Ian Richards

Ian oversees the investment team and leads on company exit strategies.

Ian is responsible for all aspects of our portfolio management, makes and manages investments and works with our investment managers to determine the best exit strategies for the companies in our portfolio. He sits on our Investment Committee and is also a member of the North East LEP Investment Board. 

Ian began his career at NatWest, where he held a variety of positions in the retail and corporate banking sectors, including relationship managing a portfolio of over 400 high net worth individuals from across the North East of England. He then went on to work for international investment firm 3i. There he invested over £40m into growing and later stage businesses and exited over 100 deals. 

In addition to having over 20 years’ experience in venture capital and private equity, Ian is an Associate of the Chartered Institute of Bankers, a Member of the Institute of Commercial Management and was an elected Corporate Finance Representative for The Securities Institute. He is a Member of the Entrepreneurs Forum and has mentored early stage business leaders through the Forum’s programmes.