ABOUT

AM Ventures was established by Andrew Marris, an accomplished entrepreneur, business strategist and investor to help entrepreneurs who are starting and growing young businesses, and for those who invest alongside them.

In today’s world with the plethora of smart business applications, business service providers and venture funding options available, it has never been easier to set up a new business and new ideas and products are coming to the market place with an increasing and impressive speed. In the UK in particular, government incentive schemes and grants combined with the growing infrastructure of privately owned support systems, such as alternative investment funds, business incubators and angel networks, have been key in providing opportunity and incentive to entrepreneurs and their investors. As a result, more and more people are choosing entrepreneurship as a ‘career’ and are setting up their own businesses, and many more investors are funding them on their way. Many foreign entrepreneurs and innovators are also applying to come to the UK as their preferred jurisdiction to live and to establish their businesses. All this makes for a melting pot of talent, opportunity and competition.

Despite the ease and speed at which a new business can be incorporated, operating effectively, sustainably and profitably in an increasingly competitive and changing landscape means that it is not only vital to have a robust idea and business plan, but that executing the business plan with skill and attention to detail has never been more important. AM Ventures can provide this support to entrepreneurs and business owners.

For investors, the choice of businesses to invest into is endless. Most business angels, professional investors and SME Fund Managers adopt a portfolio approach and invest across many businesses to mitigate risk, but once invested, it can be a long wait until they see a return, if any. Prudent assessment of the investment opportunity prior to investment and focused and dedicated support to the business owner post investment can safeguard the investors' interest.

AM Ventures has a close team of independent and highly experienced associates to deliver our services. We are all entrepreneurs and collectively have the necessary professional skills to cover all aspects of business.

Since 2005, Andrew has consistently and successfully innovated in various niche sectors, founding start-ups, building new businesses, creating value, delivering results, increasing profits and having successful exits. As an all-rounder and proven business builder he has developed the necessary skills and experience to be able to assist first time entrepreneurs and seasoned business executives alike, as well as those investing alongside them. Approaching each situation with passion and a focused and enquiring mind, he is able to challenge and inspire those around him. He has a keen interest in working with all businesses and investors, but particularly those interested in disruptive technologies and services in growth sectors. His particular expertise to date has been in fin-tech, financial services, technology, sustainability and property.

Prior to starting out on his own, he spent 17 years working in the financial services sector in advisory, sales, stockbroking and equity derivatives. He has a post graduate academic background in Structural/Civil Engineering from the University of Bath and Imperial College, London.

Relevant Experience

dcarbon8 Ltd - Andrew co-founded dcarbon8 Ltd in 2005, a London based sustainability consultancy practice focusing on the embodied Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions of products and materials used in the global construction industry. At the time sustainability was an emerging sector which was not well understood and dcarbon8 established a protocol and methodology to assess, calculate and report on the embodied and in-use GHG footprint of buildings. This information empowered large developers to engage with the customers, contractors, material suppliers and their respective supply chains to understand where sustainable savings could be made to reduce the building's overall environmental impact. Ground-breaking analysis at dcarbon8 led to them being engaged by leading corporates such as Lend Lease, Skanska, Masdar City UAE, M&S, Sainsbury's and ProLogis. dcarbon8 worked globally with other professional service providers such as Norman Foster Architects, PWC, Deloitte, Bain, CH2M Hill and Parsons Brinkerhoff to add value to their offerings. Under Andrew's leadership, dcarbon8 was sold in 2010 to Deloitte UK.

MICAP - Andrew founded MICAP (MI Capital Research Ltd) after working as an independent consultant for an established specialist fund provider of alternative investments looking to launch Kuber Ventures, an EIS fund platform, and separately to offer a range of Enterprise Investment Schemes (EIS) to the financial advisory and wealth management sector. Whilst conducting this research it became apparent that there was nowhere for advisors and wealth managers to have an "all-of-market" view of available funds and to conduct and evidence their research and due diligence; an FCA requirement for compliance. As a result he founded MICAP, a data rich multifunction fin-tech platform which empowers professional advisors when advising on tax advantaged investments such as EIS, Venture Capital Trusts (VCTs) and Business Relief (BR) funds. MICAP, an FCA regulated subscription-based business, is the UK's leading platform for tax advantaged investment funds and is used by all the established fund managers in the wealth advisory market and well over 1,000 professional advice firms, including financial advisory networks and private banks.

Indagate Group - Andrew co-founded the Indagate Group to effect a merger of financial business information companies which would be useful to both MICAP and the wider alternative investment market. He remains a major shareholder and board director. Indagate Group now wholly owns MICAP, Intelligent Partnership and SIPP Investment Platform (trading as in-review). Whilst in-review operates in a similar way to MICAP, it serves advisors and pension fund administrators in conducting their research and due diligence on products which fall outside of the tax advantaged market. Instead it focuses on alternative finance products and SIPP-able investments. Intelligent Partnership is the UK’s leading provider of education and insights on alternative investments and provides market research, weekly news and information bulletins, investment manager and product showcases, e-learning courses and continued professional development (CPD) content. It also runs targeted campaigns such as Mindful Investor and 100 Stories aimed at increasing knowledge and understanding of the challenges entrepreneurs face on their journey to success, focussed annual conference events such as Intergen which is aimed at professionals who advise on inter-generational wealth planning and also owns and runs the annual industry award ceremonies - the Growth Investor Awards and the Growth Finance Awards.

W9 Holdings - Andrew is a Director and part owner of W9 which invests into, develops and manages residential property. Using his financial restructuring, property management, planning and development skills, he helped to acquire and turn around a portfolio of central London mews houses from running at a loss to a healthy profit in difficult market conditions.

Experience

7 years, Advisor, Financial Advisory (Merchant Investors, Providence Capitol)
11 years, Manager & OTC Broker, Institutional OTC Derivatives (Sunrise Brokers)
5 years, Founder & CEO, Sustainability Business (dcarbon8, Planet Positive)
2 years, Independent Consultant, Market Research and Business Development (EIS Industry)
7 years, Founder & CEO, B2B Fin-Tech Platform (MICAP)
6 years, Co-Founder and Director, (Indagate Group)
9 years, Non-Executive Director, Residential Property Management Company
3 years, Co-Owner and Director, (W9 Holdings)

Sector Expertise

Financial Services (FCA regulated)
Fin-Tech
Technology & IT
Property (Investment, Management & Development)
Sustainability

Education

University of Bath - BSc (Hons) 1st Class with Honours in Civil/Structural Engineering
University of London, Imperial College - MSc (Eng) in Structural Engineering, Diploma of Imperial College

“Andy took charge of developing the detailed business case for a major project in our organisation earlier this year. He approached the task with a very commercial and structured mindset, and delivered a first class analysis of the opportunity. I would not hesitate in recommending Andy, or indeed hiring him again.”

Tim West - Partner, Wealth & Asset Management at EY - Alternative Investments Leader

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ABOUT

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