired by Christopher Wright, formerly global head of Dresdner Kleinwort Capital. The CEO and Head of Venture Finance at Noble is Mark Taylor, who has over twenty years of experience in the asset finance sector and was a founder of Europe's first venture finance business for Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein in 1998.
About Noble Noble Group ("Noble") is an independent UK investment bank. It has three operating companies providing integrated corporate finance/broking, fund management of alternative investments and operational management of investment vehicles. All three companies are authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority. Noble has some 75 employees in offices in Edinburgh and London.
Made available to journalists in accordance with the provisions of Article 47 of the Financial Securities and Markets Act 2000(Financial Promotion)Order 2001
For further information, please contact:
Noble
Mark Taylor, Head of Venture Finance
Tel: 020 7763 2200
Citigate Dewe Rogerson
Sarah Gestetner
Email: sarah.gestetner@citigatedr.co.uk
Tel: 020 7282 2920
Rebeca Denny
Email: rebeca.denny@citigatedr.co.uk
Tel: 020 7282 2817
Intense (represented by LEWIS PR)
Katie Jamieson
Email: katiej@lewispr.com
Tel: 020 7802 2626
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