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| 1. Key Benefits |
- Membership provides access to a substantial, pre-vetted, deal flow.
- Members can share the risks and work involved with in investing with other members.
- The Viking Fund is able to match Viking Club Members' investments, allowing bigger deals and/or reducing the individual commitment.
- Members can be proactive and lead an investment where they have the time and skills to do so.
- By allowing others to lead an investment, Viking Club members can benefit from the skills and time commitment of others. This is particularly useful for members who are relatively new to investing in small businesses.
- The risks can be further reduced by spreading investments over a wider portfolio.
- Members can decide to bring their own investment opportunities to the Viking Club and the Viking Fund if they wish (but there is no obligation to do so).
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| 2. Deal Flow |
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The existence of the Viking Fund and the publicity surrounding both the Fund and the Viking Club attracts a substantial flow of investment opportunities which are vetted by both the Fund and the Club members. The Fund receives a steady flow of applications which it filters before passing those that appear worthwhile to the Club to see if members may be interested.
Viking Club members are also encouraged to bring their own investment opportunities to the Club and this network of between 10 and 30 active business angel investors also generates a number of investment opportunities.
This effective referral network means that the Viking Club and the Viking Fund will remain in prime position to access the best investment opportunities from the region.
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| 3. Share The Risks |
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Making small investments in unquoted businesses involves a significant risk. By investing alongside a range of other investors and a fund, those risks can be minimised and spread across a much wider portfolio than any individual is likely to be able to find, and deal with, by themselves. Of course, sharing the investment also involves sharing the returns, but it also shares any losses.
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| 4. Share The Workload |
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Investment assessment, negotiating terms and looking after an investment portfolio can be very time consuming and often those most able to afford to make such investments have the least time available. Viking Club members and the Fund can share this burden if they wish. Normally one or more Club members will ‘lead’ an investment. This may be where they found the opportunity first or have a particular interest or relevant skills to contribute. They may, if they wish, make the largest individual investment, with other club members taking a more passive role and perhaps offering a smaller investment.
This also provides an opportunity for less experienced investors to learn from more experienced Viking Club members during their first few deals. One investing member is then likely to take on a non-executive directorship role in the investee company and represent all of the investors’ interests.
Managing such a substantial deal flow effectively would be impossible for a single investor, even if they were fortunate enough to have access to it. By joining the Viking Club they can share that burden with other members and the Fund and also have the benefit of an effective club administration, website and meeting facility.
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| 5. Join Syndicates Making Larger Investments |
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Members are still free to make their own investments without involving the Viking Club or the Fund. What the Viking Club means, however, is that, thanks to the availability of other potential investors, those interested in making smaller investments can still get involved with more substantial businesses. It is expected that in most investments of up to £250,000 the Viking Fund will match the private investors’ investment, on the same terms, up to a maximum of £100,000 in any particular funding round, often doubling the potential size of the investment.
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| 6. Access To The Website |
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The Viking Club website holds the business plans and other information about applications and forthcoming meetings and is restricted to members. Members are notified about new opportunities being posted on the site by email and are requested to indicate their interest or otherwise within a modest timescale so that potential investing syndicates can discuss the opportunity and how they might progress it.
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| 7. Administration Service |
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The joining and membership fee is intended to cover the cost of administering the Viking Club and its website. There is no intention to make any profits from the fees and, in future years, the level of fees will be set by the Board of the Club, appointed [largely] by its members.
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| 8. Meeting Facilities |
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Metic House, the offices of Inkopo Ltd at Normanton, close to the M62 Motorway is the base for both the Viking Fund and the Club and is relatively central to the region. Viking Club members have access to the Board room and other facilities free of charge, subject to availability, by pre-booking.
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| 9. Networking Opportunities |
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Members of the Viking Club include some of the most active and experienced private investors in the UK and their collective experience, contacts and capacity to invest make the Club one of the most influential and exclusive organisations in the region. It is a condition of membership that they produce an accountant’s certificate to prove that they are a sophisticated investor of high net worth . The 10 founder members were invited to join [and subsequent applicants must be approved by the membership.]
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